The long road from 2006 until [...]]]>

The long road from 2006 until today is not over, but gaining an air permit from the State of Michigan for the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture is going to make a lot of people very happy.

The small town of Rogers City, went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the past 5 years, mostly due to regulatory nightmares and green activist insults.

Forbes points out that Wolverine still has to decide if they will go ahead with the plant, but what was denied in 2010 was righted at last.

I have followed this story since the beginning, and I will write more about it, soon.  In the meantime, you can catch up here:

http://jennerationx.com/the-rogers-city-coal-plant/

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.

Stay strong, Congressman Upton. The EPA’s overreach knows no bounds.

According to Politico, Chairman of the Energy Committee, Michigan Congressman Fred Upton is working with Inhofe and Whitfield to [...]]]>

Stay strong, Congressman Upton. The EPA’s overreach knows no bounds.

According to Politico, Chairman of the Energy Committee, Michigan Congressman Fred Upton is working with Inhofe and Whitfield to fight a court case with American Energy.

The lawmakers urged the judges to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed states and environmental groups to move ahead with a public “nuisance” lawsuit seeking to force the utilities to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

But while the EPA is working feverishly to impose more and more restrictions on the energy sector, the attorneys for the Obama administration seemingly dismiss the lawsuit as a public nuisance.

The Obama administration also asked the high court to reverse the ruling, arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and that the nuisance claims would be better handled by legislation or regulations than by the courts.

Obama administration attorneys say EPA was already moving forward with efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which undercut the need for nuisance lawsuits.

Not to mention the need for jobs. The EPA is deciding by fiat what they will do to our economy. With regulations stopping energy from being produced, they certainly won’t be improving it.

The trio of lawmakers are also submitting legislation to strip the EPA of their drive to regulate greenhouse gases, which scares the NRDC, which is usually the proper reason to do just about anything. The Natural Resources Defense Council should be more aptly named, the Job Killing Busy Bodies. Hunters, Fisherman, Miners, and Farmers are the true Defenders of our Natural Resources, and the NRDC are actively trying to kill every way to make a living.

The EPA, the NRDC, the Sierra Club, the FOE, and Greenpeace are the greatest job killers in this nation, throwing people into poverty with no regard for the poor getting poorer, while they themselves get richer.

Utilities double-counting ‘Renewable Energy Credits’

Okay, this story is going down a new road for me, I have heard of Renewable Energy Credits, (RECs) but like [...]]]>

Utilities double-counting ‘Renewable Energy Credits’

Okay, this story is going down a new road for me, I have heard of Renewable Energy Credits, (RECs) but like you, I don’t care about them. I’m just shocked about how fake all of the green energy is. With RECs, energy isn’t traded, pieces of paper that say you care about green energy are traded. What happens is, the EPA issues pieces of paper to wind power farms. Those farms sell the paper to power companies that do not have wind power as part of their energy plan, therefore they can meet the national quotas for “green energy” and save face with the EPA.

Wolverine Power of Michigan (the one suing the state over a denied air permit) bought some RECs from Huron Wind. Then DTE Energy bought the same RECs, so now there has been a double-counting of useless pieces of paper. The article’s title suggests that it is DTE and Wolverine Powers fault that the RECs (interestingly pronounced wrecks) were double counted. “This double-counting of RECs shows the vulnerabilities of relying on a commodities trading scheme instead of actually buying clean energy,” some ecology nut said. The nut went on, “”What we’re really asking is for the MPSC to do a public accounting..”

Excuse me, but if the wind power place had the RECs to distribute, and they were bought by one utility after being claimed by another, isn’t it the wind power place’s job to account for it? So we have paper from the EPA given to the wind place, and then sold to a utility, who can either also buy the energy, or not, just to prove they are green enough. When things that don’t exist get double counted, the eco nuts look to a governmental unit like the MPSC.

Green Hell Blog: CFL’s Burn Out In California?

Somebody call Upton! CFLs do not last 9 years, they last 6 years, and that screws with the so-called savings they said buying one would produce. Bring back the incandescent!!

Watts Up With That?: Quote of the Week–Carbon Traders Defraud The Fraud

Chicago stopped trading carbon credits and now Europe did, getting all ticked about people who are gaming the system.

Which brings me to my last offering, from the nutjobs at “friends of the earth,”

10 Ways to Game the Carbon Markets

Just a note, when reading anything from the FOE, read it in a high-pitched whine, slightly lower volume than a scream.

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.

Yes, You Could Say I’m A Global Warming [...]]]>

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

Yes, You Could Say I’m A Global Warming Denier, but only if you communicate in negatives. There is not a pink elephant in my kitchen, but that doesn’t mean I’m denying it, it means there is not one there.
Watt’s Up With That? is a blog devoted to the Global Warming Myth, and is where I stole this graph, but also the latest argument killer of the “climate change movement.” Dr. Kevin Trenberth says that since the IPCC says global warming is “unequivocal,” that now we must prove that man has absolutely no effect on climate change. Willis Eschenbach explains.
WHAT GLOBAL WARMING?

What an absolute mess the British Police have made.
They sent a police officer, well actually, many police officers undercover to live amongst the hippies, I mean eco-terrorists. While he was undercover, Mark Kennedy slept with more than a few of the hippy women, even though he is married. The whole undercover police thing fell apart when the eco-marxists planned an attack on a coal plant. Kennedy came clean, (I actually don’t know if he showered or not,) told everything, and now, the police are in trouble for sending him undercover in the first place. Get this, the attorney for the eco-nutso’s is actually suggesting that Kennedy be held up for rape because the women did not know they were compromising themselves with a non-hippy. How does law and order become all jumbled up? Think this is all far-fetched? You are looking at America in 20 years if we don’t stop these environmental whackjobs.

