The Rogers City High School gymnasium filled up with people one more time last night, in what we were told is the last public hearing for the [...]]]>

The Rogers City High School gymnasium filled up with people one more time last night, in what we were told is the last public hearing for the air quality permit for the proposed power plant.

It has been five years since Wolverine Power announced their plans to build a coal-fired power plant in the world’s largest limestone quarry near Rogers City, Michigan. The hearing was specifically set to help the public understand the emissions limits and best available technology for greenhouse gases, as well as to show the proposed plant will not violate new ambient air regulations.

From the Presque Isle County Advance:

When the state denied Wolverine’s application May 21, 2010, it did so based on a perceived lack of need as determined by an opinion of the Michigan Public Service Commission. Wolverine appealed that denial and a Missaukee County judge agreed that there was no legal basis for the denial, sending it back to the DEQ in January.
DEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel said that without the provision of “need” considered, the applicant would have met all state and federal requirements last year. Modifications in the permit have to made because of new federal regulations enacted in 2010, which Wolverine’s engineers, working with DEQ staff, have strived to meet.
“The department will carefully evaluate comments received, determine whether there should be any changes made to the permit conditions, and develop the “Response to Comments” document. If the permit is approved, the Response to Comments document will be issued simultaneous to the permit,” Wurfel said.

Steve Schulwitz writes in the Alpena News:

The permit to install appears to be the last hurdle for Wolverine to clear in order to build the facility. Hellwig said he hopes to have the matter decided one way or another soon.
“We anticipate closure soon,” Hellwig said. “Following the hearing we consider the testimony and public comment, and then as a decision maker, I will render a decision. Depending on the level of comments, the details of the comments, and the time to do a response document, that will determine how much longer it will take. I don’t anticipate it taking a very long time, but we do have to go through the comments and make sure we rewind to those.”

In short, last year, after waiting 2 1/2 years for an air permit we were promised would take no more than 6 months, the permit was denied based on Governor Jennifer Granholm’s unconstitutional and rescinded executive order that all coal permits be issued on a needs basis. Her administration saw no need for the plant, despite clear, concise documentation to the contrary, and denied the permit. Wolverine Power appealed the denial in court and won, making it abundantly clear that the denial was purely political. This hearing brings us back to October 2008, except for the fact that the federal EPA has tightened emissions limits on two gases that are special to coal burning, NO2 and SO2.
Without going in to too much technical language, the plant passes those standards.

So here we are again. Every standard set by the State of Michigan is met by Wolverine. Every regulation not in place last time has been met now in 2011. Whenever a safety minimum has been suggested, Wolverine has doubled and sometimes tripled their own standards to remove any doubt that they are committed to building a state-of-the-art clean coal-fired power plant in one of the most economically depressed counties in the State of Michigan, and that’s saying something. It is now left, once again, to the State of Michigan DEQ to give the permit an up or down.

Following another long wait for a court ruling from Missaukee County, Wolverine seemingly can move forward with the Clean Energy Venture.

According to [...]]]>

Following another long wait for a court ruling from Missaukee County, Wolverine seemingly can move forward with the Clean Energy Venture.

According to Presque Isle Newspapers editor Rich Lamb, “Missaukee County Circuit Judge William Fagerman determined the “action of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) exceeded its statutory authority by denying the permit to install (PTI) base upon need,” and sent the matter back to the state for reconsideration.”

Ever cautious are we here at Jennerationx, because we know what may stand in Wolverine’s way, but for now, it seems, according to NPR public radio, that the state is not standing in their way.

Brad Wurfel is a spokesman with MDEQ. He says their decision to change course is partly because of two judges ruling against the state and partly because of the new administration.

“Governor Snyder is in favor of building Michigan’s economy and in the case of Wolverine Rogers City has expressed an interest in additional power to realize a long term vision for increasing its port capacity, expanding its infrastructure, and they need power to do it. Right now they’re buying that power from Ohio and Indiana.”

Wurfel says it’s not an issue of whether or not the new governor is for or against coal plants.

“Our job at the department of environmental quality is to see to it that the permits that are issued to them are in compliance with state and federal clean air statues.”

What this may mean is that the long fight over an air quality permit, which lasted over 1000 days for Rogers City and Wolverine, is not over. I have asked for an interview of the parties involved, and will report back, but I can envision further difficulty because of the EPA.

The EPA is disregarding the three branches of government entirely and putting in place regulations in lieu of legislation, completely hobbling our energy future.

When your livelihood depends on the coal industry, you have to [...]]]>

When your livelihood depends on the coal industry, you have to fight to keep your job. That goes for any mining industry under this administration.

