A reversal for coal plant

"Coal plants proposed around the nation have been cancelled in the past year. " What kind of a statement is that? What FACTS do you have to back it up? I'm sure coal plants around the nation have also been built this year as well. What's the whole story? This kind of incomplete reporting is usually reserved to the political reporters here. Where is the obvious follow up that mentions the blackout in Texas earlier this year because the wind didn't blow and they had no reserves to fall back on because of decisions exactly like this one. Power companies wouldn't want to invest in the infrastructure if they didn't see overwhelming evidence that people would be needing and buying power to pay for it in the future. Windmills and conservation alone cannot accomodate the future needs of Minnesota. Where is the factual basis from each of the interested parties in this story?

algore must've invited the two judges up to witness the late ice out in Minnesota...further proof of global warming.

We have to become frugal with energy, folks. I have cut down about 60% in my life. Have you tried just a smidgeon?

It beats getting angry, aggressive towards humanity or being depressed in life. And the new behavior becomes a habit you can feel happy about.

Cutting your energy by 60% hasn't generated even one additional megawatt. Unless we expect the population and our communities to shrink and not grow, we need more capacity, not just less usage.

Is the Bob Schulte, here the CEO of CMMPA the same Bob Schulte, consultant and former Excelsior Energy VP, who wrote a report for SDEIA that said there were problems with investing in infrastructure in South Dakota, power plants and transmission, because there was no market? Here's a link to the report: http://nocapx2020.info/...
Seems like South Dakota Energy Infrastructure Authority better have a chat with the Big Stone II partners -- some reality orientation is in order!

Oh good, now I can spend more on electricity, to go along with high gas prices and increasing food prices. What do I need money for anyway!

I don't see why all you folks have your undies in a bunch. With all of the businesses and people who are leaving or, are about to leave, we will not need much power. The wind mills and solar panels should take care of all the greenies and entitlement takers that will be left.

Remember this article in the next few years as we all will be experiencing higher utility prices and eventually rolling black-outs. Just as lack of drilling has led to higher oil/gas prices lack of utility investment will lead to less supply/more demand.

I have studied this issue and many experts are predicting these outcomes. For those that don't believe or don't want to believe, check out some of these articles from a quick google search:
http://www.google.com/search...

Enviromentalism/socailism is on the march and currently winning this arguement. It, as it always does, will end with the same results. It's really unfathomable to me that politicians and two unelected judges are leading us down this path of pain and ruin. When the food in your fridge spoils, when you can't conduct your business and home life in a normal cost efficent manner, remember what has lead to this.

They are currently pricing us out of our cars. They now want us out of our homes and living in a soviet style condo's near a light rail station.

This country runs on cheap. reliable, fossile fuels. The technology isn't yet available to replace this. These wacked out greenies are communists plain and simple. This is a major back door tax increase which will kill the middle and lower middle class. Just like they trash the big bad oil companies because they have limited their drilling prospects they will soon defect your attention to the big bad utilities when judical fiat causes them to raise their prices.

Wake up people, these Marxists won't stop until your life is as miserable as theirs. They hate this country, themselves and you because you just want to live free and happy. They won't stop until this whole country is as screwed up as every major democratic controlled inner city. These people are sick in the head, period.

U.S. coal prices are equal to $1.98 for each million British thermal units of energy, compared with $12.51 for fuel oil and $6.91 for natural gas, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A million British thermal units is the equivalent of eight gallons of gasoline.
More than 1,000 coal-fed power plants will be built in the next five years, mostly in China and India, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. China, the world's biggest coal producer, became a net importer for the first time this year, taking supplies from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa and reducing the amount available for Europe.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news...
Geez, ya think this may cause more manufacturing to move overseas?

When the senior citizens, poor and working class people complain about unaffordable electricity and heating bills and $50 to fill up their cars, be sure to tell them who's at fault. The leftist environmentalists and their democrat friends with power in the government.

In addition to carbon dioxide, coal plants spew lots of mercury and radiation into the environment. In fact, they emit more radiation than nuclear plants. Besides using less electricity, we should start building more nuclear power plants rather than coal-fired plants. That way we can satisfy energy demands and protect the environment at the same time.

I wonder what the energy policies and politics would be if we did the right thing and ended the subsidies like energy assistance (for the so-called poor} and also let the utilities shut down service to the deadbeats.

The judges are to be commended! The shocking issue here is that they are probably only refering to the explicit costs and have not taken into account the externalities such as increased health care and environmental cleanup, and the cost of reduced IQ from mercury intoxification and deaths from ozone, sulfur oxide, and particulate polution. Wind and concentrated solar power (CSP) are essentially pollution free whereas coal, even "clean coal", is one of the dirtiest energy sources known to man (reprocessing of gob coal is worse). Wind and CSP have very stable costs over time but coal is anything but constant and predictable.

This is good news for Minnesota, South Dakota, and the entire Midwest.

The coal this Big Stone II would have burned needs to stay in the ground.

But it's not over yet. These are only recommendations from the judges....

(also author of the SDEIA/Schulte comment above, oops, I thought it was "title") In the Comment section here, there are a lot of anonymous comments by people who obviously haven't read the judge's recommendation. Here's a link to it:
http://legalectric.org/weblog/2226/
A read of this report shows just how radical and capricious it isn't. It's thorough and everything is backed up with citations to the record. Just like the Recommendation against Excelsior Energy's Mesaba Project attempt to force a PPA on Xcel. Let's see what the PUC does in this case.

<< The judges found that power companies backing the Big Stone II plant near Milbank, S.D., had failed to show that their demands for electricity could not be met more cheaply through renewable energy resources like wind and conservation efforts. >>

Then they are STUPID. Wind is horrifically expensive!!!

can't drill in ANWR and offshore either.

Can't use our abundance of coal.

Thanks DFL, Teamsters and environmentalists wackos

<< U.S. coal prices are equal to $1.98 for each million British thermal units of energy, compared with $12.51 for fuel oil and $6.91 for natural gas, data compiled by Bloomberg show. >>

Your data are about a year old.
As of Friday, natgas was $11.53 for June, and fuel oil (diesel #2 heating oil) was $26.39 per MBtu. Coal is $4.27 per MBtu.

Still, this is a LOT cheaper than wind.

Here is a dollop of information for you...

Minnesota wholesale power prices through the Midwest ISO are at least 20% higher than the rest of the midwest. In fact, you have to go all the way to New Jersey and New York to find higher prices. Why is this? Lack of transmission.

Don't believe me? Here is a link.
http://www.ferc.gov/market-oversight/mkt-elec...