We Energies seeking permission to build $370M gas plants

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We Energies is seeking permission to build two liquefied-natural-gas plants for $370 million in southeastern Wisconsin.

The utility filed an application with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission on Friday to gain permission to build the plants in Ixonia and Bluff Creek, near Whitewater.

The plants would liquefy natural gas from existing pipelines and store it for use later. Brendan Conway, a spokesman for We Energies, said that’s a cheaper and more environmental method than building additional pipelines.

Conway said the utility saw a clear need for the plants last winter when a polar vortex bore down on the state. When extreme cold strikes, the supply of natural gas is often strained.

“We had a hard time getting gas into the region,” Conway said. “We had this weird situation where it was so cold that wind farms in the upper Midwest could not run. All of a sudden you’re down hundreds or thousands of megawatts.”

The utility hasn’t yet picked an exact location for the two natural gas plants, Conway said, but aims to acquire land in the Ixonia and Bluff Creek areas near existing pipelines. If the Public Service Commission approved the project on its typical timeline, construction on the projcts could begin in late 2020. We Energies hopes to have the plants running by late 2023.

In its permit application, We Energies asks the Public Service Commission to sign off on the project no later than Oct. 1. That would provide time to obtain needed DNR permits and approvals, engineering, materials procurement.

At times of extreme cold, liquefied-natural-gas plants have several advantages over outside sources of gas, Conway said. Such plants can provide about 10 days of service during winter and can serve as a backup energy source in other seasons. Follow @natebeck9