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Frequently Asked Questions
The following are the most frequently asked questions about the Weston 4 project:
Employment
- Are jobs available? How can I apply?
- Yes. General construction labor should apply through
the Northeast Wisconsin Building
and Construction Trades Council. 920-733-3136.
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- How many workers will be on site?
- Construction workforce varied from a few hundred
to about 1,250 at peak construction time. And when? The peak time for construction
workers was about two years into the four-year project, or in 2006 and 2007.
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- Where are these workers coming from?
- Everywhere. Every attempt was made to hire
locally. During peak construction time, about 40 to 50 percent of the construction
workforce was from outside the Wausau and Green Bay areas.
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- Are local contractors being used for this project?
- Yes. As much as possible. Over $25 million in local
goods and services (lumber, concrete, etc.) was purchased locally during
construction. That does not include the hospitality economic impact.
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- I am a local contractor. How can I bid on work?
- Click on the "VENDOR" section of this Web site.
Guidelines and contacts are listed.
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- Will there be enough skilled labor in this area?
- Yes, there was. A project labor agreement was
signed in November 2003 with an assurance of providing a reliable work force
for the project.
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Economics
- What does Rothschild, Kronenwetter and Marathon County
currently receive from shared revenue for hosting existing Weston Units 1,2 and 3?
- Local municipalities that host power plants receive
shared revnue payments from the state of Wisconsin. Because of the existing Weston
units, shared revenue payments for Marathon County in 2006 were $337,900. The Village
of Kronenwetter received $136,730 in 2006 and the Village of Rothschild received
$539,535 in 2006, according to the State Department of Revenue.
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- Expected payments when Weston 4 begins operating?
- Based on the current formula, the Village of
Kronenwetter would receive $883,880 annually and Rothschild would receive $382,787
annually above the current payments. Marathon County would receive $933,333 annually plus
the existing payments.
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- Impact on local businesses?
- Between 40 to 50 % of the construction workforce
came from outside the Wausau and Green Bay area. Temporary housing was needed. Service
and retail sectors in the project area benefited.
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- Were local contractors/suppliers used for this project?
- Yes. As much as possible. An estimated $20 to $30
million in local goods and services (lumber, concrete, etc.) were purchased
locally during construction.
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- Schedule for significant construction milestones?
- Groundbreaking: November 2004
Foundation Work: December 2004
Set turbine: December 2005
Begin boiler work: January 2006
Initial start-up: November 2007
Operational: June 2008
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- A power plant costing $752 million will have some impact
on rates? How much will my electric bill go up?
- Rates will increase but will do so gradually to avoid
rate shock all at one time. Rates due to the building of Weston 4 will account for 3 to
4% of the annual rate increases expected through 2009. The plant is expected to be built
and operating in 2008.
News Release
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Environment
- What will happen to air quality in this area?
- There will be additional emissions associated with
the operation of Weston 4. The air permit granted by regulators is very stringent and
plant operators must meet these regulations. When Weston 4 becomes operational, it will
provide opportunities for system operators to lessen our dependence on older power
plants.
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- Does Weston 4 address the mercury issue?
- Mercury is a complicated pollutant. Weston 4 is the
first power plant in the state to use advanced mercury-control technologies.
For more detailed information on mercury, visit
www.mercuryanswers.org.
On March 15, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency, E.P.A., finalized new mercury
emission standards for coal burning power plants. Weston 4's mercury limitations are
more restrictive than the new finalized mercury standards.
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- What other air emissions do we need to be concerned with?
- Weston 4, as all Weston Units, will be fueled with
low sulfur coal from Wyoming.
- Nitrous Oxide (NOx) - Weston 4 will use a Selective Catalytic Reduction Unit.
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - Weston 4 will use a scrubber.
- Particulates - Weston 4 will use a bag house.
Weston 3 has announced a $7.5 million construction project that would reduce
nitrogen oxide, or NOx, by 40 percent from existing levels, which already meet
current environmental requirements. NOx is an emission that results from burning
coal and contributes to atmospheric ozone levels and fine particulate levels.
Wisconsin Public Service Requests Emissions Control Upgrade at
Weston Unit 3 - News Release
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- Will you retire older coal fueled power plants?
- It is a possibility. We could also use them less.
Future utility planners, along with regulators, are determining what's best to meet
the future anticipated electric growth.
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- Impact on area wells?
- No additional wells will be needed for Weston 4. No impact on existing area wells
is expected.
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- Impact on Wisconsin River?
- Weston 4 will use the existing water intake structure.
There will be no noticeable change in water levels on the Wisconsin
River due to the operation of Weston 4.
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Future Electric Need
- Will you need additional power plants once W4 begins operating?
- Yes. Remember, we sold 30% of the plant to Dairyland
Power Cooperative, so we will be receiving about 350 megawatts of the
500 total. We will still need to be looking at future energy options.
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- Will there be large power lines associated with this
project?
- Yes. 500 megawatts is a large amount of electricity to
suddenly place on an electric system. In order to get it to where it
needs to go, larger transmission lines have been added. Transmission
line planners work with local communities to determine
the best routes for these power lines. This system is owned and
operated by the American Transmission Company, or ATC.
To learn more about the transmission line requirements associated with the Weston 4
project, visit the
ATC Web site.
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- WPSC conservation efforts?
