BRILLION (NBC 26) — Neighbors of Northern Calumet County came together to ask Invenergy, a private energy company, questions about the company's proposed 1.9 gigawatt natural gas facility.
- An area east of Highway 57 in the Town of Brillion could soon be home to one of Wisconsin's largest natural gas plants.
- Invenergy says the facility will address growing energy needs, bring an economic boom to the area and will be regulated against negative environmental impacts.
- Residents and climate groups worry about the impact the plant could have on the environment and the community.
People crowded an event hall in Brillion Wednesday to hear plans about a natural gas facility proposed for the area.
“I think the people who choose to live in a community like ours- you know, Northern Calumet County, kind of a rural community, picturesque community– they choose it for those reasons," local resident and president of the Northern Calumet County Concerned Citizens group, Mike Smith, says. "They want a more slow way of life, they don’t want a more industrial background.”
Smith is the Mayor of Brillion, though he attended the meeting as a resident and citizen, not as a local government representative.
Smith helped start the Northern Calumet County Concerned Citizens group in response to the proposed natural gas plants.
"My immediate concern was the water, and then obviously pollution," he says. "I moved my family here 10 years ago, and I would hate for my kids to then get this after the fact."
Other members of the group came to the meeting with t-shirts that read "No Gas Plants" and "Save our Wells."
"There's just too many questions: why is it so big, why does it have to be here, what about our water, our air, the light, the noise," resident John Beach says. "Why does Forest Junction, Brillion, the surrounding area, have to carry this burden for this power plant?"
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Beach and other residents were able to ask the developer questions on Wednesday night.
The event began with an open house, where members of the Invenergy project team spoke openly with residents. Then the team formally presented information on the proposal.
"The Forest Junction and Union Depot Energy Centers are complimentary facilities that work together to produce reliable and affordable power within an efficient footprint," Daniel Birmingham, the project's lead Invenergy developer, says.
Birmingham says the project is in a "pre-application" phase, and must undergo scrutiny from the Department of Natural Resources and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin before construction can begin.
The Forest Junction and Union Depot centers are two natural gas plants that would be built on the same site. Combined, the facility has the capacity to produce 1.9 gigawatts of power, making it one of the largest natural gas plants in Wisconsin.
The project is proposed to be built on privately owned, agricultural land located east of HWY 57 and Holmes Road in the Town of Brillion.
A backup location for the facility would be west of Marx Road in the Town of Woodville. Birmingham says the PSC will decide which location is better for the facility.
Birmingham says the facility will help address a growing need for energy in Wisconsin.
"What you see across the state is there's an expansion of energy infrastructure happening all over the place," he says. "Existing plants are being expanded and new plants are popping up, all in order to keep the grid reliable and affordable in the face of this unprecedented demand.”
The Draft Strategic Energy Assessment for 2026-2032 published by the PSC backs up Birmingham's claims. The PSC says the document is a draft, and the information could change based on new data or evaluation.
The assessment finds that Wisconsin's energy needs are expected to increase by more than 40% over the next six years. The increase is largely due to active data center developments, according to the PSC.
"These load forecasts illustrate the outsized impact data center development is anticipated to have on the energy landscape in Wisconsin in the coming years," the assessment says.
Invenergy also says the Forest Junction and Union Depot centers will bring in hundreds of temporary jobs, 20 full time positions and an annual revenue of up to $4.1 million for Calumet County.
Invenergy and union representatives say they will prioritize local workers in the hiring process.
“At the end of the day, these types of projects help our union grow, help us bring new members in, help us bring apprentices into the construction industry," Kent Miller, president of the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council, says. "Helping address that workforce and that skills gap in the construction industry.”
For Smith, the economic impact doesn't ease his concerns.
“There was never a question of, if we brought you these economic benefits, would you be interested? It was, take this, and then we’ll assign some economic benefit to it later," he says.
Many residents expressed concerns over environmental impacts, such as air, noise and water pollution.
“It’s going to be making all of this noise.... well now you're going to push wildlife away from it," resident Scott Grady says.
Invenergy says the project has, and will continue to, undergo strict regulations and scrutiny over environmental impacts. They also say they're implementing water-saving designs to minimize the impacts.
"We are committed to responsibly developing this project, we'll go through all of the required regulatory processes, and it is our intention to comply with them," Birmingham says.
Dr. Joel Charles, a family doctor and co-founder of Healthy Climate Wisconsin, says much of the Wisconsin medical field disapproves of natural gas plants.
"The Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Nursing Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association have all called to an end for new gas plants in Wisconsin, and so that should tell you where the evidence lies," he says.
Dr. Charles says fossil fuels, like natural gas, can cause serious health issues, including birth defects, asthma and development issues.
"The pollution from these plants is really bad, and it's going to make people sick, and these plants are also just unnecessary- we have better technologies available, so it's really frustrating that We Energies and Invenergy are proposing them," he says. "Part of this, again, is this argument that gas is cleaner than coal– yeah, it is, but it's the second-worse option."
The PSC recently approved two other Invenergy plants in Southeastern Wisconsin. We Energies has applied to purchase the two plants.
Birmingham says We Energies has also expressed interest in buying the Forest Junction and Union Depot Energy Center, once they are completed.
The Forest Junction and Union Depot Energy Center project must be reviewed by both the PSC and the DNR before Invenergy can begin construction. The PSC will host its own public hearing, after the application is submitted.
Invenergy's preferred timeline includes breaking ground in 2028 and beginning operations in 2031.
