The coordinators of the new Charter Street Heating Plant invited the public to voice their opinions after a presentation detailing the project’s environmental impact Wednesday night.

The $250 million project will burn biomass fuel in the form of woodchips and pellet wood transported by rail. The plant’s design includes storage silos, conveyor belts and three boilers that convert fuel into energy.

The intent of the meeting was to address the community’s concerns with the new biomass-burning plant in an Environmental Impact Statement. Concerns ranged from noise to construction to the logistics of operation.

Project coordinator Ben Peotter of Ayres Associates said the three years of construction beginning in August 2010 will affect students through the expected closure of the bike path from Charter Street to West Washington Avenue, the closure of East Campus Mall and noise. Concerns also involved the increased amount of rail cars that will be the primary transportation for biomass fuel.

University of Wisconsin Physical Plant director John Harrod said concern of the material drop-off is no longer an issue because the noise will be contained. He said the cars will travel indoors to a designated building to dump the biomass.

In addition to construction noise concerns, the public had traffic concerns as well. Peotter said construction may close Mills Street and West Dayton Street for three weeks and limit North Park Street to one lane in each direction. Around 80 parking stalls will also be removed.

However, Peotter said the long-term benefits of the plant outweigh the short-term issues.

“The quality of the facility is important to us,” Harrod said. “Our goal is to celebrate the new facility by making it visible to the community so you can see and appreciate the process.”

According to Peotter, the plant will be coal-free by January 2012. He said the plant would support long-term campus growth, increase electrical production and provide a partnership with the university for research opportunities involving other alternative fuels.

“When we’re all said and done, there’ll be no coal,” Harrod said. “That is significant. We’re going to be able to make a significant contribution to the overall environmental quality of Madison.”

Burning biomass instead of coal reduces nitrous oxide, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere substantially, according to the Ayers Associates projections.

The new plant will primarily burn biomass, but is capable of utilizing natural gas and oil in emergencies. The current plant burns a mix of materials for fuel, including coal, tires and oil.

Although some members of the public were unsure if biomass is the best alternative for fuel, former UW mechanical engineering professor Ken Ragland said he’s in favor of biomass.

“[This plant] creates a closed loop system, recycling carbon dioxide,” he said. “We want to maximize energy needs with fuel supply. Biomass is an excellent sustainable, environmentally-correct option.”

Peotter said Ayres Associates will consider all of the public’s concerns as the company writes the final draft of their Environmental Impact Statement over the next three weeks.