While we in Northern Michigan have survived for a hundred years on the mines and quarries of minerals and rock, the coal miners are fighting for survival against the most extremely radical EPA this nation has ever seen. We have seen the radical environmentalists who claim to represent the sentiment of the majority, and yet we know they represent not only the minority of thought, but the extreme emotionalism of reactionaries.

There is not an opposition to coal amongst those who mine it. We are dealing with the opposition to jobs with this administration at the helm. The coal-rich West Virginia delegation has Gary Howell, fighting for their jobs, hopefully, he won’t be the only one.

Obama plans on announcing funding (from where we do not know) tonight at the State of the Union address of 150 billion-with-a-B dollars for “clean energy.” This is not for energy, it is to create the illusion of making energy, and pay the thousands of green-educated college grads because there is no where else for them to work. Don’t forget how much money is invested in green energy and the millionaire liberals who will win on Wall Street. That 150 Billion dollars is to divert jobs from coal to green, and not using the same folks.

That is why they are rallying. The coal miners know the threat, the very real threat from the green millionaires.

Keeping an eye on energy news we don’t hear much about. Below are links to articles and my take on them.

Picking up where we left off last week, the [...]]]>

Keeping an eye on energy news we don’t hear much about. Below are links to articles and my take on them.

Picking up where we left off last week, the final story on the round-up was about how China has been subsidizing wind and solar and coal, virtually their entire energy production roster, and how they are out-subsidizing us. This week NRO’s Greg Pollowitz goes further and shows that despite China’s energy subsidies, you cannot get past the fact that wind and solar do next to nothing in actual megawatts of energy production:

But despite this rapid progress, wind energy still only generates a tiny fraction of China’s electricity. Indeed, even with aggressive government backing and green energy mandates, such “new energy” — including wind, solar, nuclear power plants, and biomass — accounts for less than 3 percent of China’s electricity production, compared to more than 70 percent provided by coal..

This is evidence of why coal power cannot easily be replaced with wind and solar, but also by nuclear:

Just to supply one-quarter of its current energy mix from a resource that emits far fewer greenhouse gases — nuclear power — the U.S. would need to build 1,000 one-gigawatt nuclear reactors by 2050. Yet construction has begun on only two nuclear reactors in the U.S. since 1974. And just to power an electric car and truck fleet to replace the U.S.’s current gas and ethanol-fueled one would require 500 new nuclear power plants. There are currently 442 reactors in the entire world, of which the U.S. has 104 — the most of any nation.

The Green Movement is loud and whiny, but they are not working fast enough to beat what they see as the thing that will kill the planet. Because it cannot be beat, and it will not kill the planet. Coal is part of the planet.

One of the funnier posts on Anthony Watts’ blog, “Watts Up With That?” is the graph in “Alarming Trends” he posted from Bishop Hill’s blog. He added more words to the query to make a funnier and more pertinent example in his final graph. Just how the books that pertain to bullshit and global warming rise at the same time is interesting, no?

Keeping an eye on energy news we don’t hear much about. Below are links to articles and my take on them.

Down on Upton: Michigan Energy News Undercuts Rep’s [...]]]>

Keeping an eye on energy news we don’t hear much about. Below are links to articles and my take on them.

Down on Upton: Michigan Energy News Undercuts Rep’s Rap
Henderson is in charge of the Midwest Division of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and is upset that Upton has changed his tune on energy. Henderson believes his efforts with the NRDC are helping improve the planet. In my view, Henderson has a God complex, and nothing he is doing is helping our nation improve it’s economy, even though he says his way of fighting “climate change” is creating jobs. If Henderson was so interested in nature, he would have learned long ago that the earth heals on it’s own, and the world’s climate changes and there is nothing we can do about it. I see little reason for Fred Upton to hear him out on this, but I found it interesting that he tries to convince the reader that his point of view has merit after he says, “Whether you agree with the climate science or not, everyone can agree that eliminating the massive toll taken by air and water pollution that comes along with coal plants—as well as eliminating waste from our energy system—is unambiguously good.” With that sentence, he switches the focus from “climate change” to pollution. The new coal plants are very clean, and brand new technology fights pollutants. The fact is, the renewable energy he is talking about cannot produce the amount of energy that coal can, nor the amount of jobs. Henderson is a coal-industry hater, even though coal is part of nature.

U.S. does not have infrastructure to consume more ethanol
A study done by Purdue University says that unless something is done, ethanol production in America is an exercise in futility. There aren’t enough flex-fuel vehicles on the road, and the owners of many of these types of cars don’t know they can use that type of fuel, or won’t, or can’t find a pump. Wally Tyner used information from the EPA to come to the conclusion that the saturation point has been reached when it comes to ethanol. “Even if you could produce a whole bunch of E85, there is no way to distribute it,” Tyner said. “We would need to install about 2,000 pumps per year through 2022 to do it. You’re not going to go from 100 per year to 2,000 per year overnight. It’s just not going to happen.” Tyner goes on to say that ethanol would have to be cheaper than gasoline in order to be energy efficient.

