Despite ongoing construction of the new cogenerational power plant on the west side of campus, the controversy surrounding it continued Tuesday night at a forum organized by four environmental groups.
Friends of Responsible Energy, Madison Physicians for Social Responsibility, Green Progressive Alliance and Four Lakes Green Party voiced opposition to the new plant, particularly the partnership between UW-Madison and Madison Gas and Electric in its construction.
While UW-Madison Chancellor Wiley has pointed to backup electricity as a major reason for the partnership, the panel claimed this was not valid.
\Chancellor Wiley will get less backup electricity from his preferred plans then the smaller campus plant,"" said Chamond Liu, of Friends of Responsible Energy.
Speakers expressed skepticism for the partnership with MG&E resulting in a large, 100-mega-watt plant, to be shared with the city. They agreed the best thing for UW-Madison would be its own, smaller power plant.
But Wiley said a smaller plant would have to constantly run at full capacity to provide the campus with energy, while a larger plant would be able to run at less than full capacity, thereby maximizing efficiency.
""They're lying,"" Wiley said in response to environmental groups claiming a bigger plant means more pollution.
However, a plant under the sole control of UW-Madison would be more efficient because it would not take into account city needs, Liu said.
Additionally, FORE cited UW System President Katharine Lyall's role as director of Alliant Energy, which manages construction of the MG&E plant, as a potential conflict of interest.
Jeff Schimpff of the Regent Neighborhood Association spoke about the pre-existing levels of fine particulates in Madison air that have been linked to respiratory problems and even childhood leukemia. According to Schimpff, the new plant would raise the levels of these fine particulates in the air.
Schimpff contended the university should have used its intellectual resources to develop ""forward thinking alternatives,"" to the current plan.
On another front, FORE is currently raising money to file a lawsuit against MG&E to install more effective, yet more costly filters.
Liu said considering the fact that UW-Madison gave MG&E a great site and access to water and its own power lines that ""the university should be getting a better deal, not a worse one.\
