Alma Station units 4 and 5 in Buffalo County will be indefinitely idled by early 2015, officials said.

The two units, which came online in 1957 and 1960 respectively, have a combined nameplate capacity of 136 megawatts.

The facility will completely close with the suspension of units 4 and 5. The first three of Alma’s units were idled in 2011.

“Dairyland is making every effort to minimise impacts on our employees,” president and CEOBill Berg said.

“We are offering eligible employees an early retirement program and have held several other recent positions open following retirements which will give some employees the opportunity to move into other vacant positions within our cooperative.”

The company cited the facility’s age for the closure, but said demand, market prices and regulations also had a role in its decision.

It said the move also aligned with its goal to produce one-quarter of its electricity from renewables by 2025.

Its fossil fuel usage for generation is about 88% at the moment.

Dairyland officials said some of the impacted workers would be offered transfers to other positions, and it that the newer and larger neighbour John P Madgett station in Alma would remain open along with its Genoa plant.

The company said it had no immediate plans for the structure.

Dairyland’s service area covers 62 counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.