Scientists: BP’s oil lingers, but bacteria ate natural gas
The title of the article is misleading. The story says they can’t find the oil, but the natural gas was eaten up by bacteria. All that really means is they can’t find the oil (but maybe it was eaten up too, but we can’t prove it.) Fair enough, but this story is something Henderson-with-the-God-complex should read. Isn’t nature wonderful? Or, as a friend of mine said, “”gee, bacteria eats cow farts. someone should inform the EPA.” If you don’t get the reference, read this, Cow Backpacks Trap Methane Gas Oh, the jokes are just careening through me brain.

To Complain About Limited Resources is Like a Trillionaire’s Child Complaining About Allowance; The Case for Optimism from the Ocean Floor
Mark Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the University of Michigan-Flint. You should read it, but Henderson-with-the-God-complex should read it too.

Mother Earth is abundant, she has natural cycles, she heals herself, and adapts to adversity. All of nature does this.

Yesterday’s Politico article:

“Our work on light bulbs wasn’t an arbitrary mandate,” he said. “We didn’t just pick a standard out of the air, or look for a catchy sounding [...]]]>

Yesterday’s Politico article:

“Our work on light bulbs wasn’t an arbitrary mandate,” he said. “We didn’t just pick a standard out of the air, or look for a catchy sounding standard like 25 by 2025 not based in science or feasibility. Instead, we worked with both industry and environmental groups to come up with a standard that made sense and was doable.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45059.html#ixzz15AsSPtxL

Congressman Fred Upton’s work with environmental groups is what needs to be highlighted in this article.

Global Warming theory is thoroughly debunked. It is not only not caused by human industry, it is not happening. Moreover, the Congressman is seeking the top spot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the chair of such a committee must realize this.

Further, the fluorescent bulbs that are held in favor by extremist environmentalists contain mercury, one of the elements the green movement decries when killing coal plants. Their hypocrisy is stunning.

Thomas Edison’s work was the result of his life-long interest in science. Fred Upton’s consultation with the scientific agenda of the green movement, which is not science, but an ideology, must be pointed out.

The idea that he defended the ban by saying it wasn’t done by picking a percentage and time out of the air is not the point, the fact that it was done based on faulty information, and the lack of leadership on energy issues is.

Nobody is happy here in Presque Isle County, Michigan.

The regulators of Michigan’s Utilities have deemed that Northern Michigan has no need for additional energy.

That means that Northern Michigan will continue to have to buy electricity from downstate and other states to [...]]]>

The regulators of Michigan’s Utilities have deemed that Northern Michigan has no need for additional energy.

That means that Northern Michigan will continue to have to buy electricity from downstate and other states to meet the energy requirements it currently has, as the electric co-ops have been doing, and for the foreseeable future.

It also means that Northern Michigan’s stagnant economy is assumed to remain stagnant, a bet the State of Michigan is insuring.

Because the State of Michigan has no economic plan, other that managing it’s own decline, Northern Michiganders can count on forever sending their children away to search for prosperity in another state.  Indeed, Northern Michigan’s largest export is her children.

It is no secret that Michigan is over-regulated, but the fact that it has been put down a path of decline by the authoritarian control of the Granholm administration in concert with the Sierra Club and other radical environmentalist groups interested in killing any hope for change in it’s economic development, cannot be ignored.

What it boils down to is that the Democrat Party is not interested in standing for the little guy.  From Al Gore and his demonstrably false attack on man, to Jennifer Granholm’s inane wishful thinking of green energy supply, to Tom Karas and his dirty ties to radical environmental groups in California, it is obvious that feelings and hopes and wishes of a utopian society have replaced logic, science, jobs and results.

The two schools of thought, one, that energy is produced to fuel economic freedom, and the other, that energy should be produced to strictly feed absolute need, are diametrically opposed.

Economic freedom, an approach long abandoned by Michigan’s leadership, is a quintessential goal sought in this state since it’s inception, and is free-market based.

The strangulation of freedom is what our state government excels at.

Requests made by the Int’l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers were ignored.

Requests made by the Cheboyan and Presque Isle Development groups were ignored.

What the State has said, essentially, is that the small towns, the little guy, the union worker, have no right to enjoy high-paying jobs, to benefit their families.

With the ruling on the permit, the State has manufactured false numbers to tell us ‘little people’ that they are protecting us from a rate increase.

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.-Ben Franklin