Dear Editor: Another outrageous decision by Wisconsin’s DNR was issued one month ago, on June 16, and it should not go unnoticed.
Rock County (Beloit) — ranked by an IQ Air survey in 2023 as having some of the worst air quality in the nation — just received permitting approval by the DNR to add 17 megawatts of power to the Riverside Energy Center — 17 megawatts of dirty, fossil-fuel power via reciprocal internal combustion engines (RICE), that is.
Alliant will tell you that ratepayers demand this, data centers need this, or that it is required for grid stability. But the reality of the situation is that renewable energy will make this project outdated before it is even completed. The cheapest method of generating power today is solar, and harnessing batteries to level out the intermittency of solar is proving to be a winning combination across the country. So why are utilities doubling down on fossil fuels?…