Midtown power play: High-voltage community clash

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TTT revisits Xcel Energy’s Hiawatha Project continuing push to place electrical substations at Hiawatha Avenue and high-voltage lines over the Midtown Greenway. Despite reams of testimony and several “Friend of the Court” briefs being filed in what’s called a contested case, Xcel persists in its claim that additional capacity is needed in this area of the city. The guardians of that recessed corridor of walking and biking trails along the old railroad right-of-way north of Lake Street through the heart of South Minneapolis to the Mississippi, the Midtown Greenway Coalition (MGC), essentially say, Prove it. (Audio below) 
The MGC cites Minnesota’s rules and regulations for determining such need before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issues the OK for erecting towers adjacent to and crossing the Greenway and stringing high-voltage lines to a proposed substation at Hiawatha. Lake Street businesses believe additional power capacity is absolutely essential, but they can see why Greenway folks – backed by their neighborhood members in Phillips (including Little Earth of United Tribes), Corcoran, Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods, among other friends, insist that, if the line is built, it could go underground just as easily as overhead. The issues and emotions run deep. Continue Reading

Veto forecast / Charter school in trouble / New car rules / more

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Even without the legislature in session, the forecast for Minnesota is high winds and lots of heat today.T-Paw QOTD “The legislators are gone away and they are not coming back.”Health care, bullying, transportation More end-of-session news: Pawlenty plan is recipe for massive job losses from Workday Minnesota, and Pawlenty talks unallotment, veto plans from Session Daily. Getting down to specifics:Health care The governor’s cuts come amid a “hellish week for hospitals,” says MnIndy, reporting on staffing cuts across the state in large and small, public and private hospitals. The Strib reports that many people are cutting back on health care, waiting until they are very sick before seeing doctors, leaving prescriptions unfilled, and skipping routine screenings, such as Pap smears. Transportation In the single bright spot, MN 2020 reports that Minnesota moved forward on transportation in this session. Elections bill Although the legislature watered down the elections bill, leaving out provisions sought by both DFL and GOP legislators, the governor will still veto it, reports MinnPost. Continue Reading

Waiting for the veto / “Independent” contractors / Playing to lose / more

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Passed, passed, passed and waiting The legislature passed a number of bills yesterday, and the stack on T-Paw’s desk continues to grow. Will he sign or will he veto? Only the governor knows for sure. Among the bills awaiting decision:
• Flat funding for P-12 schools and cuts for higher ed. Minnesota Miracle and expanded Q-Comp both lose out. Continue Reading

Fishing season and veto season open / Franken v. Coleman / Someting rotten / Aung San Suu Kyi ill / War news / more

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GOOD NEWS And that’s worth going to the top of the report – Roxana Saberi is due to be freed and flown home today, after an Iranian court suspended the eight-year sentence previously imposed on the North Dakota journalist. Fishing season and veto season From cocoa bean mulch canine health warnings to the billion dollar tax plan, T-Paw wielded the veto pen before heading off to the fishing opener Saturday morning. As the PiPress succinctly notes:
Pawlenty and the Legislature have eight days to balance the budget by the May 18 constitutional deadline. If they fail to get done on time, he could call them back into special session. And if they don’t finish by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the nonessential parts of state government will shut down. Continue Reading

Heat pumps warm Minnesota’s economy from the ground up

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Central heating systems go all the way back to the ol’ wood burner in the middle of the room but have yet to progress beyond the rudimentary combustion of fossil fuel in a furnace or boiler. The lack of progress into more efficient systems cannot be explained away by the lack of alternatives because all along there’s been an elephant prancing around for attention in all our homes. Geo-exchange systems, driven by heat pumps have been around for years and are one of the most efficient ways to heat a home and they are a pretty good investment. And now the recovery package even provides large tax incentive for it too. Relying on the market to separate the cream from the chaff and to drive innovation usually is a good bet. Continue Reading

What’s the scoop on weatherization and tax credits?

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The federal stimulus legislation provides for funding for many green initiatives. Some of these can help homeowners and builders. Here’s where to go for information on weatherization and on energy efficiency tax credits:
Weatherization assistance is available primarily to low income households. Check the Minnesota Commerce Department web site for details on qualifying. Federal tax credits for energy efficiency are available at 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, in 2009 & 2010 (for existing homes only) for:
Windows and DoorsInsulationRoofs (Metal and Asphalt)HVACWater Heaters (non-solar)Biomass Stoves
Federal tax credits for energy efficiency are available at 30% of the cost, with no upper limit through 2016 (for existing homes & new construction) for:
Geothermal Heat PumpsSolar PanelsSolar Water HeatersSmall Wind Energy SystemsFuel Cells Continue Reading

PUC punts environmental concerns about Big Stone coal

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The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved the Certificate of Need for a transmission line project necessary for the construction of the Big Stone II coal-fired power plant in Milbank, S.D.
Despite a room full of citizens, many holding signs and some dressed in animal costumes, opposed to the plant’s construction because of environmental concerns, the PUC did not deliberate the coal-fired facility itself or the environmental impacts that it may have, focusing instead on the cost of the project and its implications for utility rate payers. The five-member PUC was to issue a final ruling last June, but newly appointed Commissioner J. Dennis O’Brien requested further review of the project, and an inquiry was approved by a vote of 3-2. Boston Pacific was hired as an independent consultant to assess carbon dioxide emission costs, construction costs and fuel prices for Big Stone II. Dr. Steve Rakow, a rates analyst from the State Office of Energy Security testifying on the commission’s alternative option decisions, stated that because the Boston Pacific report did not concern itself with issues like mercury emissions or water usage that his findings did not take such things into consideration. “Boston Pacific wasn’t paid to consider more than the three cost concerns,” responded Commissioner Thomas Pugh. Continue Reading

Xcel seeks public input on “Hiawatha Project,” Oct. 29 and Nov. 6

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In an effort to meet growing customer demand for electricity in south Minneapolis, Xcel Energy is proposing the Hiawatha Project — a plan to build new electrical infrastructure, including two new substations and electrical lines to connect them, near the Hiawatha light-rail transit corridor and in the Midtown area. This week and next, Xcel will hold four meetings, to collect public input, in the basement-level Greenway conference room of the Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St. the meeting dates are:
Wednesday, Oct. 29, noon–2 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 29, 5 p.m.–7 p.m.Thursday, Nov. Continue Reading