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For Release: 09/08/2004

Wisconsin Public Service Participates in National Mercury Reduction Research Project

Green Bay, Wis. – Reducing mercury emissions at coal-fueled power plants is the focus of a national research project Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE: WPS) is participating in.

The project, to evaluate “sorbent injection,” a process to capture and control mercury emissions, is taking place at Sunflower Electric’s Holcomb Power Plant Unit 1in western Kansas. The process involves injecting a sorbent that is an activated carbon or an alternative sorbent into the initial exhaust of a coal boiler. The mercury in the flue gas adheres to the sorbent and the resulting sorbent-mercury is then collected prior to reaching and exiting the main exhaust stack. The test program is evaluating different approaches to achieving high levels of mercury removal in new and existing coal-fueled power plants.

“We are seeing some very optimistic results so far in this project,” said Greg Egtvedt, Manager of Environmental Programs for Wisconsin Public Service. The national project began in November of 2003.

This technology will be incorporated into the design of Wisconsin Public Service’s proposed Weston 4 power plant near Wausau, Wisconsin. "It's one of the most promising technologies we know of that addresses the mercury issue," said Egtvedt. "This project is great timing for us. We are in the final design stages of the proposed new power plant at the Weston site near Wausau," said Egtvedt. "We are closely monitoring the project's results."

The Holcomb research project is one of several Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) projects designed to address mercury reduction technologies. The DOE/NETL is funding the project along with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and other industry partners. Public Service is contributing $80,000 to the research effort.

Public Service initially estimates the mercury control equipment at Weston 4 will cost $2.1 million. The company expects to capture more than 80 percent of mercury emissions using this technology. The total cost for the 500-megawatt Weston 4 project, expected to begin operations in 2008, is $750 million.

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE: WPS), is an investor-owned electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It serves approximately 415,000 electric customers and 300,000 retail natural gas customers in residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial markets, as well as wholesale customers. The company’s service area includes northeastern and central Wisconsin, as well as an adjacent portion of Upper Michigan.

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