Minnesota Court Blocks Construction of Gas-Fired Plant
Credit to Author: Darrell Proctor| Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2019 20:31:45 +0000
The post Minnesota Court Blocks Construction of Gas-Fired Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.
A Minnesota court on Dec. 23 said a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in neighboring Wisconsin needs more environmental review before construction can proceed, reversing an earlier decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that approved the facility.
The state Court of Appeals on Monday said state regulators must look at whether the Nemadji Trail Energy Center in Superior, Wisconsin, which was approved by the PUC in October 2018 and would have a generation capacity of 525 to 625 MW, would have “significant environmental effects” on the surrounding area. The court’s ruling means the PUC must conduct another review of the plant.
Minnesota Power, a utility division of Midwestern energy company ALLETE, which is headquartered in Duluth, and La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Dairyland Power Cooperative want to build the proposed $700 million Nemadji Trail plant on land between the Nemadji River and Enbridge Energy’s Superior terminal, near Lake Superior at the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The terminal is a hub for U.S. crude oil imports, and a distribution center for the movement of crude oil across the U.S.
Minnesota Power has said the plant would support its transition away from coal-fired power, and supplement its increased use of renewable energy resources.
“We are disappointed in this unprecedented decision because a Minnesota environmental review has never been applied to a facility outside the state of Minnesota,” the utility said in a statement. Julie Pierce, Minnesota Power vice president of strategy and planning, said the company is reviewing the decision and “considering all of our options.”
The PUC will decide whether to appeal Monday’s ruling or comply with the court’s order. “The commission is reviewing today’s decision and has not yet made a decision on whether the commission will appeal,” said PUC Chairwoman Katie Sieben.
Need for Environmental Review at Issue
Environmental groups have said the PUC was wrong to initially approve the gas-fired plant because the agency ruled an environmental review was not necessary. The groups said the utilities did not show the new plant was needed, and also said Minnesota should give preference to emissions-free power generation.
The appeals court in its ruling Monday said state law requires an environmental assessment worksheet when a citizen petition “demonstrates that, because of the nature or location of the action proposed in the agreement, there may be potential for significant environmental effects.” The three-judge panel was unanimous in its ruling to have the PUC consider whether that worksheet is needed for Nemadji Trail, and if so, whether a full environmental impact statement would be required for the project to proceed.
Because the power plant is sited in Wisconsin, that state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is looking at the project to determine whether the plant “satisfies the reasonable needs of the public for an adequate supply of electric energy,” whether its “design and location or route is in the public interest,” and to ensure it “will not have undue adverse impact on other environmental values.” A decision by the Wisconsin PSC is expected next year.
Superior city councilors in October signaled their support for the Nemadji Trail plant, unanimously approving a resolution that states the city “fully supports the Nemadji Trail Energy Center,” which is the largest private investment in the city’s history.
—Darrell Proctor is a POWER associate editor (@DarrellProctor1, @POWERmagazine).
The post Minnesota Court Blocks Construction of Gas-Fired Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.