J. P. Pulliam Generating Station

J. P. Pulliam Generating Station was an electrical power station powered by sub-bituminous coal, which could also be substituted by natural gas. It was located in Green Bay, Wisconsin in Brown County. The plant was named after the former Wisconsin Public Service Corporation president John Page Pulliam (–June 15, 1951). The plant units were connected to the power grid via 138 kV and 69 kV transmission lines. The remaining coal units on site were decommissioned in 2018 leaving only the natural gas fired P31 unit active at the site.

J. P. Pulliam Generating Station
View of the plant, circa 2013
Country	United States
Location	Green Bay, Wisconsin
Coordinates	44°32′24″N 88°00′31″W
Status	Operational
Commission date	Units 1–2: 1927 Unit 3: 1943 Unit 4: 1947 Unit 5: 1949 Unit 6: 1951 Unit 7: 1958 Unit 8: 1964 Unit P31: 2003
Decommission date	Units 1–2: 1980 Units 3–4: 2007 Units 5–6: 2015 Units 7–8: 2018
Owner	WEC Energy
Operator	Wisconsin Public Service Corporation
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Natural gas
Turbine technology	Combustion turbine
Cooling source	Green Bay
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	83 MW

Units

Units of J. P. Pulliam Generating Station^[1]

Unit	Nameplate capacity	Initial year of operation	Notes
1	10 MW	1927	Retired 1980
2	10 MW	1927	Retired 1980
3	30 MW	1943	Retired 2007
4	30 MW	1947	Retired 2007
5	50 MW	1949	693 million BTU per hour, dry bottom boilers that burned pulverized coal. Retired c.2015.[2][3]
6	62.5 MW	1951	875 million BTU per hour, dry bottom boilers that burned pulverized coal. Retired c.2015.[2][3]
7	75 MW	1958	999 million BTU per hour, dry bottom boilers that burn pulverized coal.[3] Retired c.2018.[4]
8	125 MW	1964	1510 million BTU per hour, dry bottom boilers that burn pulverized coal.[3] Retired c.2018.[4]
P31	83 MW	2003	Combustion Turbine Generator (Natural Gas or Fuel Oil)[3]

Retirement

Open water appears near the mouth of the Fox due to the warmth of the water coming out of the generating station. Photo taken by an Expedition 38 crew member on February 22, 2014

As a result of EPA clean air act enforcement, two coal fired units were retired at Pulliam in 2015 and WPSC was required to make $300 million in upgrades at the Weston Generating Station.^[5] Those costs were passed on to utility rate payers.^[6] At least ten positions were eliminated when Unit 5 and 6 were retired.^[2]

In 2016, WEC Energy (which purchased WPS in 2014) announced they would be retiring the remaining coal units at Pulliam due to lower natural gas prices and affordability of renewables, and they would retire the plant by the end of 2018.^[7] The plant was retired in October 2018,^[8] with most of its equipment auctioned off in March 2019. ^[9]

Some local groups expressed concern that the closure may affect local bald eagle populations due to the lack of waste heat keeping the mouth of the Fox River from freezing in the winter,^[10] and peregrine falcon populations due to the removal of nesting boxes.^[11]

See also

• Energy portal

• List of power stations in Wisconsin