Are there alternatives to building a coal plant?
Yes! Energy Efficiency: Energy conservation and efficiency programs have a proven track-record of reducing the need for additional electricity, and new technologies are emerging to reduce the need even further. Instead of another coal power plant that will continue to send Wisconsin money out of state for fossil fuels and burden Wisconsin with dirty air and water, investments in energy efficiency can keep money in the state where approximately $4 is returned to the economy in the form of increased energy savings for every $1 invested in energy efficiency projects. A recent analysis by the Energy Center of Wisconsin found that increasing investments in energy efficiency in Wisconsin between $75 and $123 million dollars per year would, over five years, “defer the need for one average- sized electric power plant.” Alliant’s proposed coal plant is projected to cost over $900 million dollars. For almost one tenth of that investment the need for Alliant’s proposed coal plant could be offset.
