MILWAUKEE, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The citizens of one of Europe's most
polluted regions will soon breathe cleaner air as new state-of-the-art
equipment begins operation today in a district heating plant located in Decin,
Czech Republic.  Funded in part by Wisconsin Electric (WE), the Decin
(pronounced day-sheen) project is the world's first cooperative energy project
to be approved and completed under the U.S. Initiative on Joint Implementation
(USIJI).
    The USIJI is a voluntary demonstration program working to promote private
sector investment in international partnerships leading to initiatives that
reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  WE formed a three-way partnership in 1994
with two other energy companies:  NIPSCO Industries (Hammond, Ind.) and
Commonwealth Edison (Chicago).  The legal agreement was finalized between the
companies in 1995.
    "We are extremely proud of our role in making this project a reality and
in showing the world the benefits of joint implementation," says Richard
Abdoo, CEO of WE.  "The Decin project is a simple, yet effective, model for
demonstrating the global nature of greenhouse gas emissions.  We hope it will
encourage other U.S. investors to pursue similar projects."
    In this first-of-its-kind project, an $8 million natural gas powered
internal combustion system, which produces electricity and warm water,
replaced the highly polluting and inefficient coal-burning boilers at the
Decin heating plant.  "The more energy-efficient equipment will dramatically
improve the local air quality in Decin and people worldwide will benefit from
the reduced emissions of carbon dioxide," explains Paul Schumacher, WE's
environmental manager.  "Joint implementation is the most cost-effective way
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions because it can be done anywhere to realize
both local and global benefits."
    The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) in Washington, D.C. developed and
coordinated the project agreement for the three energy company partners.  The
partners provided the city of Decin with a $600,000 no-interest loan to fund
the conversion and will receive emission reduction credit in the U.S.
Greenhouse Gas Registry (established under Section 1605 (b) of the U.S. Energy
Policy Act of 1992).
    At a ceremony today in the Czech Republic to officially commission the
project, CCAP Executive Director Ned Helme said, "With the completion of this
project, we have begun a new era of cooperation and collaboration to reduce
global levels of greenhouse gases.  We are proud of the strong collaborative
effort which brought this unique project to its completion."
    Decin (population 55,000) is a heavily industrialized city situated in a
valley along the Elbe River in the northwest corner of the Czech Republic.
Its extremely high local concentrations of pollutants were due primarily to
the burning of low-grade, locally mined coal in the district heating plant
without air pollution control systems.
    WE strongly supports the joint implementation concept and is the only U.S.
energy company that has approval for two projects outside the U.S.  The other
project is the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Project in Belize,
Central America, which was announced last fall.  The Rio Bravo project will
use forest management and conservation methods to sequester carbon dioxide in
14,400 acres of tropical forest in Belize.
    A subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp. (NYSE: WEC), Wisconsin Electric
provides electricity, natural gas and/or steam service to about 2.3 million
people in southeastern Wisconsin (including the Milwaukee area), the Appleton
area, the Prairie du Chien area, and portions of northeastern Wisconsin and
Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

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