(WGTD/WPR)---A spokesman for We Energies says the company is comfortable with the pace of its movement away from coal-fired power plants.
A report this week by an environmental group showed that it’s become more cost-effective to build new solar and wind generating stations than to keep operating many of the coal plants with their harmful emissions. They said utilities should consider speeding up the conversion to renewable energy.
We Energies’ Brendan Conway says the company has already either shut down or announced the closure of three coal-fired power plants, including the one in Pleasant Prairie. That’s given the company a big jump on its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year 2050. "Our current goals actually go beyond what the Paris climate accord does," Conway told WGTD this week.
In addition to taking into account cost and environmental concerns, the utility needs to make sure that it's meeting customer demand, Conway said. The last point was underscored by the temporary loss of wind turbine-generated power during this past winter’s brutal cold spell. In the upper Midwest, some of the machines had to be taken off line because the extreme cold made them structurally unsound to operate. "If not for having that plant in Oak Creek which we could ramp up and generate more electricity, there could have been issues with people losing power in the area," he said.
Conway says We Energies does not envision closing the Oak Creek coal-fired plant in either the short or medium terms.
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