As a community energy company, Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) has a responsibility to plan and provide a reliable, affordable energy supply that balances the needs and values of our customers. Our Energy 2015 plan represents the next steps we are taking to ensure a dependable and environmentally responsible energy supply for tomorrow.

Specific initiatives

Discontinue burning coal at Blount Generating Station. Blount can operate on coal and natural gas. In 2010, MGE is switching to natural gas as the primary fuel source, with coal as the secondary fuel. Our Energy 2015 Plan calls for discontinuing the use of coal by the end of 2011.

Secure replacement energy. MGE has invested in new, cleaner coal facilities to help replace Blount's coal-fired electricity. The company has a 100-megawatt (MW) interest in the coal-fired Oak Creek Power Plant expansion on Lake Michigan. The plant's new units will be coming online in 2010 to serve MGE customers.

Add renewable resources. MGE increased its wind capacity by more than 12 times—from 11 to 137 MW in 2008. MGE's wind resources include:

• MGE's 11-MW wind farm in Kewaunee County, Wis., built in 1999.
• MGE's 30-MW wind farm in north-central Iowa that came online in 2008.
• 96 MW of purchased wind power from:
  • An adjacent wind development in Iowa (30 MW).
  • The Endeavor II Wind Energy Center in northwest Iowa (50 MW).
  • The Forward Energy Center in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties in Wisconsin (16 MW).

Increase energy efficiency and conservation. Energy 2015 relies on a greater customer commitment to conservation to reduce the growth rate of electric demand. Power Tomorrow, MGE's energy efficiency program, helps achieve that goal with:

• An educational customer mailing.
• MGE completed the first phase of Power Tomorrow residential workshops, where participants learned about saving energy.
• We are conducting our next phase of workshops, which are for customers in our natural gas-only service area.

Offer innovative pricing options. Our Green Power Tomorrow program offers electric customers renewable energy to buy.

• Customers who voluntarily participate pay a premium of 1.25¢ per kilowatt-hour.
• MGE has the second highest residential green pricing participation rate of any investor-owned utility in the country.
• About 10% of our residential customers buying clean energy from Green Power Tomorrow.
• MGE also introduced a pilot solar buyback program to encourage customers to install photovoltaic systems on their homes or businesses. Customers who install qualifying systems can sell their solar energy to MGE for $0.25 per kilowatt-hour.

Demonstrate new technologies. MGE continues to demonstrate and test new technologies for producing energy:

• MGE is installing a public network of electric vehicle charging stations in its service area. The interconnected system is the first of its kind in the United States. MGE’s first charging stations will help us learn about our customers’ usage patterns and demands as auto manufacturers begin to introduce plug-in electric vehicles.
• Checking the feasibility of using an urban wind turbine to provide renewable energy. MGE's 10-kilowatt turbine, located in a Fitchburg park, is one of only a few urban turbines in the nation.
• Learning which solar technologies are most effective. We track energy production from more than a dozen solar photovoltaic demonstrations in our service area.

Reducing emissions
Under Energy 2015, we are making improvements that are expected to result in an 8% reduction in overall carbon dioxide emission rates between 2005 and 2015. For details, see the MGE Environmental Responsibility Report.

For more information
Energy 2015 Overview [PDF - 174 KB]
Power Tomorrow Booklet [PDF - 1.5 MB]