The University of Wisconsin will hold a public hearing March 13 to allow students and community members to voice concerns about the impact of a new power plant on its campus.
The Department of Administration, Madison Gas and Electric and the Department of Facility Development will attend the meeting to provide information on the three different proposed facilities.
UW Physical Plant Director John Harrod said after the information is presented, members of the community are allowed to speak their idea for three minutes each.
“The main point of the meeting is to hear what the issues are as perceived by the public so they can be taken into consideration as decisions are made,” Harrod said.
A new study on two of the three proposed plants was released to the public March 7. University officials planned the hearing for March 13 in order to give people time to review the study, Harrod said.
“We wanted to give as much time as possible for individuals to review and be informed when giving speeches,” Harrod said.
Ron Rosner, a representative from Friends of Responsible Energy of Madison, said his organization is concerned with the date of the meeting.
“Thursday’s public hearing is intended to shed light on this important project, but the timing of the meeting — the day before Spring Break — demonstrates a total disregard for the concerns of students and staff, who live and work close to the proposed facility,” Rosner said.
Rosner also said that the public was not allowed enough time to look over the reports.
“Although this report was released to MG&E for review by its engineers and accountants in early February, it was not released to the public till this past Friday,” Rosner said.
Although only one plant would be built, there are currently three different options to discuss at the hearing, according to UW officials. The first is a 150-megawatt cogenerations facility owned and operated by MG&E. The second is a 45-megawatt facility owned and operated jointly by the state of Wisconsin and the UW. The third option is a heating plant expansion with no energy generation capacity. Any facility built would be located at 600 Walnut Street.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said that deciding between the three options would not be easy.
“The decision on how to best meet the utility needs for the university is complex. We should be looking at which project is best for the UW, what is most environmentally sound and what is best for taxpayers,” Black said.
MG&E spokesman Bob Stoffs said a decision between the plants is not likely until summer.
Black questioned the presentation of previous studies done on MG&E’s proposed plant.
“Significant changes were made to the report based on MG&E comments while those on the other side of the issue did not have the chance to see the report, much less comment. We need to make sure that any decision made about UW utility needs is made in a transparent and fair manner,” Black said.
Public Service Commission spokeswoman Anne Marie Newman said a draft of an environmental study done by the PSC had been released and is open to public comment for the next 45 days. After that time, public suggestions will be added, and the final draft will be taken into consideration.
The hearing will be held in the Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13.
