RockGen Energy Center

RockGen Energy Center is a 460 megawatt natural gas fired peaking power plant located near Rockdale, Wisconsin. According to Calpine, it was the largest peaking plant in Wisconsin at the time it was constructed.

In July 1998, the town of Christiana was announced as one of the possible sites for a new peaker plant in Wisconsin. The site is just east of a limestone quarry and west of a large electrical substation on land previously used for row crop farming. Shortly after the announcement, an opposition group named "Responsible Use of Rural and Agricultural Land" was formed to block its construction. Other sites were ruled out as more expensive and the decision was made to proceed at the Dane county location west of Rockdale. Starting in January 1999, several lawsuits were filed by RURAL and the village of Rockdale to block the construction and invalidate the air permit. The Environmental Protection Agency declined to overturn the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued air permit. In March 2000, tensions were high and gunshots were fired at a nearby electrical substation damaging a transformer and circuit breaker. No one was ever charged in the incident, but it was considered to be connected to the construction dispute by police. Construction began in April 2000, ten months behind schedule. In December 2000, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended the remaining challenge allowing construction to finish. In May 2001, the $190 million facility was completed.

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