Wisconsin legislators are questioning the cost effectiveness of beginning to phase out coal and introduce a biomass boiler this year at the Charter Street Heating Plant, which has been powering the University of Wisconsin campus for 50 years.

After a 2008 lawsuit filed and won by the Sierra Club demanding an upgrade on the plant’s air emission permit, Gov. Jim Doyle decided to renovate the entire plant instead of simply replacing the scrubbers that reduce air emission.

Doyle announced a biomass boiler, which burns wood and agricultural waste products instead of coal, would be installed by 2012 and a complete transformation of the campus’s energy source would be completed by winter 2013.

By investing more money to produce a cleaner and safer environment, UW will become the first major research university in the country to eliminate completely the use of coal for energy, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Alan Fish said.

While no Wisconsin legislators oppose the environmental aims of the project itself, some question the extraordinary costs of the chosen form of alternative energy.

“No one is talking about not addressing the issue, yet it must be done in the most cost-effective manner,” Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon said.

He added there are multiple alternative options, such as natural gas, which would still benefit the environment but would also reduce the amount of money spent by the state.

“If an investor, such as We Energies, owned the utility and desired to perform such a renovation, it would have to go through a process to discover the least cost alternative,” Montgomery said. “This process is being overruled because the government wants to make a political and ecological statement.”

Fish disagreed, adding that looking at the situation solely through a monetary lens is artificial.

While the state would save money by converting to natural gas instead of renewable fuels based on current global prices, officials must make decisions which will produce environmental benefits for the local and global community in the long run, Fish said.

Natural gas generates 60 percent carbon, while renewable fuels release no carbon into the air. He added natural gas prices also fluctuate and since the new plant will be used for the next 50 years, it needs to produce energy with a source whose price and availability is constantly reliable.

“Biomass fuels are completely dependable since they are grown in Wisconsin and are completely carbon neutral,” Fish said. “As the entire world aims to reduce its carbon use, they are becoming the dominant fuel of the future.”

The renovation of the plant could kick-start the renewable fuel industry throughout the state and could demonstrate how renewable fuels could be employed on a large scale, Fish said.

Fish added if other enterprises adopt renewable fuels for their sources of energy, the long-term benefits for the global climate will be immense.