If I told you that if we don’t do something about the climate and how it changes, in a thousand years, things may be different, what would your reaction be?

If we stopped emitting carbon dioxide now, which would bring us close to the 2010 scenario, it’s unlikely the ice sheet would collapse, Gillett said.

STOP EXHALING!

I found it comical to read these two articles back to back. One from Grand Rapids, and one from Ludington.
Pros, cons of wind energy get a closer look at local forum
Residents share wind turbine concerns
Nevertheless, those who don’t necessarily read these types of articles may not see the comedy. The pros and cons of wind energy are being juxtaposed against the cons of coal plants. And, the cons of the coal plants are given only by the wind pros, and they are wrong.
For instance, the wind pros say that their product causes observable “fatal collisions birds and bats have with turbines, counting carcasses and observing feathers flying,” and the other story confirms that by saying, “noise, blade throw, ice throw — if ice formed on the blades loosens and then is thrown from the blade — bats and birds.” All of that is quite unnerving. But, in order to prove that wind turbines are good, the wind pro said, “Acidification of soil and water changes habitats, and mercury is killing animals, she said….Climate change due to coal-driven power could eliminate entire ecosystems that took thousands of years to develop.” That is first of all, not true, and second of all, not a reason to get a wind turbine. Of course, by looking at the video on the Ludington site, you will see just how fun it would be to live by a wind turbine.

Evergreen Solar closing Massachusetts plant because of competition from ‘heavily subsidized solar manufacturers in China’
And lastly, this story is sad, and shows the inevitable end to all the wonderful green energy subsidization in America. Sometimes, we just have to realize that China will always out-subsidize us.

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.

Last night it was announced that Bart Stupak will hold a press conference today at 11 am to talk about the abortion language in the health care bill.

He has [...]]]>

Last night it was announced that Bart Stupak will hold a press conference today at 11 am to talk about the abortion language in the health care bill.

He has been in talks with Nancy Pelosi about the abortion funding language in the Senate bill and has offered a piece of legislation he calls a “corrections resolution” which would strike the current abortion language in the Senate bill, and would have a separate vote than the reconciliation vote planned for tomorrow.  Pelosi signaled that such a vote would be taken before or after the reconciliation vote.

I’m not sure what he will say at the press conference,  but if he stands in front of that microphone and starts to talk about how pro-life he is, he will be signaling that he will not vote for the reconciliation bill on Sunday to save his butt in November.

I have noticed on the Congressman’s website that he announced a new grant,  and jobs legislation yesterday  in his district.

Stupak Announces $726,409 for Airports in Alpena, Delta and Chippewa Counties

3/19/2010 | WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced three airports in northern Michigan have received grants totaling $726,409 for airport maintenance and improvements.  The funding was provided by read more »

Stupak Statement on Michigan Legislation to Reinforce Public Trust for Great Lakes

3/19/2010 | WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) issued the following statement in support of Michigan HB 5319 to reinforce that the Great Lakes and the groundwater that feeds them read more »

Stupak Attends Signing of Targeted Jobs Bill

3/19/2010 | WASHINGTON – Legislation marking another step forward for job creation was signed into law Thursday at a White House Rose Garden ceremony.  U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), a vocal read more »

There is continued speculation in the district that he will announce that the Rogers City Wolverine Clean Energy Venture will qualify for the second round of federal carbon capture funding to ease a  path toward the air quality permit that is delayed now for 2 1/2 years to be granted by the state.

These funding grants for his district, along with a no vote on the health care reform bill could help him keep his seat this fall.

That way, he steers clear of any funding spotlight that Tom Coburn, a fellow congressman has promised to shine on any Democrat yes vote on the reconciliation bill.

However, if he thinks he has a deal with Pelosi to accept his “corrections resolution” and he votes yes to the reconciliation bill because of it, 40 Democrat female pro-abort legislators have threatened to hold out on the reconciliation bill because of the lack of abortion funding in the bill.  Which of course debunks the idea the the Senate bill has no abortion funding in it as Catholics United has been claiming in television ads heavily blanketing the district.

I don’t know, but my guess is that these female legislators will not hold out if Pelosi promises them that the “corrections resolution” will either not pass or not be left in the final bill to be signed by President Obama.

Stupak’s proposed extra legislation faces parliamentary problems, so the idea that his “corrections resolution” will hold or even be voted upon is quite questionable.

Then of course, the act of voting on the reconciliation amendment package is put in the place of actually voting for the Senate bill.

The House doesn’t want to vote for the Senate bill, it will be said to be “deemed passed” with the vote on the amendment package.

Which of course is unconstitutional.

Further, if the President signs a bill on Sunday because reconciliation passes, it will be the Senate bill without the amendment package, because the Senate would have to then vote on the amendment package from the house.

So, if as a result of voting in favor of the reconciliation package on Sunday, Stupak gets a promise that there is no abortion funding in the bill he voted on, he will have neither voted on a bill, nor taken the abortion funding out of it.

And, if the President signs a bill on Sunday, it will be unconstitutional.

Update: Stupak’s Press Conference to be held off indefinitely?

T @gretawire: Just in: Congressman Stupak just cancelled his press conference..

Stupak’s Presser postponed.

Update: Stupak brought down by Congressional Maneuver?

Update: Stupak is “Finished with Pelosi”