By Steven Johnson | This article is reprinted with permission from ECT.coop.

More than a half-century ago, the E.J. Stoneman Station in southwestern Wisconsin was a small, coal-based power plant owned and operated by Dairyland Power Cooperative.

Dairyland Power Cooperative is purchasing the 40-megawatt output of this biomass plant.
Photo credit: Dairyland Power

Flip the calendar ahead 60 years, and the old plant is an up-to-date renewable energy facility that’s providing power for 28,000 homes in Dairyland’s system.

The Stoneman Station, now owned and operated by DTE Energy Services, has just re-emerged as a biomass-powered plant, and Dairyland is purchasing its entire 40-megawatt output. The Stoneman plant is DTE Energy Service’s first completed coal-to-biomass conversion.

“We are pleased to see this major renewable energy resource come online for our cooperative membership,” said Dale Pohlman, Dairyland vice president, strategic planning.

La Crosse-based Dairyland brought the 53-MW plant, located on the Mississippi River near Cassville, into service in 1951. The G&T sold it in the 1990s, and DTE Energy Services bought it from Integrys Energy Services in May 2008, with the aim of converting it to a biomass plant.

The plant is using wood waste for fuel, including green wood residue from forestry and tree trimming operations, railroad ties, demolition waste and sawdust.

“We also are pleased that the plant will provide employment for 32 members of the Cassville community and support the local economy through our relationships with fuel suppliers and other local businesses.”