A major spring maintenance project at Dairyland’s John P. Madgett (JPM) power plant in Alma, Wis., will support grid reliability and the environment while creating a significant economic boost for area communities.

The planned outage of the 387 MW coal-fired JPM facility will commence on April 22, with plant operations expected to resume on June 18. During that time, up to 200 business partners will be onsite. State of Wisconsin economic modeling estimates the impact of the influx of workers to be a minimum of a $500,000 benefit to regional businesses.

Highlights of the project include:

• Overhaul of the turbine and generator to help ensure peak performance
• Precipitator equipment improvement that will more than double the amount of fly ash able to be collected during the coal combustion process. Dairyland markets the fly ash for beneficial reuse, where it is recycled as a highly valued additive to cement and concrete applications.

“Investing in our facilities and communities is part of our mission to improve quality of life through safe, reliable operations,” said Dairyland President & CEO Brent Ridge. “The safe performance of tasks is our top priority. We are also pleased to work with regional stakeholders on a project that brings benefits to so many through economic support, stewardship and the safe delivery of electricity to homes and businesses.”

Community impact: Dairyland is working with local and regional business partners to supplement its highly skilled and dedicated staff with additional personnel to achieve goals safely and efficiently. Local restaurants will supply onsite meal delivery and two area schools (Alma and Cochrane-Fountain City) will hold concession stands at the Alma Site during the project for educational fundraisers.

“The region has an incredible variety of businesses, including restaurants, wineries and outdoor recreational opportunities, all of which stand to benefit from the increased exposure and tourism resulting from the JPM power plant project,” said Ridge.