SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – The changing energy environment will be increasingly evident in Sheboygan, where once coal was king, keeping homes warm and energy flowing.
For as long as most can remember, electricity has come from the Edgewater Generating Station where two smokestacks dominate the horizon on the city’s Southeast side. But the coal-fired station is reaching the end of its days. Two units were taken offline in 2019, and the last unit will be retired next year as the utility switches to more environmentally-friendly sources.
60 years ago, giant coal piles on what’s now Sheboygan’s South Pier District supplied not only the power plant, but also heated thousands of homes in the city, and the ghosts of that era can still be seen in some older homes in the form of trap doors that led to the basement coal room. The majority of homes now heat with natural gas.
While the power plant smokestacks will disappear, the new era of energy generation is already on its way to Sheboygan. At Monday’s Common Council meeting, city leaders gave approval to a plan by Wisconsin Power and Light Company to build a solar photovoltaic generating facility on an 80-acre portion of the Sheboygan Business Center. The lease will be for 25 years, renewable up to three times in 5-year increments.
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