From 19th
century London to 21st century Madison....
Madison is home to five
(that’s right - FIVE) antiquated coal fired power plants.
The three major ones include the Dept. of Administration’s Capitol
Heating Plant (built in 1908 with no modern pollution control), the
UW-Madison’s Charter Street Plant (built in 1956 with very little
modern pollution control) and the MG&E Blount Street Plant (built
in 1902 also with no modern pollution control). Plus, the state
runs two other plants on a combination of coal, natural gas, and oil at
Hillfarms and Mendota. In fact, Wisconsin still gets 75% of its
electricity from dirty coal power plants and thus routinely violates
federal air quality standards, which prompted the Sierra Club to file a
Clean Air Act lawsuit back in Dec. 2006.
Known as Wisconsin’s filthiest
power plant, MG&E’s Blount St. plant in the very heart of Madison
generated about 5% of the electricity for its 135,000 customers in
2006. Another 44% of MG&E’s electricity came from its coal
plant in Columbia, WI – just upwind from Madison and the Yahara
Watershed. In contrast, MG&E’ s highly touted $15
million Kewaunee wind farm with 17 turbines is a drop in the bucket at
half of 1% of its total electricity output.
The green washing doesn’t stop
there. In 2004 MG&E built a brand new cogeneration plant on
the UW-Madison campus. A $125,000 campaign contribution from
MG&E to Sen. Chuck Chvala’s secret campaign fund helped win
approval for the project. Promises made by MG&E executives and UW
bureaucrats that the new natural gas plant would enable them to phase
out the Charter St. coal plant proved false. Instead, over $80
million in public money was used to underwrite yet another
corporate-controlled power plant in Madison dependent upon on another
expensive non-renewable energy source. In the end, MG&E
executives and shareholders made off with millions at the expense of
state taxpayers and university students.
MG&E has now pledged to
switch the Blount St. coal plant to natural gas by 2011. But,
once again, there are a few strings attached – namely, the public must
first approve the powerline proposed by American Transmission Company
(ATC) so that MG&E can become a global energy trader. If
approved, this line would shunt hydroelectricity from as far away as
Manitoba into the Midwest power grid. Indigenous communities and
family farmers have been resisting the powerline for decades, and as
grassroots resistance grows in Dane County, MG&E’s true mercenary
nature has been revealed. Gary J. Wolter, MG&E’s CEO
sits on the ATC board, while MG&E’s Transco Investment LLC
subsidiary holds much ATC stock. MG&E is also a heavy
investor in Wisconsin Energy’s contested coal power plants in Oak Creek
near Milwaukee. Ironically enough, on April 5th, 2005
when Gov. Doyle signed an executive order creating a new Office of
Energy Independence, he also authorized construction of yet another
coal fired power plant in Wisconsin.
What Are the Consequences
of Dirty Coal Energy for Madison?
Anyone who drives (or bikes or
walks) in downtown Madison gets the “pleasure” of seeing the belching
stacks of MG&E’s coal plant on a daily basis. Nearby
residents have to deal with a daily dose of soot and ash that makes
hanging your clean laundry outside a dubious proposition.
MG&E’s Blount St. coal plant remains the largest single source of
soot and smog in all of Dane County, and is also the largest single
source of greenhouse gas emissions. Invisible pollutants that
enter people’s lungs or precipitate into the nearby lakes are an even
worse threat. MG&E’s Blount St. coal plant is far and away
the largest source of mercury pollution in Dane County, which directly
affects anyone who eats fish from the Yahara Watershed. The
Madison School District reports increasing asthma rates among children,
and 1 out of 10 Dane County residents (40,000+ people) have been told
by a doctor that they suffer from asthma. For a city with such a
progressive “good life” reputation, it is shocking that this health
menace still persists.
Who Really Profits From the
Burning of Dirty Coal?
MG&E may have serviced
street lamps back when it started in 1855, but today it is a massive
corporation with close to $1 billion in assets and a guaranteed rate of
return of 11% for its shareholders - thanks to the largesse of the
Public Service Commission. Concerns that a wannabe “Enron” might
be emerging in Madison’s backyard were first raised in mid 2006 by
members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Local 2304 when MG&E tried to eliminate pension benefits for new
hires as part of contract negotiations. As already mentioned,
there is a long sordid history of kickbacks, conflicts of interest, and
sweetheart deals which have enabled corporations like MG&E to
continue their dirty energy work in Wisconsin.
In 2003 the DNR and MG&E
signed a cooperative environmental agreement, basically letting the
utility sidestep certain regulations in exchange for a pledge to do
better in other areas. Many would argue that such cozy ties
between MG&E and the DNR have compromised the state’s capacity to
defend the public’s interest. A similar “scratch my back and I’ll
scratch yours” relationship exists between MG&E and certain
environmental organizations and social service agencies which receive
generous corporate donations (actually provided by electricity
ratepayers) and in exchange often remain silent or serve as apologists
when others dare to criticize MG&E.
Want Clean Energy? – Then
Municipalize and Decentralize Your Supply!
Believe it or not, over 43
million people in the U.S. actually get their electricity from publicly
owned utility companies, leading many to wonder just why residents and
ratepayers in Madison and Dane County have not yet municipalized
MG&E. If MG&E was brought under local control and
democratic oversight, than it would be much less interested in burning
dirty coal and building power lines simply to line the pockets of its
executives and shareholders. Wisconsin spends over $12 billion
per year importing energy into the state. Through serious conservation
programs, increased energy efficiency, and development of renewables,
this money could be more wisely reinvested in the local economy and
create good jobs here at home. Just imagine – one day in Madison
someone will be able to turn on a light and not worry that their use of
energy may have destroyed indigenous communities or contributed to the
extinction of polar bears.
This factsheet was produced for Earth Day (4/22) 2006 by:
Madison Infoshop (IWW I.U. 620)
1019 Williamson St. #B, Madison, WI 53703
tel. 608-262-9036 www.madisoninfoshop.org