The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Citing the need for additional power to retain and expand an economic base, a contingency of Northwoods area businessmen attended a public hearing in Weston last week regarding the proposed Weston Power Plant.

Daniel Bruso, of Lakeshore and president of the Northwoods Advantage Regional Economic Development Corporation told the panel at the hearing that the group has three points backing its support of the project.

They include: Retention and expansion of current economic base; development and recruitment of business and industry compatible with our region and maintaining our area's standard of living, which is our "Northwoods advantage."

"The current condition of base load generation and transmission infrastructure has caused our members to incur significant costs associated with power disruption issues," Bruso said. "We are also concerned about the lack of confidence in the power grid that has or will cause concern to potential expansion businesses who may look into locating into our represented communities. We feel that a strong backbone in power is critical to the success of growth of our tax base."

Wisconsin Public Service has proposed the Weston 4 project, a coal-fired power plant to provide additional power needed for the area.

Last week's hearings were the final in a series of public input sessions. A decision could come from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission as soon as October. If a decision to proceed with the project is issued, construction could start as early as October with operation slated for the spring of 2080.

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