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Environmental Sustainability Team Page

The LWV of Beloit Sustainability Committee encourages you to submit a public comment to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) in response to the proposed expansion of the Riverside Energy Center on the border the city of Beloit and the Beloit township.

 

Submit Public Comment to PSC Docket HERE

Deadline: Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

 

Comments should be BRIEF and PERSONAL: Two or three  sentences will do. Why do you care about the potential negative impact of Center Expansion? See examples of comments already submitted here.

 

The PSC’s comment instructions are:

  • ●A comment may consist of the writer’s personal knowledge or personal opinions only. A reference document, newspaper article, professional journal article, white paper, study or any other prepared material not written by the person commenting is not considered a public comment, but may be referenced in a person’s comment.

 

NOTE: You will be commenting as a private citizen and NOT on behalf of the LWV.

 

Talking points appear below (Why this is problematic). Please feel free to adapt one or more below or create your own point.

 

What is proposed: Adding 17.5 megawatts of methane case emergy production capacity.

Riverside Enhancement Project (REP):  WPL (Alliant Energy)

Proposal for 17.5 MW Methane Gas Plant (7 RICE Units) in Beloit, WI

Docket ID: 6680-CE-187

Talking Points: Why the Proposed Expansion is Problematic

 

  1. The vast majority of customers using the Center’s energy live elsewhere, while Beloit and other Rock County communities suffer the detrimental health consequences. The center already has the capacity to provide energy to 550,000 households. As Beloit has fewer than 14,000 households, the vast majority of beneficiaries live elsewhere. As a result, air quality is improving in municipalities beyond Beloit served by the Riverside Energy Center (Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay to name three) while Beloit’s air quality has deteriorated significantly since plant expansion in 2010.
  2. Enough is enough. CO2 emissions in 2010 from the Riverside Energy Center were roughly 250,000 metric tons. In 2022, according to date reported by the Center to the EPA, were 2,867,897 metric tons. Energy production and associated emissions have only increased since 2002. AND an independent study by IQAir named Beloit’s air quality to be the worst among U.S. regional cities for which date were available.
  3. Insufficient transparency of the health impacts of gas-powered energy. The public is not aware, because the pollution is neither seen nor smelled. Neither Alliant nor the DNR are transparent in reporting the negative health impacts of the Center’s gas-powered energy production.
  4. Gas-powered energy is highly correlated with negative health outcomes.  It is linked to higher rates of autism, asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart attacks, strokes, and premature health, as well as poor learning outcomes due to their highly negative impacts on children. All of these are present in Beloit and Rock County..
  5. Particulate matter emissions from the plant are documented. Source PM2.5 PurpleAir monitors made available to Beloit residents by the DNR on the recommendation of the EPA have recorded highly concerning PM2.5 levels.  Further, where C02 emission levels serve as a proxy for the presence of other air pollutants, including PM2.
  6. Gas is a more expensive source of clean energy than solar. Why is the Alliant Riverside Energy Center seeking to increase energy production through gas when solar (and it is expanding its solar farms) could provide non-polluting energy?
  7. Gas is not clean energy. Indeed, it is dirtier than coal, as the methane from natural gas has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over 20 years.
  8. Expansion of the gas production at the plant will exacerbate environmental injustice. Beloit’s poverty rate in 2023 was 16.8%. Wisconsin’s was 10.7%. Why add more punishment to an economically disadvantaged community?
  9. Cost burden for customers. The project has an estimated cost of $52.78 million Customers will have to pay a lot for a polluting project that doesn’t produce a lot of electricity.

 

Your voice matters!

Focus on one or more talking points (or your own) to submit a comment. Make it your own, keep it short. Be timely: The comment period ends on Wednesday, February 12.

 

Submit Your Comment HERE

 

Further information:

See the “Comments of Community Intervenors” document HERE.

Report from Healthy Climate Wisconsin regarding Public Health Impacts of Proposed Gas Plants in Wisconsin.

PowerPoint Presentation

The Air We Breathe


Join local community scientists in person or online as we take a closer look at the impacts of air and environmental pollution and the cost to our community and health. 

The Healthy Climate WI, LWV-Beloit—Sustainability Committee, and Nature at the Confluence invite you to attend:

Speakers: Brittany Keyes, Pablo Toral



PFAS: The Everyday, Everywhere Toxin 


News about PFAS is infiltrating our lives and – appropriately for "forever chemicals" – isn't going away. Contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, has been found in sites all over Wisconsin, stemming from any number of the many ways these substances are used.  

To arm yourself for the fight to clean our waters and protect the health of Wisconsinites, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin invites you to join us in the first of two virtual webinars that delve into how PFAS get into our bodies, how to protect ourselves, and what is happening at the state and federal level to mitigate this issue.

Speakers:
  • Dr. Beth Neary, Co-President of Wisconsin Environmental Health Network
  • Meleesa Johnson, Executive Director of Wisconsin’s Green Fire
Watch Now

30 YEARS OF RECYCLING IN WISCONSIN: SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LOOKING AHEAD30 Years of Recycling in Wisconsin: Successes, Challenges and Looking Ahead
Event graphic

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 -7:00pm to8:30pm


Watch below!


On Wednesday, June 21, 2023 the LWVWI offered the Webinar, 30 Years of Recycling in Wisconsin: Successes, Challenges and Looking Ahead. Presenters were Jennifer Semrau (Waste Reduction & Diversion Coordinator, Waste & Materials Management Program, WDNR), Lynn Morgan (Public Affairs Manager, WM) and Meleesa Johnson (Retired Director, Marathon County Solid Waste Management Program). 


They provided great information about what is in the current waste stream, which is the term to describe the end of the life cycle of products we buy, use and discard. They also covered what we are recycling—cardboard, other paper, steel, aluminum, glass and plastic containers #1 through 7. 


Some takeaways: 

  •  

    • 19% of landfilled materials (valued at $87 million) could have been recycled. 

  •  

    • Food waste is the largest component in the waste stream. About 6 to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to food waste. 

  •  

    • Recyclable material needs to be redefined as solid waste recovered from the waste stream that can be processed into the production of new products.

Johnson and Morgan advocated for moving from weight-based recycling goals to goals that consider environmental and economic impacts.


Weight-based goals emphasize quantity over quality. This contributes to increased contamination, which is about 18% of incoming material. Unrecyclable materials are expensive for processors to remove and ultimately, must be landfilled. Transporting unrecyclable materials to landfill, adds transport fuel, greenhouse gas emissions and costs for haulers and processors. 


In measuring recycling goals, environmental benefits, such as reducing greenhouse gas, should be our priority.  Markets are looking for clean recycling materials. ‘Wishful’ recycling by consumers undercuts the stability of recycling in Wisconsin. Because avoided waste doesn’t count toward goals, weight-based goals undercut waste reduction strategies.

Speakers Include:

Lynn Morgan Headshot

LYNN MORGAN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER, WM
JENNIFER SEMRAU headshot

JENNIFER SEMRAU, WASTE REDUCTION & DIVERSION COORDINATOR, WASTE & MATERIALS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, WDNR, OSHKOSH SERVICE CENTER
MELEESA JOHNSON headshot

MELEESA JOHNSON, RECENTLY RETIRED DIRECTOR, MARATHON COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM


Watch 30 YEARS OF RECYCLING IN WISCONSIN: SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LOOKING AHEAD

Links Mentioned in Program:


WI Recycling and Solid Waste Studies:https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Recycling/studies.html


WI DNR information on recycling:https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Recycling/ 


Recycle More Wisconsin-A program of Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin:https://www.recyclemorewisconsin.org/

Go to Let's Talk About Climate Change Series