By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Have to side with the environmentalists on this one: The EPA made the right call in demanding that Sunflower Electric apply for a new state permit to build a coal-fired power plant in western Kansas.
It's a victory for opponents of the plant, which Gov. Mark Parkinson wrongly pushed forward after secret meetings with Sunflower officials earlier this year.
The July 1 EPA memo is an attachment about halfway down in this story.
The company will have to spend months complying with the EPA's request. That will throw the potential of starting construction in 2010 -- as had been hoped by Sunflower -- into question.
Essentially, the EPA says the compromise reached by Parkinson and approved by the Kansas Legislature created a new plan for the coal-fired plant.
The EPA is correct. A lot has changed just in the past three years on how strict the government is when it comes to what kinds of emissions are allowed from coal-fired plants.
So Sunflower's projections from earlier this decade will need to be re-examined and perhaps recalculated.
That takes time, and with every passing month, the cost of building the plant goes up.
Delicious
Digg
TWAS Comments on Coal and CO2
I agree with twas comments that a lot of ignorance had been put into play on this issue. Given that, we now have a better understanding of the adverse consequences of burning coal, etc, without proper environmental safeguards. As a practical matter, we cannot abruptly stop burning coal. We can, however, start to reduce that practice and aggressively pursue cleaner alternatives (possibly including truly clean use of coal, if such can ever be proven to work). Staying in a state of denial is not a solution.
Remember that old rule: When you find yourself in a hole, the first action to take is to quit digging.
Wilbur2 - it's more like the referee changing the game
rules after the game started. I remember U.S. presidents (including Clinton) referring to our "vast coal reserves" and that they would sustain our electric energy needs for centuries. So what did our utility companies do? You guessed it - built more.
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Of course that is before Algore lost the election and found his profitable calling and convinced the public that we had global warming (not) - and what's worse - they decided that CO2 was a pollutant.
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So the rules got change after hundreds of billions (if not trillions) were spent. But of course, now it's their fault for providing electricity from our 'vast coal reserves'.
EPA Actions re More Coal Plants
EPA's awakening on this subject is long overdue. The coal plant/carbon discharge issue is sort of like a case in which a peddler comes to one's door and offers goods for sale at low prices. This sounds pretty good for a while, until the purchasers come to realize that the peddler (coal plant utility) has been covertly stealing the merchandise from others (wrecking the environment) and then offering it for sale. Now the purchaser is faced with the prospect of purchasing goods at their full price (including environmental costs)and finds it difficult to do. Maybe the free lunch is over.
Kcgrh
I think it odd that he goes silent. He's always got something to say (it use to be "idiot" or "moron" until Yael spanked him).
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I think it's a great question for anyone living in the Midwest (pipe in here anytime, Yael). We have utility companies that have committed to coal-fired generation. I remember in the 1980's and 1990's our presidents reminded us that we have vast coal reserves and we should use them instead of natural gas (or the dreaded nuclear). Now, since a natural gas (carbon dioxide) has been labeled a global warming (excuse me, "climate change") contributor, our utility companies are using fuel that is "bad". I'd like to know what happens to our Midwest utility companies if/when Cap & Tax is in effect. But no one will answer the question.
As Stated at the Tme Twas...
flop won't be answering this question, but I think it is good you put a reminder on your calendar to remind flop every 3 or 5 days he doesn't anwswer the question.
Typical lib....
Interface - you still haven't answered the question
I asked of you this week (and Yael, please don't remove this post - since you obviously are in Interface's camp):
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"Please provide viable stable alternative to coal-fired generating plants" already providing a majority of our electricity in Missouri & Kansas.
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You've been asked several times - but you won't respond.
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I challenge you!
China taking lead in alternative energy
We gonna let China beat us?
This year China is on track to pass the United States as the world’s largest market for wind turbines — after doubling wind power capacity in each of the last four years. State-owned power companies are competing to see which can build solar plants fastest, though these projects are much smaller than the wind projects. And other green energy projects, like burning farm waste to generate electricity, are sprouting up all over the country.
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A series of projects is under construction on the nearly lifeless plateau to the southeast of Dunhuang, including one of six immense wind power projects now being built around China, each with the capacity of more than 16 large coal-fired power plants.
Each of the six projects “totally dwarfs anything else, anywhere else in the world,” said Steve Sawyer, the secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, an industry group in Brussels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/business/energy-environment/03renew.html?_r=1&hp