From the newsletter of Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development Council:
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) has rejected a proposal by Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation, to expand its existing Nelson Dewey Generating Station in Cassville, Wisconsin, to meet the future energy needs of its customers. . . .
While disappointed with the PSC’s decision we remain committed to learning how local resources can help meet our customers growing need for energy. Economic development is closely linked to the availability of energy; locally available renewable energy creates additional benefits that we were only beginning to better understand and quantify. Our understanding of how we can provide for cleaner sources of highly reliable energy is closely linked to the work being done by the Southwest Badger RC&D. I commend the RC&D Council for their support of this important work and am hopeful our relationship can continue into the future.”
The rejection of the Cassville power plant is by no means the end to Southwest Badger’s biomass initiatives, if anything our workload in biomass utilization should increase as the public awareness of biomass energy has soared. The silver lining to the PSC’s decision is that it makes a strong statement that future energy production in Wisconsin will be focused on renewable fuels.
Southwest Badger RC&D will continue to be a leader in biomass production and utilization and we look forward to working with existing and new partners to develop green energy initiatives for southwest Wisconsin.