Prairie Politics with a European Flair (ND 2.0)

Happy Bastille Day!

On Thursday I summed up some of the speakers that I thought were particularly interesting in their policy insights. A glaring omission, however, was my failure to mention any of the politicians – you know, actual policymakers – who spoke. First off, we had a teleconference with North Dakota’s Congressional caucus: Representative Earl Pomeroy and Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad. They spoke briefly of the failure of the Lieberman-Warner legislation. Sen. Dorgan called it a ‘dress rehearsal’ for next year, and Sen. Conrad used the phrase ‘spring training.’ All were optimistic that in the next year, something substantial on the energy legislation front would be done, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election. Sen. Dorgan, however, also spoke freely of his own decision to vote against cloture on L-W. He identified the fact that the bill had been closed off to amendments as fundamentally weakening the potential for that legislation from the very beginning.

The consensus among the Congressional delegation – perhaps not surprising for representatives in a state that produces coal – is that whether we use coal moving forward is not really a question; rather we should be looking at how we will use coal. While this is a somewhat close-minded and premature conclusion, it does reflect political realities at least in the short term. Though I would also add, it is short term thinking that has got us into this mess in the first place.

Later in the day, the North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner gave his perspective, followed by the state senator I quoted in my last post. Governor John Hoeven echoed their remarks, the theme of which was: North Dakota is very well situated as the energy revolution moves forward. The state has the greatest wind potential in the United States, large swaths of land that is prime for carbon sequestration, and all sorts of perennial grasses that could be converted into biofuel.

Perhaps the most interesting political perspective of the day, however, came from Her Majesty’s Consul Annabelle Malins (the British have the sweetest titles!). Even the motivation for her coming to North Dakota speaks volumes. The British government, discouraged and frustrated by Washington’s inertia, has started working with state governments and the various regional accords in order to encourage and support positive climate legislation in the United States. (And they came to this stance even before the administration decided to punt regulation of CO₂ to the next president.) The UK, she said in her charming accent, sees climate change as a top priority both domestically and internationally. Moreover, all of their needs – satisfying energy needs, reducing warming, improving energy security, creating good jobs – point in the same direction. And they have already managed to reduce their emissions to below 1990 levels, all while growing their economy 45% during that same period. Sounds good to me.

Unabashed Anglophilia aside, it seems that there is quite a lot to be learned from the Brits and North Dakotans. A strange pairing to be sure, but now is the time to move beyond the conventional. How appropriate, on the 219^th anniversary of the storming of Le Bastille, to talk about the potential for cooperation and expansion in the clean energy movement. Vive la revolution!

 

As promised:

 

Terminator IV

Tomorrow, residents of the Twin Cities area will have an opportunity to star in their very own action movie.

By ‘star’ I mean watch, and by ‘action movie’ I mean the implosion of the High Bridge generating plant’s 570 foot concrete stack, which previously spewed coal juices into the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I will probably not be there to witness it because, well, it’s happening at 7:30 in the morning. But still, it’s pretty cool. The coal-fired plant is being retooled to run on natural gas, which is much cleaner and much more efficient. It is still not an ideal fuel source, perhaps, but it is certainly nothing to turn our noses up at while we develop other technologies to help us move toward clean energy.

For more information about the plant’s renovation, check out this page by Xcel Energy.

Even better, I used my mad artistic skillz to draw this sweet picture. Consider it a preview of coming attractions. (I don’t know if you’ve ever seen an implosion before, but fairies actually come and paint a magic red X over the building.)

Hopefully on Monday I will be able to find a video to post and also present different commentary about the event. The only things still needed to make this a truly AWESOME eco-action movie? Arnold Schwarzenegger and a 55-mph Prius chase.

I’ll be back.

 

Mo’ Coal, Mo’ Problems: A Lifetime Original Movie (Based on a True Story)

Anyone who says that government is boring has never been to a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission hearing. Okay, the hearing itself was boring. But paraphrased and with only a little bit of creative license, it was dramatic and occasionally humorous. In a really dark, Drop Dead Gorgeous kind of way.

