Feeling lucky?
by Fresh EnergyRick Fuentes, senior media relations specialist, Fresh Energy
Are you a gamblin’ kind of utility company? Just like Kenny Rogers, the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) has held its recommendations pretty close to the vest regarding the proposed Big Stone II coal plant planned near Ortonville, Minnesota. Especially as two major investors dropped out and called the project “too risky,” the DOC has held back on its estimation of success.
To complete the Texas Hold ‘em analogy, Friday, January 25 was the turn, and the clean energy community got a good card.
The DOC agreed with the joint interveners (MCEA, Fresh Energy, Izaak Walton, et al) that three customers of the proposed plant hadn’t shown that they need the power at all, and the remaining two investors, including the major stakeholder, Otter Tail Power (OTP), only proved it needed 300 megawatts of the 580 it had been seeking. In addition, the DOC suggested that the state of Minnesota require that OTP recover all the carbon costs beyond $9/ton, pay for all the capital cost overruns, abide by the Minnesota Renewable Electricity Standard and not apply for an “off-ramp,” and achieve the 1.5 percent conservation standard in Minnesota law while, again, not asking for an out.
This makes the decision to stay in the game pretty tough for OTR and the remaining investors. They now have been officially told that they can’t expect ratepayers to bail them out if this investment doesn’t generate a decent return. Especially with carbon capture costs estimated at going above $30/ton, the cost to the utility per megawatt-hour may make this coal plant a big loser on the green side. And we’re not talking environment here. We’re talking chips. Real money.
We can only hope the Administrative Law Judges’ decision follows the DOC’s recommendation or—better yet—Governor Tim Pawlenty uses this as the basis to establish a moratorium on coal plants. Of course, that’d be like drawing an ace as your river card.
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I think the state is surprised by the continuing vehement, grass-roots opposition to Big Stone II project. There was a standing-room only crowd at the PUC hearing on January 10 in Ortonville. All kinds of different people spoke out against the project, but students were particularly eloquent in their desire for a better, cleaner energy future than Big Stone II would provide. After all, they are the ones who will have to live with the project’s nasty effects, long after the current decision makers are dead. The students and other members of the public were there again at an evidentiary hearing on January 23 even though the rules weren’t going to allow them to speak. I understand that enough of them came that the hearng had to be moved to a larger room. The lesson of all of this is an old one: together we are strong.