MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The controversy continues over more natural gas plants possibly being built across southeast Wisconsin.
We Energies is proposing one in Kenosha County and another in Oak Creek. We Energies Vice President of Infrastructure and Planning, Dan Krueger, said new plants are needed to keep up with climate change and energy usage.
TMJ4 News got an exclusive tour of the Valley Power Plant which is in downtown Milwaukee.
It's a natural gas plant that was converted from a coal plant. The same type of plant being proposed in Kenosha County and Oak Creek.
"We're not building methane plants; we're building plants that are powered by clean, burning natural gas. These new limited-duty, very clean natural gas plants will run 10 to 20 percent of the time. They just step in when the renewables can't provide enough power or there's a demand spike," Krueger explained.
Krueger said their data shows during peak temperatures, like 100 degree days in August where energy usage is at its highest, natural gas is critical.
Despite WE Energies' reasonings, some people say natural gas isn't the solution.
"Air pollution doesn't respect city boundaries. We will anticipate there will be increased pollution out here," Dr. Victoria Gillet said.
Gillet is a primary care physician in Milwaukee.
She said renewable energy solutions like solar panels and wind turbines are a better option for the environment and for people's overall health.
"Battery back up, transitioning the coal plant to something renewable, really investing in energy efficiency for the city of Milwaukee," are better solutions, according to Gillet.
On the other hand, for construction workers like Thomas Moore, renewable energy won't work.
"There's not enough room. Say people want solar, think of every rooftop gotta have a solar," Moore said.
Moore is the business agent for Operating Engineers Union. He manages construction teams across southeast Wisconsin.
"Most big buildings take natural gas and steam, like everything downtown was pretty much steam and natural gas. The more stuff that they build, especially in southeatern Wisconsin, you gotta have the power to maintain it, especially if people want to bring jobs here," Moore explained.
Activists are continuing to protest public service commission meetings, opposed of the natural gas plants, pushing for new renewable builds instead.
Renewable builds are part of We Energies' portfolio, but Krueger said they're just not as reliable.
"It's not practical because we can't count on the weather to serve our customers," Krueger said.
The next public service commission meeting is next Tuesday.
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