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The Oak Creek and Paris gas plants would result in $3.6 billion-5.7 billion in health costs and hundreds of premature deaths over their operating lifetime.
A new report released by Healthy Climate Wisconsin and the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that the construction of two new fossil gas power plants would have substantial negative health consequences for Wisconsin and surrounding communities.
High Health Costs
Gas power plants, in addition to emitting greenhouse gases, pollute the air with nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. These pollutants are harmful to health and worsen conditions like heart disease and asthma while increasing the risk of premature death. These negative health outcomes hurt quality of life, create burdensome costs, and impact the economy.
Researchers at PSE Healthy Energy found that health impacts associated with the proposed Oak Creek gas plant would total $92.8 million to $144.8 million annually, while the health costs from the Paris gas plant would be $25.4 million to $46.7 million annually. These figures only summarize the costs observed over a single year. The utility has stated in its applications that the proposed gas plants could be operational at least 30 years – increasing costs and loss of life.
The impacts listed are based on conservative estimates, which do not capture all the pathways through which these pollutants affect health. For example, research has found associations between preterm birth and a mother’s exposure to air pollution, but this adverse health outcome and its economic impact are not included. Additionally, these model does not capture the impacts climate pollutants, ozone, or volatile organic compounds, many of which EPA has identified as hazardous- such as benzene, a known carcinogen.
“Methane gas is linked to numerous health issues such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Air pollution from these sources can affect almost every organ system and is associated with low birth weight, miscarriages, and increased infant mortality,” said Annie Carrell, NP, a Nurse Practitioner in Milwaukee.
These harms will be felt beyond Southeast Wisconsin and will be seen throughout the region, the maps below show the extent of health costs for just one pollutant, PM2.5.
Polluting Facilities in Wisconsin Ozone Nonattainment Areas Classified as Serious
On January 16, the EPA reclassified the ozone non-attainment status of several Wisconsin counties to ‘serious.’ That means Milwaukee and Sheboygan counties failed to meet 2015 federal standards for ozone designed to protect human health and welfare.
Notably, two of the areas in violation of ozone safeguards are home to proposed gas projects. Seven reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) totaling 128 megawatts (MW) would be located in Paris, Kenosha County. The other, consisting of five combustion turbine generators totaling 1,100 MW, would be located in Oak Creek, Milwaukee County. That’s concerning because ozone is controlled by reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides, both of which would be emitted in large quantities.
Although the Oak Creek plant would release more pollutants, the DNR and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) released a full environmental impact statement for Paris but not Oak Creek because a retiring coal-fired power plant exists at the Oak Creek site. That distinction is important because major sources are required by law to offset their emissions in ozone non-attainment areas. Over 20 organizations criticized this decision and requested a full environmental impact statement be conducted in a letter to the PSCW on Monday, January 13, 2025.
“When the air quality gets worse, my patients end up hospitalized. There is no safe number of kids having asthma attacks. The community around the Oak Creek plant has suffered for decades from the health impacts of coal. We shouldn’t be replacing that with another polluting gas facility,” said Victoria Gillet, MD, Internal Medicine Physician in Milwaukee.
Both sites have ozone and small particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations above the state’s average, signaling that these local communities are already facing heavy environmental health risks. The Oak Creek area also has a high concentration of toxic air releases – 60% higher than the state average and around three times the national average.
Testimony Delivered at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) Today
The PSCW is currently reviewing the gas plant proposals by Wisconsin Electric Power Company, or We Energies, and received written testimony from intervening parties in the case today. Healthy Climate Wisconsin is one of the organizations legally intervening in this case.
While We Energies claims that the new gas plants are a necessary step to meet the energy demand of new intensive users, such as a Microsoft data center or for "when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine"- many scientists and Wisconsinites disagree. Data submitted in both gas cases demonstrate renewable energy can meet their electricity needs reliably and affordably. We Energies energy mix to date shows that they continue to prioritize fossil fuels, with less than 3% clean energy in 2023.
Construction for these two gas plants would cost around $2 billion—a cost passed down to We Energies customers through their electric bills. That is especially burdensome considering the risk that these plants may become stranded assets. We Energies, the most profitable utility in Wisconsin, is still collecting profit from millions in retrofits to the Oak Creek Coal Plant which became a stranded asset and left customers on the hook for rising electricity rates. Add that to the health and economic impact costs outlined above, plus the growing cost of climate change damages, and it’s clear these fossil fuel investments are at the expense of our health and future as well as our pocketbooks.
The PSCW is currently taking public comments for the Paris gas plant case now through February 17th and is holding public hearings on February 5th. A public hearing for the Oak Creek gas plant is scheduled for March 25th. A written public comment on Oak Creek has not yet been opened, but is expected soon.