ICYMI: Sierra Club Applauds the Superior Plan Commission for Denying Permits for NTEC Construction

March 21, 2024

Superior, WI - Yesterday, the City of Superior Plan Commission recommended the Superior City Council deny the necessary permits for Dairyland Power and Minnesota Power to move forward with the construction of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC). Minnesota Power requested rezoning the proposed property for NTEC and for street vacation on nearby undeveloped roads. The commission denied both requests - a massive blow to the project as local and statewide opposition to NTEC continues to grow.

The set of three votes that would have recommended the dirty gas plant to move forward failed with 2-4 votes. Concerns raised by the plan commissioners included public health, preservation of recreational areas and access to water, respect for the adjacent Ojibwe burial grounds, and the St. Francis cemetery.

In response, Jenna Yeakle, Senior Field Organizer, Sierra Club- North Star Chapter and Jadine Sonoda, Campaign Coordinator, Sierra Club - Wisconsin Chapter released the following statement:

"Momentum is building, and more and more folks are speaking out against the serious health and environmental impacts that NTEC would cause. Local officials in Superior are listening to their constituents, and we urge the Biden Administration to listen, too. There is simply no justification for building a new fossil gas plant when the Twin Ports can have our energy needs met with community development like renewables, storage, and energy efficiency- in turn supporting local union jobs and our region's economy, respecting sovereign tribal nations, promoting public health, and saving us money.

"We applaud the Superior Plan Commission for doing the right thing. This decision from the Superior Plan Commission is yet another signal that the Biden Administration should deny permits for NTEC and refuse to subsidize this proposed gas plant with taxpayer dollars."

Background on NTEC

The Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) is a proposed fossil gas plant to be located in Superior, Wisconsin. The plant is being proposed by Dairyland Power, Minnesota Power, and Basin Electric. The utility companies have not proven that NTEC is needed to meet customers' electricity needs and have failed to consider alternatives such as low-cost energy efficiency, renewable energy, and storage.

Gas plants are fossil fuel infrastructure that are shown to emit almost as much as coal-fired power plants, leading to climate-change-causing emissions and local air pollution from methane.

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.