The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) announced the approval of Xcel Energy's application to install biomass gasification technology at its Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland. When completed, the project will convert the plant's remaining coal-fired unit to biomass gasification technology, allowing it to use 100% biomass in all three boilers and making it the largest biomass plant in the Midwest. Currently, two of the three operating units at Bay Front use biomass as their primary fuel to generate electricity.

The $58.1 million project will require additional biomass receiving and handling facilities at the plant, an external gasifier, as well as minor modifications to the plant's remaining coal-fired boiler and an enhanced air quality control system. The total generation output of the plant is not expected to change significantly as a result of the project.

The primary source of biomass at Bay Front is expected to be the lower quality, unused materials that are currently left in area forests following traditional harvests, such as treetops, logging slash, damaged trees, underutilized species, and the cull and mortality classed trees

Finally, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions by switching from coal to biomass in the remaining unit, the project will drastically reduce other air emissions, including nitrogen oxides by more than 60% and sulfur dioxides and particulate matter by more than 80%.

Engineering, design and construction work is expected to begin in 2010 and the unit could be operational in late 2012.