City Water, Light and Power

City Water, Light & Power (CWLP) is the largest municipally owned utility in the U.S. state of Illinois. The utility provides the city of Springfield, Illinois with drinking water, from Lake Springfield, and electric power from its two coal-fired power plants.

Power portfolio
Out of its total 651 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (0.06% of the U.S. total), CWLP produces 71.1% from coal, 21.3% from natural gas, and 7.6% from oil. All of CWLP's power plants are in Sangamon County, Illinois.

Existing coal-fired power plants
CWLP had 5 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 463 MW of capacity. Here is a list of CWLP's coal power plants:

In 2006, CWLP's two coal-fired power plants emitted 2.93 million tons of CO2 and at least 42,000 tons of SO2.

Proposed Coal Plants
Dallman Unit 4 is a coal plant proposed by CWLP to be built at their existing power plant in Springfield, Illinois.

The proposed 250 megawatt (MW) unit would replace 76 MW currently provided by two older units at the existing site. The Sierra Club led an effort towards a settlement in which CWLP agreed to close their Lakeside plant (one of the nation’s dirtiest) and build a replacement plant with the lowest pollution rates in the nation, clean up three other boilers, accord with the Kyoto Protocol standards by reducing global warming emissions, and double Illinois’ wind power capacity with 120 MW of new wind turbines.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Illinois and coal
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming