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 Power bill would break down coal borders by Bob Geiger - Finance & Commerce Posted on 2/26/2010 North Dakota had threatened suit over electric transmission Legal saber-rattling from North Dakota helped spur the introduction of House and Senate bills Thursday that would allow transmission of electricity from new power plants in other states to Minnesota. House and Senate bills authored by state Rep. Dave Olin, DFL-Thief River Falls, and Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, would allow power purchase agreements of up to 50 megawatts of coal energy into Minnesota. But that's just part of the story. But that's just part of the story. Minnesota lawmakers in 2007 passed the Next Generation Energy Act. That bill contains a clause that, effective Aug. 1, 2009, barred transmission of electricity from a new large energy facility outside the state into Minnesota. Designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota and from power plants, the legislation's primary target was North Dakota, which supplies electricity to Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, Otter Tail Power Co. and Minnesota Power. According to North Dakota officials, the 2007 Minnesota law violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause gives federal government the authority to regulate business conducted across state lines. Stumpf said his office received a letter from the North Dakota Industrial Commission - a group that includes the state's governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner - that prompted drafting of the Minnesota House and Senate bills. "We can't generate all of it from wind," said Stumpf. "And we get a lot of our energy from North Dakota. If Minnesota's going to be prepared for growth [after the recession eases] we need to have a reliable source of electricity that's not going to be ungodly expensive." The alternative, he said, is to build multiple gas-fired energy-generating plants to meet the electric needs of Minnesota. But the cost of those plants would be passed on to electric rate-payers. Aside from occasional ad campaigns about coal being a cheap, reliable source of electricity, North Dakota has remained relatively silent after passage of the Next Generation Energy Act. Until Feb. 18, that is, when letters from the North Dakota Industrial Commission were sent to Minnesota officials stating that, as of Aug. 1, 2009, North Dakota's energy goals were "severely compromised" when the state closed its borders to the imported coal-fired electricity. The letter goes on to say that North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenhejem recently submitted comments to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission regarding a pending energy resource plan for Maple Grove-based Great River Energy. Stenhejem wrote, "In essence, Minn. Statute 216H.03 places at the North Dakota/Minnesota border a barrier and imposes restrictive conditions on access to the Minnesota market. "Because North Dakota is home to significant coal resources and coal-fired plants, the statute reduces demand for North Dakota coal and thereby damages, not only North Dakota's power generation industry, but also its coal industry." Bob Ambrose, director of legislative affairs for Great River Energy, said the utility supports the bills introduced this week to remove the transmission ban from large new plants. Great River Energy currently is building a coal-fired electric plant that would be affected by the Next Generation Energy Act. That plant, Spiritwood Station, is near Jamestown, N.D., and will have a generation capacity of 99 megawatts when it begins operation in late 2010, according to Therese LaCanne, a spokeswoman for Great River Energy. Steam from the Spiritwood Station plant also would provide steam to help power a nearby Cargill Malt plant. State Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Crookston, said Friday, "My concern has been that [Minnesota] law could eliminate coal-fired energy. They're threatening a lawsuit if they can't work something out." "Power bill would break down coal borders" can be found on the Finance & Commerce website. |
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©2010 Partners for Affordable Energy | |
