skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Dow explodes almost 3,000 points higher, S&P 500 has best day since 2008 as Trump pauses most reciprocal tariffs; Groups oppose Medicaid cuts that would threaten coverage for 3 million PA residents; ME high school students advance local climate related projects; US judges block Trump's Venezuelan deportations using a 1798 wartime law; Ratepayers sound off on proposed sale of Minnesota Power.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Donald Trump pauses tariffs for 90 days, as Republicans question his trade policy. And a new federal executive order incentivizes coal for energy use but poses risks to public lands.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Dems want the DNC to bring working class voters back into the fold, kids in Maine are losing a federal program that supplies local food to schools, and Trump's tariffs sow doubt and stress for America's farmers.

Economics of WI Gas Plant Proposal Questioned

play audio
Play

Tuesday, September 28, 2021   

SUPERIOR, Wis. -- Legal proceedings continue involving a proposed natural-gas plant for northwestern Wisconsin. The plans have been approved by state regulators, but opponents say there are still several ways the facility could harm residents, including their pocketbooks.

Dairyland Power Cooperative and Minnesota Power want to construct the $700 million plant in Superior.

Groups such as the Sierra Club say recent studies, including one from the Rocky Mountain Institute, have shown natural-gas facilities are more of a cost burden as opposed to clean-energy projects.

Jadine Sonoda, campaign coordinator for the group's Wisconsin chapter, said the effort would be a waste of resources.

"This plant would be a stranded asset, meaning it's uneconomic to operate, by the early 2030s," Sonoda asserted.

As clean-energy costs trend lower, Sonoda pointed out how researchers found options such as wind and solar would save utility customers more money. Opponents argued there are broader environmental concerns for all of Wisconsin, including methane emissions.

The Sierra Club is part of a lawsuit seeking to overturn permits approved by the state. The utilities contended the plant could serve as a bridge fuel as they transition from coal plants to clean-energy sources.

Mark Dyson, senior principal with the Carbon-Free Electricity Practice at Rocky Mountain Institute, said his 2019 study found 90% of 88 proposed gas plants in the U.S., including the Superior facility, would not be economically feasible.

"The costs that a utility would incur to build and run a gas plant generally exceed the cost that the same utility would incur to build and operate a portfolio of clean-energy sources," Dyson reported.

Dyson added he is in the process of updating the analysis, which is expected to show the 2019 findings still hold true.

The Nemadji Trail Energy Center recently cleared a legal hurdle on the Minnesota side, but Dyson said the public should look no further in finding examples of a project losing steam. He pointed to Minnesota's Xcel Energy downsizing plans for a proposed gas plant earlier this year, amid public pressure.

"In part, it's due to the continued cost declines of renewables," Dyson stated.

Aside from the legal challenge, Wisconsin groups opposed to the project hope concerned residents appeal to Dairyland Power in hopes of a similar outcome.

Disclosure: Sierra Club - Wisconsin Chapter contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Environment, Environmental Justice, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Health care advocates predict that cuts to Medi-Cal will lead to hospital closures and cuts in service at local health clinics. (Fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Groups that fight for greater access to health care are criticizing the Republican budget blueprint currently before the U.S. House of …


Social Issues

play sound

A new bill in Sacramento would dramatically raise K-12 school funding targets by 50% over ten years. Assembly Bill 477 is intended to help districts …

Environment

play sound

A new study shows how extreme weather conditions negatively affect production yields on Midwest dairy farms, with a disproportionate impact on …


Rural libraries often serve populations with limited access to transportation and lower incomes, making library services an essential lifeline for these communities. (Rawpixel.com/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Plans to slash funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services have drawn swift opposition from library and union leaders, as cuts threaten …

Social Issues

play sound

Public hearings continue tonight and tomorrow for the proposed sale of Minnesota's second largest utility. The deal is drawing a lot of attention…

Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 'Department of Education v. California,' the future of federal Fair Housing grants now sits with a Massachusetts district court. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Since February, 66 fair-housing groups across the country have been in limbo while their federal grants were cut, temporarily restored, then tied in …

play sound

Colorado educators are hoping that a successful accelerated degree program known as ASAP, grown at City University of New York, will take root in two …

Environment

play sound

Wildlife advocates are alarmed by a new report from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife showing the state's wolf population fell nearly 10%…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021