Alliant Energy Will Shut Down Its Last Coal Plant In Wisconsin

Article originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Madison-based Alliant Energy announced February 2 [Tuesday] it’s shuttering its roughly 1,100-megawatt coal plant in Columbia County by the end of 2024. The facility is the utility’s last remaining coal plant in Wisconsin. The closure moves Alliant closer toward the company’s goal of eliminating coal from its power mix by 2040 and cutting carbon emissions 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The move is expected to save ratepayers more than $250 million that would be spent to keep the plant running, said David de Leon, president of Alliant’s utility in Wisconsin…

Alliant announced a $900 million plan in May to add 675 megawatts of solar across six counties as part of a goal to add 1,000 megawatts of solar power by the end of 2023, which would power about 260,000 homes. Wisconsin Power and Light, Alliant’s utility in Wisconsin, anticipated its Clean Energy Blueprint would save customers between $2 billion and $6.5 billion over the next 35 years.

…Shuttering the Columbia plant will also reduce the fossil fuel footprints of two other utilities: Wisconsin Public Service Corp. owns a 27.5% share of the plant, while Madison Gas and Electric owns 19%. In just over 12 months, Wisconsin utilities have announced plans to shutter four coal plants, putting Wisconsin utilities on track to retire more than half the state’s remaining 5,846 megawatts of coal-fired capacity over the next five years.