House amends, passes coal energy bill

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The House amended a Senate bill that would stay the moratorium on new coal plants being built here, but would allow Minnesota electric cooperatives to import power from coal plants in other states.On a 76-54 vote, the House amended and passed HF72/ SF86* in hopes of making the bill more palatable to the governor, according to the House sponsor, Rep. Mike Beard (R-Shakopee).As amended, the bill would allow Minnesota utilities to import up to 2,500 megawatts from Great River Energy’s Spiritwood plant in North Dakota to fuel rural development in Minnesota. There are several power purchase agreements pending from Minnesota businesses waiting to import the power, Beard said.The Senate, where Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) is the sponsor, approved lifting the ban on increased carbon dioxide emissions in Minnesota 42-18 on April 14. The amended bill returns to the Senate for reconsideration.The coal moratorium is part of a larger 2007 law known as the Next Generation Energy Act, which limits new electricity from coal in order to control carbon dioxide emissions. Members debated scientific claims that humans are contributing to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.Coal-produced electricity is viewed by opponents as a major contributor, and they want to see more reliance on renewable resources, such as wind and solar power. In addition, the Spiritwood plant would use lignite, the “dirtiest” form of coal to produce Minnesota’s imported electricity, according to Rep. Bill Hilty (DFL-Finlayson). Continue Reading

Hydroelectric plant debate resumes

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After 12 years of stalled and failed negotiations, the Minneapolis Park Board is renewing debate on constructing a hydroelectric plant on the historic St. Anthony Falls.Crown Hydro representatives will present their latest proposal to build a 3.2 megawatt facility on the land near the falls at a park board meeting today. The resumption of negotiations comes while legislation that would bypass the board and allow construction on the facility moves through the House of Representatives, shifting the debate at the Capitol from environmental issues to concerns of local jurisdiction. While proponents of the project say it will power more than 2,000 homes in Minneapolis using clean energy, the park board has opposed it, claiming it would dry up the historic falls. The board plans to discuss terms and conditions today, including assurances that the falls’ flow will remain at 2,000 cubic feet per second, and the company would be responsible for any damage to the falls, according to park board President John Erwin. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Bachmann mangles the facts on domestic oil production

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We have generally become accustomed to Michele Bachmann’s careless use of facts on a number of issues, but her analysis of domestic oil reserves in the Tuesday, April 26 Star Tribune was beyond her normal exaggerations. Her facts, in fact, were highly distorted and unsupported by any reliable data.Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. Bachmann noted potential United States oil reserves in our shale deposits and the deep water Gulf, but her focus was on the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). So, let’s first deal with her claim that in ANWR “30 to 50 years of oil may be available”.  This claim, by any reliable data available is so wildly exaggerated, it defies credibility. Continue Reading

Legislature pushes hydroelectric plant: Controversial St. Anthony plant would power 2,000 homes in Minneapolis

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A long-denied hydroelectric plant near St. Anthony Falls could finally become reality, and critics are up in arms.The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has denied the construction of a hydroelectric plant in the area for years, fearing its impact on the historic falls. Crown Hydro, LLC has explored several avenues to convince the park board to allow construction, and so far none has been fruitful.But a bill authored by Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee, and a group of 25 bipartisan legislators directs the park board to authorize an agreement with the company. It also allows the board to collect a royalty of up to 4 percent of annual electrical production revenues.Discussion of the bill at Wednesday night’s Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee hearing quickly turned to questions of state government’s role in local matters.An attorney for the park board testified that the bill would require the Legislature to participate in a breach of contract between the park board and Crown Hydro.”I think this is an inappropriate bill for us to consider,” said Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-St. Paul.Despite that concern, the bill moved to the Government Operations and Elections Committee.A more severe version of the bill introduced earlier this week would have cut state aid to the park board unless it allowed the facility to be built.The proposed 3.2 megawatt facility would be able to power 2,000 homes using two turbines 40 feet underground at the west end of the Stone Arch Bridge, according to the company’s website. Continue Reading

New plan unveiled for Iron Range power plant

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For the past seven years, Excelsior Energy has been gathering permits and holding public hearings to build an integrated gasification combined cycle (clean coal) plant on the Iron Range. It received millions of dollars from the Renewable Development Fund, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and the federal government toward the project. To date, construction has not begun and a few key permits are still needed.For another story with a distinctly different perspective, see Ten years and $41 million later, Minnesota “clean coal” plant is still vapor The plan originally included just IGCC facilities; the new plan is to build a natural gas burning facility to power an IGCC plant that converts coal into a synthetic gas. The gas facility would later be converted into a second IGCC plant as demand necessitates. In HF618, Excelsior Energy is seeking legislation that would extend the life of the IGCC permits already granted so the permits don’t expire before the conversion can occur. Continue Reading

Ten years and $41 million later, Minnesota “clean coal” plant is still vapor

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When a former high school hockey star proposed to develop a $2 billion “clean coal” power plant outside this northeastern Minnesota city, the news couldn’t have come at a better time.The region had just lost 1,400 jobs from a major taconite plant shutdown, the worst economic news to hit the Iron Range in two decades. The prospect of replacing those jobs was celebrated by citizens, politicians and newspaper editorials with the enthusiasm of a March tournament bid.For another story with a distinctly different perspective, see New plan unveiled for Iron Range power plant Nearly a decade later, after having spent nearly $41 million in taxpayer money, the Mesaba Energy Project still has yet to secure key environmental permits; it hasn’t found a buyer for the electricity it wants to produce, and without a power-purchase agreement, it can’t find investors to fund construction. The project’s backers are now changing their approach, seeking approval from the state’s legislature to shelve the “clean coal” component – temporarily, they say – and move forward instead with a conventional natural gas power plant. That has opponents changing their cries from “boondoggle” to “bait-and-switch” and some speculating whether the apparent change in strategy might be a Hail Mary attempt to salvage something from the long controversial energy project. Or, in keeping with hockey analogies: “They are pulling their goalie, because they need to score a goal now,” said Aaron Brown, an author and newspaper columnist who has followed the project since 2001, first as a reporter and then as editor of the Hibbing Daily Tribune (he’s also chronicled the project on his blog, Minnesota Brown). Continue Reading

Report: US lags in clean energy; Minnesota keeping pace

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While green industry continues to bloom worldwide, a new report out by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that the United States as a whole is falling behind in investments in the clean-energy sector. A record $243 billion was invested around the world in clean energy last year. While the United States saw a 51 percent increase in clean-energy investments last year, Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew Clean Energy Programs, says it slipped down a notch in competitive position. “The United States, which had dropped from first to second in 2009, has slipped even further down the ladder to number three, behind both China and Germany.” Cuttino says nations without clear energy policies lost investors, but the United States stayed in the game thanks in part to 30 states, including Minnesota, which passed their own energy standards. Continue Reading

GOP’s Beard wants more coal plants because God will fix global warming

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Rep. Mike Beard (R-Shakopee) is pushing for more new coal-fired power plants in Minnesota, but the Shakopee Republican is undeterred by reports about the effects of carbon-emitting energy production on global warming. His reason: He believes God will prevent the planet from running out of fossil fuels while also eliminating the harms associated with climate change. While Beard speaks from his religious tradition, many others in Minnesota’s faith communities believe it’s dangerous to wait for divine intervention to solve our environmental problems – and they say it’s the duty of people of faith to preserve the planet for future generations. In an interview with MinnPost’s Don Shelby on Tuesday, Rep. Beard explained his recent push for new coal-burning power plants in Minnesota. In the Minnesota House, Beard has taken aim at clean air standards – in particular those that curb carbon dioxide emissions by power plants. Continue Reading