Columbia Energy Center

Columbia Energy Center is a base load, sub-bituminous coal-fired, electrical power station located south of Portage in the Town of Pacific, Columbia County, Wisconsin. Ownership is 46.2% Wisconsin Power and Light Company (Alliant Energy), 31.8% Wisconsin Public Service (Integrys Energy Group), and 22% Madison Gas and Electric (MGE). History Columbia Energy Center was built in the early 1970s. Unit 1 went online in 1975 and Unit 2 went online in 1978, with nameplate capacities of 512 MW and 511 MW, respectively. In 2009, faced with environmental regulations regarding future operations, the owners of Columbia Energy Center invested in upgrades to the plant. The owners submitted an Electric Generation Expansion Analysis System (EGEAS) summary report to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin on April 2, 2009. The report presented the results of a planning and scenarios analysis to support Wisconsin Power and Light, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, and MGE's joint application for a Certificate of Authority (CA) for the installation of emission controls at the facility. Although not required by law, the Commission held a hearing on the matter of the upgrade after several parties, including the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Clean Wisconsin (Clean WI), and the Sierra Club, filed a joint request to intervene. Columbia's owners were granted a Certificate authorizing the installation of air emissions reductions systems and associated equipment on March 11, 2011, at an estimate cost of $627 million. Construction began on April 16, 2012, and was completed in December 2014 at a total cost of $589 million. On February 2, 2021, Alliant Energy, the majority owner and operator of the Columbia Energy Center announced the plant will shut down by 2025. On June 23, 2022, Alliant announced that CEC's decommissioning date would be delayed until mid-2026, due to the ongoing supply chain issues and to hedge against an energy shortage in upcoming years, with CEC mainly being in service during peak periods. MGE then pushed back the retirement date of both units to June 2026. In December 2024 the date was further pushed back to 2029, to allow for conversion to natural gas. Future plans After receiving a $30 million federal grant, Alliant Energy announced it would build a 20MW / 200MWh storage system on the site, similar to a prototype in Italy. The storage system is a novel closed-system carbon dioxide technology that converts the gas to liquid and back again at 75% efficiency, depending on demand. An application to construct, own, and operate the system was filed on August 7, 2024 with the Wisconsin PSC. Peregrine falcons An active peregrine falcon nest has been located on the stack of Unit 1 since 2006. The nest has produced over 60 peregrine falcon young in that time (3.3/yr). Public health As of 2026, it is estimated that the plant causes 31 deaths per year due to soot and smog pollution. Electricity generation In 2023, Columbia Energy Center generated 4,211 GWh, approximately 6.6% of the total electric power generated in Wisconsin (63,216 GWh) for that year. The plant had a 2023 annual capacity factor of 46.99%. See also List of power stations in Wisconsin Landfill solar References External links Scorecard Environmental Release Report: COLUMBIA ENERGY CENTER