WPSC Requests Emission Control Upgrades at Two Power Plants

Wisconsin Public Service, a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group (NYSE: TEG), filed a request with state regulators seeking to upgrade emissions control equipment at six coal-fired electric generating units in Green Bay and Wausau. If approved, modifications will be made to the boilers that will reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 40 percent.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is an emission that results from burning fuel at high temperatures in the combustion process. NOx contributes to atmospheric ozone levels and fine particulates.

In Green Bay, units 5, 6, 7 and 8 at the company’s Pulliam Power Plant would receive the low-NOx boiler modifications. Pulliam units 1 and 2 were retired in 1982 and units 3 and 4 will be retired at the end of this year (2007).

In Wausau, units 1 and 2 at the company’s Weston Power Plant would also receive the boiler modifications. Weston Unit 3’s low-NOx equipment has already been approved by state regulators and will be installed and operational in the fall of 2008.

To capture NOx, a combustion modification will be made to each unit’s boiler, called “Separated Over-Fire Air.” Estimated costs for the installation of the new equipment along with the necessary structural modifications, additional instrumentation, and controls to operate and monitor the upgraded system is about $5.6 million for Weston 1 and 2, and $10.2 million for Pulliam Units 5 through 8.

“Our plants have been operating in compliance with current NOx regulations,” said Jay Van Campenhout, Project Director-Environmental Retrofits for Wisconsin Public Service. “The new NOx-reduction equipment would enable us to meet more-stringent emission standards that were passed into law by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA,” added Van Campenhout.

The installation of the new equipment would be completed during normally scheduled power plant maintenance overhauls. These maintenance outages are coordinated so that the reliability of the electric system is maintained and that there is an adequate supply of electricity for all customers.

If approved, all six projects would be completed by the end of 2009.