# Columbia (WI)

MISO asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/columbia-wi

Wisconsin Power and Light Company - Columbia County - MISO

Columbia Energy Center is a two-unit, 1,112 MW nameplate coal-fired steam plant in the Town of Pacific, Columbia County, Wisconsin, just south of Portage. Units 1 and 2 entered commercial service in May 1975 and May 1978 and remain in operation today. The plant is jointly owned by Alliant Energy's Wisconsin Power & Light Company, which is the majority owner and operator, along with WEC Energy Group's Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and MGE Energy's Madison Gas and Electric Company. After an original 2024/2025 closure target was pushed to mid-2026, the co-owners announced in December 2024 that they would keep burning coal at the plant through the end of 2029 while studying whether to convert at least one unit to natural gas. The plant sells its output into MISO, settling at the co-located ALTE.COLUMBAL1/2 and WPS.COLUMBIA1/2 nodes.

## Metrics

- **Nameplate capacity:** 1112 MW — Canonical EIA plant baseline.
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 8023 — plant-8023

## Facts

- **Technology:** Conventional Steam Coal
- **Operator:** Wisconsin Power and Light Company
- **Planned retirement:** 2029-12 · confidence: high

## Related parties

- **Owner:** Wisconsin Public Service Corporation — Co-owner ([source](https://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/))
- **Owner:** Madison Gas and Electric Company — Co-owner ([source](https://www.mge.com/about-mge/electric-system/coal-fired-generation))
- **Parent company:** Alliant Energy Corporation — Parent company of WPL ([source](https://www.alliantenergy.com/))
- **Parent company:** WEC Energy Group — Parent company of WPS ([source](https://www.wecenergygroup.com/))
- **EPC contractor:** Black & Veatch — Prime EPC contractor
- **EPC contractor / equipment supplier:** Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group — Equipment engineering, supply, and construction participant
- **Equipment supplier:** Energy Dome — Technology vendor for storage system

## Sources

- [apps.dnr.wi.gov](https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/warp_ext/am_permittracking2.aspx?id=3000004) — apps.dnr.wi.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [mbrweb.ferc.gov](https://mbrweb.ferc.gov/SearchlkpEIA/Index?page=125) — mbrweb.ferc.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [psc.wi.gov](https://psc.wi.gov/Documents/Reports/2009-2011%20PSC%20Biennial%20Report.pdf) — psc.wi.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [psc.wi.gov](https://psc.wi.gov/Documents/Reports/2013-2015%20PSC%20Biennial%20Report.pdf) — psc.wi.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [alliantenergy.com](https://www.alliantenergy.com/-/media/alliant/documents/ourenergy/energystorage/columbiaenergystorageprojectfactsheet3.pdf?sc_lang=en) — alliantenergy.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [alliantenergy.com](https://www.alliantenergy.com/news/news-center/2021/02/02-columbia) — alliantenergy.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [alliantenergy.com](https://www.alliantenergy.com/news/news-center/2022/06/23-generationupdate) — alliantenergy.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/columbia-wi
Website: [Alliant Energy (Wisconsin Power & Light), WEC Energy Group (Wisconsin Public Service), MGE Energy (Madison Gas & Electric)](https://www.alliantenergy.com/)

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/