FORE's Activities to Represent Citizens
The PSC Process: Review, Schedule, Documents

UW West Campus Power Plant Proposal and the Impact

The 1996 Master Plan of the University of Wisconsin at Madison - developed and written with the cooperation of the city and adjacent neighborhoods - anticipated that modest utility expansion on Walnut Street would be needed to service a mature, completely developed campus. Nevertheless, beginning in 1999, the University collaborated with MGE to plan successively larger power plants at that site, culminating in early 2002 with a proposal for a 150 MW facility, roughly enough electricity for all 90,000 households in Madison.

The capacity of the proposed plant dwarfs the original intent and, by virtue of its size, presents significant environmental problems.

• Air: Area residents, hospital patients, and students will be directly exposed to
significant levels of hazardous air pollution and smog forming compounds emitted by the
facility. Neighborhood air quality will be degraded by close to the maximum amount allowed
under the Clean Air Act for particulate matter.
• Water: Up to 3.3 million gallons of water/day will be withdrawn from Lake Mendota for
steam generation and cooling water. Most will be lost to evaporative emissions, stressing the
Lake Mendota/Yahara River system. Stream flow models predict substantial reductions in the
Yahara River during periods of drought.
• Noise: Similar to commercial jet engines in size and operation, the “aeroderivative” turbines
employed in the facility operate at very high decibel levels. While MG&E has developed a plan
to mitigate noise impacts though acoustic insulation, the facility will likely emit a level of
background noise consistent with other large industrial facilities, and may at times be audible
in all nearby neighborhoods. Vibrations from plant operation may also be felt in nearby
neighborhoods.

FORE therefore finds the proposal incompatible with reasonable consideration for the health and welfare of area residents, hospital patients, and students. FORE advocates:

• An accurate re-appraisal of the campus's anticipated energy needs
• Development of a fiscally and environmentally responsible plan to meet those needs
• A return to the open, inclusive planning process of the Master Plan

Support for re-evaluation from Representative Spencer Black and State Senator Fred Risser.

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