Weston Power Plant
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Weston Power Plant is an operating power station of at least 945-megawatts (MW) in Rothschild, Marathon, Wisconsin, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Weston Power Plant | Rothschild, Marathon, Wisconsin, United States | 44.857744, -89.650192 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 44.857744, -89.650192
- Unit 2, Unit 32: 44.8606, -89.6553
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | retired | coal - subbituminous | 60 | subcritical | – | 1954 | 2015 |
| Unit 2 | retired | coal - subbituminous | 81.6 | subcritical | – | 1960 | 2015 |
| Unit 2 | retired[1] | fossil gas - natural gas[2] | 82[1] | steam turbine[2] | – | 1960[2] | 2023[3] |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 350.5 | subcritical | – | 1981 | 2031 (planned) |
| Unit 32 | retired[1][4] | fossil gas - natural gas, fossil liquids - fuel oil[5] | 57[1] | gas turbine[2] | – | 1973[2] | 2023[4] |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 595 | supercritical | – | 2008 | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Wisconsin Public Service Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Wisconsin Public Service Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Wisconsin Public Service Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Wisconsin Public Service Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 32 | Wisconsin Public Service Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Dairyland Power Cooperative [30.0%], Wisconsin Public Service Corp [70.0%] |
Unit Retirements
Units 1 was retired in 2015.[6]
In October 2023, WEC Energy Group announced that Weston Unit 3 was scheduled to retire by the end of 2031.[7]
Coal-to-gas conversion
In October 2023, WEC Energy Group announced that they planned to use coal only as a backup fuel starting in 2030, and would exit coal entirely by the end of 2032. WEC Energy Group also announced a timeline for the retirement of its coal-fired units at the Weston Power Plant. Unit 3 will be retired in 2031, and Unit 4 will be converted to a gas plant.[8][9] A filing before the Public Commission of Wisconsin submitted in February 2024, cites WEC’s plans to convert the coal plants to burn gas. An 8K form filed in April 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirms that WEC plans to stop burning coal entirely by 2032.[10] As of June 2024, the company has not yet filed with the Public Service Commission for the Weston gas conversion.[10]
Natural Gas Units
Unit 2 of the plant is a 81.6 MW Natural Gas Unit. The plant also has a 19.6 MW Combustion Turbine (W-31) and a 56.7 MW peaker unit (W-32)[11]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 4,421,567 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 12,596 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 6,587 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 110 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Weston Power Plant
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[12] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[13]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Weston Power Plant
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 13 | $96,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 21 | $2,300,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 220 | $11,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 10 | $230,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 8 | $3,600,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 13 | $5,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20230918190319/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/may_generator2023.xlsx. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20200612191408/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/november_generator2019.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220712171434/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/xls/april_generator2022.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221028021258/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860/. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211122185052/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/july_generator2021.xlsx. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Form EIA-860 Data - Schedule 3, Generator Data, US EIA, 2014
- ↑ "2023 Third Quarter Earnings," WEC Energy Group, October 31, 2023
- ↑ "Wisconsin’s largest utility moves up plans to stop using coal as a fuel source," WPR, October 31, 2023
- ↑ "2023 Third Quarter Earnings," WEC Energy Group, October 31, 2023
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "WE Energies wants $2 billion from Wisconsin ratepayers for new gas plants while still paying off past coal ones". wisconsinwatch.org. May 17, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Weston Power Plant" wisconsinpublicservice.com, accessed October 25, 2020
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