Curtain up on a large room, with soft, mother-of-pearl walls and a nondescript carpet. At the front of the room sit five stoic commissioners. The chair leans forward to speak. “I’m most concerned about the ratepayer,” he begins. He then inquires about the costs of windmills and other renewable alternatives to coal.

The representative from the utility company appears absolutely gleeful about the opportunity just handed to him. “The price of renewables is escalating at a much higher rate than any other type of power,” he gasps.

The woman testifying on behalf of the various clean energy advocates bristles slightly. “Well, no. There have been no studies that have shown that conclusively.” She implies that further studies would be needed in order to make that assertion with the confidence that Mr. Utility had.

The chair pounces. He objects to the implication that more studies be done, which would mean more delays that would threaten his Yeoman ratepayers (though missing the point of the witness’s comment). Then he suddenly waxes nostalgic. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he muses. “And you can’t always go on the evidence. A certain amount of this is instinct, and comes from experience. Now I don’t want to talk about myself…” though clearly he did, “and about my wisdom and experience, but this job takes wisdom, and experience. And you can only get that wisdom from experience. Have I mentioned that I am wise and experienced?” He paused. “Well, I think this is a good time for a ten minute break.”

After the commission had reconvened, closing remarks were made.

The applicants emphasized that while they were not entirely confident in their cost estimates, the longer it took to break ground, the more it would cost to build the plant. “Delay is a poison pill,” they asserted. They acknowledged that some of the commissioners were not satisfied that they, the applicants, had satisfied their obligations of proof. Nonetheless, the project would die if it were not approved right away. “We urge the commission to grant the Certificate of Need,” they concluded. “If you make us come up with better numbers, it will take too long, and the sketchy numbers we have now will be even wronger!” The chair nodded knowingly.

With this, the commission entered into deliberations about the fate of the coal plant in question, called Big Stone II (appropriated abbreviated BSII). Specifically, the commission was to determine whether to issue a Certificate of Need allowing transmission lines to be built from the proposed plant in South Dakota. After some discussion about the regional nature of the project, and other serious federalism issues that kind of ruin my dramatization, the chair once again addressed the room.

“It would be easy to say no to this plant. That is the popular thing to do. But my job is to provide for the energy needs of the ratepayer. Not the needs of the entire planet, but the need of Minnesota. In fifty years, no one will remember who approved this plant. It’s not like I want eternal glory, per se, though donations to the Chair’s Foundations for Remembering the Life and Career of the Chair can be made after the hearing. Anyways, saying yes is the courageous thing to do.”

At this, many in the room were visibly confused about the suggestion that siding with industry is a difficult and courageous thing to do. Another commissioner said as much. A third commissioner spoke up, saying that he was not especially convinced with the evidence in the record. He noted that applicants and interveners both had presented dramatically different models, different because they had used different assumptions. He asked for an independent consultant to evaluate the information.

At least an hour of discussion and another break later, the applicants were willing to accept further studies, since it had become clear that without further clarification the application would be rejected. And so, in a room filled with palpable tension, the eager citizens waiting to hear the decision were served by the PUC with a cliff-hanger almost as suspenseful as an episode of 24… and not in a good way.

Unconvinced that BSII was needed, they elected to perform further studies at the mighty ratepayer’s expense rather than rule that the plant was not needed.

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For a more factual (though decidedly less colorful) account of the Big Stone II project, check out the following resources:

http://wcco.com/local/big.stone.energy.2.740764.html

From the Sierra Club: http://northstar.sierraclub.org/campaigns/air/coal/bigStoneFactsheet.html

From the project planners (I’m an equal opportunity blogger): http://www.bigstoneii.com/PlantProject/PlantEnvironmentalImpact.asp

(Necessary caveat: a ‘more efficient’ coal plant still emits boatloads of CO2. So, sure, if you’re into that kind of thing.)