Edgewater Generating Station

Edgewater Generating Station is a 380 megawatt (MW) coal power plant located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It provides electricity for customers in the northeastern part of Alliant Energy's Wisconsin Power & Light service area and service to several local municipal utilities. In 2009, it was the seventh largest generating station in Wisconsin, with a net summer capacity of 767 MW.[1]

Edgewater Generating Station
Country	United States
Location	Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°42′56″N 87°42′23″W
Status	Operational
Commission date	Unit 1: 1931 Unit 2: 1941 Unit 3: 1951 Unit 4: 1969 Unit 5: 1985
Decommission date	Unit 3: 2015 Unit 4: 2018
Owner(s)	Alliant Energy (majority) WEC Energy Group (minority)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Turbine technology	Steam turbine
Cooling source	Lake Michigan
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	380 MW
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

Units

Unit	Capacity (MW)	Commissioning[2]	Notes
1	30	1931	Retired[3]
2	30	1941	Retired[3]
3	60 (nameplate) 70.8 (summer) 71.7 (winter) [3]	1951 [3]	Retired[4] Cyclone Boiler 844 million British thermal units per hour (247 MW)
4	330 (nameplate) 320.4 (summer) 320.7 (winter) [3]	1969 [3]	Retired[5] Cyclone Boiler 3,529 million British thermal units per hour (1,034 MW)
5	380 (nameplate) 413.6 (summer) 414.3 (winter) [3]	1985 [3]	Pulverized Dry Bottom Boiler 4,366 million British thermal units per hour (1,280 MW)

2016 construction

In 1952 one of the units was upgraded with a Babcock & Wilcox cyclone boiler. At the time, the facility was using a 50/50 mix of Illinois and West Virginia coal. The West Virginia coal was shipped via lake freighter from Lorain, Ohio.[6]

At present, coal is delivered to the plant entirely by railroad, originating primarily from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, via a Union Pacific spur line that was originally the main line of the Milwaukee Northern interurban railway.

Unit 3 and 4 share the same chimney.

Unit 3 turbine and generator were manufactured by Allis-Chalmers. Unit 4 was manufactured by General Electric, with an Alterrex excitation system. Unit 5 was also manufactured by General Electric, with a Generrex excitation system.

Retirement and decommissioning

Unit 3 was retired at the end of 2015 due to its age and efficiency.[4] Unit 4 was retired in 2018 as Alliant Energy worked to reduce 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Unit 4's electricity generation would be replaced by Riverside Energy Center in the Town of Beloit, which uses natural gas.[5]

On May 22, 2020, Alliant Energy announced that the plant would be decommissioned by the end of 2022, and the property would be redeveloped for another use; Unit 5's generating capacity has also been replaced by a further expansion of Riverside.[7]

See also

• Alliant Energy
• List of power stations in Wisconsin

References

1. "Wisconsin - Ten Largest Plants by Generating Capacity, 2009" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
2. "Water Supply Aids Power Operations". Sheboygan Press, The. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. October 29, 1957. p. 47.
3. "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2008" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
4. Bock, Phillip (June 22, 2016). "New tech means cleaner air from power plant". Sheboygan Press Media. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
5. "Utility closes coal plant amid transition to natural gas". Associated Press. The Daily Reporter. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
6. "Generating Unit Consumes 27 Tons Of Coal An Hour". Sheboygan Press, The. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. April 29, 1952. p. 39.
7. Hubbuch, Chris (21 May 2020). "Alliant to shutter Sheboygan coal plant; early closure expected to benefit ratepayers, environment". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2020.