LACROSSE, Wis. – The electricity-generating coop Dairyland Power, which tore out its only nuclear plant in 1987, now foresees a nuclear future again. Chief executive Brent Ridge told news reporters that technology is making nuclear power economically viable again. “We are absolutely interested in nuclear going forward,” Ridge said. Possible sites for a new Dairyland nuclear plant, he said, include the coop’s coal-fired plant 55 miles upriver from LaCrosse in Alma. And, yes, another possibility again is Genoa again, 18 miles downriver. Dairyland once also operated coal-fired plant in Genoa but razed the plant in March.
Dairyland profile
Dairyland, based in LaCrosse, produces electricity as a wholesaler to 44 local utilities. These include MIEnergy, which serves southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa. Dairyland has been in business since 1941. Dairyland produces 1,100 megawatts from its coal-fired plant in Alma. It also has partial ownership in two coal-fired plants near Wausau. It owns 3,300 miles of power lines