- In the 1990's, we were heavily involved in direct
customer conservation efforts and achieved some pretty impressive
results. Since that time, a state- wide energy conservation effort
has been established, "Wisconsin Focus on Energy." This effort is funded by all electric utility customers
in Wisconsin. It's important to note that it is the customer's decision to
participate in conservation efforts. Money is collected from
electric customers for the Focus on Energy program that supports energy
efficiency, low income assistance and renewable energy initiatives in the
state of Wisconsin.
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- WPSC renewable energy efforts?
- We currently operate 16 wind turbines
and have installed 38 small solar-electric systems on high schools in
northeastern and central Wisconsin. More schools will be added each year.
This program is funded by voluntary contributions of over $70,000 annually
from more than 4,000 Public Service customers as well as grants from Focus
on Energy. We are also actively researching biomass, have established
landfill gas units, are mixing dried paper mill sludge with current fuel
sources and are using methane digesters on large farms. WPSC purchases
renewable energy from a number of renewable generation sources, including
landfills and other biomass-derived energy resources such as anaerobic
manure digesters generating power at farms as well as wood residue,
co-firing processes at customer pulping facilities within WPSC's service
territory.
WPSC has a contract to purchase 70 MW of wind-generated, renewable
energy from the Forward Energy Project located near Brownsville, Wisconsin.
The project's developer, Invenergy Wind, LLC, is currently pursuing licensing
and permitting for construction and operation of 200 MW of wind power at the
Forward Energy site.
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- What are your specific future energy plans?
- This is a work in progress. System planners
need to look at a lot of variables and keep the best interests of the customer,
the environment, consider national and state regulatory changes and the
ever-changing electric marketplace in mind when planning for our energy future.
A known fact is that additional generation will be needed to keep up with
increased customer demand. Certainly, the current limited transmission system is
also a concern as is the amount of potential conservation efforts when making
future energy plans. It's our goal to make sure we have enough power available
so when you throw the switch, the light goes on.
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General Questions
- Is there a need for both the power plant and the
Arrowhead to Weston transmission line?
- Yes. We also need conservation to meet the future
electric needs of Wisconsin. Transmission is needed for reliability of the entire
electric system in Wisconsin. The Arrowhead to Weston project will help to improve
system reliability in Wisconsin and also allow us to interconnect our system to the
west and increase our ability to import power. Generation from the new power plant
will give us an additional supply of home-grown electricity which will be needed as
our existing power plants are reaching the end of their expected life.
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- The electric load in northeastern Wisconsin is more than
in central Wisconsin. Why not build there?
- Eastern Wisconsin power plants (Pulliam-Green Bay,
Kewaunee Nuclear, Edgewater-Sheboygan) are sending some of their
output over the transmission system TO central Wisconsin. Electric
system managers will tell you the output of the new Weston 4 plant
would be a welcomed and much- needed addition to the electric system
in central Wisconsin.
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- Would the shared revenue paid to Kronenwetter, Rothschild
and Marathon counties decrease every year as the plant depreciates?
- Since a change in legislation (2003 Wisconsin Act
31), the shared revenue payments made to the local municipalities will stay the same as
the year the plant becomes operational and will not be based on the depreciated value of
the power plant and equipment. This change in legislation was strongly supported by
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.
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- Is there an excess of generation in Wisconsin?
- There is an extensive effort being coordinated by the
state regulators to make sure Wisconsin has just the right amount of
power plants and transmission lines for the future. There have been
a lot of power plants announced by independent power producers, but
because of future economic uncertainty, some of these plants have
been put on hold and may never be built.
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- What is the Wisconsin Public Service electric reserve margin?
- 18 percent. We are required to maintain a minimum of
an 18 percent reserve margin on our electric system during the high energy months
of June, July and August. This is for safety and reliability purposes, in
case there is trouble on the system and a large power plant unexpectedly
shuts down. With an adequate reserve margin, the system is then able to
recover, maintain stability and customers should see a sufficient supply
of electricity.
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- Noise concern?
- The plant has been designed and will operate to
control noise. The major equipment of the project will be enclosed within buildings
and sound attenuation features are included in our designs.
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- Light concern at night?
- The plant intends to operate around the clock. So at
night, we want to make sure our entire facility and grounds are
appropriately lit for safety and security reasons.
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- What would the impact be on area wells and ground water if the plant is built?
- There should be no impact on surrounding area wells.
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- Because you will need more coal, will there be more
traffic delays from additional coal train deliveries?
- This was a concern that was expressed by local
residents early on. We addressed it
by including a loop track
in the plant's design. This allows us to transport all the railcars off of the main
track and onto the loop track that circles the Weston Plant property. This eliminates
having to break the long line of cars on the main track and then bring them onto the
plant site as we currently do.
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- How large will your coal pile be for Weston 4?
- It will need to be twice the size of the current pile.
We have sufficient space to handle a larger pile. We need to have a
reserve amount of coal available to continue operating the plant in
the event coal shipments are disrupted. We currently have enough
coal to operate the existing Weston plants for about one month.
This one month reserve will be maintained even after Weston 4 becomes
operational.
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- Where will be the location of your new stack?
- East of the existing Weston 3 stack. It will also be comparable in size.
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- Will your sediment basin need to be larger?
- No. The existing one we have will be sufficient.
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- How much transmission is lost between Wausau and Green Bay?
- About 2.5 to 5 percent dissipates because of the electrons flowing over the long
distance of about 100 miles from Wausau to Green Bay.
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- I heard you are purchasing homes near the Weston property?
- We actually do not need any additional property for
the Weston 4 power plant. However, if a neighbor adjacent to the
property contacts us about the sale of their property we will talk with them.
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