politics

Gov. Tim Pawlenty won't speak out against a massive coal-burning power plant on Minnesota's western border, despite a request from one of the nation's most prominent and controversial climate scientists.

Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, cited Pawlenty's leadership on greenhouse gas reduction in a letter this week that asked the governor to take a strong stand against construction of the proposed Big Stone II power plant in Milbank, S.D.

Coal-burning accounts for 39 percent of current carbon dioxide emissions, the key factor in global warming, and is regarded as the most easily targeted source, Hansen wrote.

"A strong, clear public statement by you against proceeding with construction of Big Stone II could be a turning point for Minnesota," Hansen wrote. "It would provide a boost toward a future focused on renewable energies and energy efficiency, and the high-quality jobs that will be associated with that direction."

Pawlenty said in an interview Thursday he will let the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) make its recommendations on the plant. Those are expected perhaps as soon as late May.

The governor also said Minnesota's growing commitment to wind power and the conversion of three metro area coal plants to natural gas have made the state a "national leader" in efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal.

"The long-term answer is that we need to move aggressively and boldly into alternative energy sources that are economically feasible, " Pawlenty said. "But a lot are not yet ready."

Environmental groups and some Minnesota legislative leaders have opposed the plant as a threat to air quality, the climate and the Minnesota River. But the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group, in its final recommendations, exempted Big Stone II from its call for stringent new CO2 emissions standards for coal-burners.

The proposed coal-burning plant, already approved by South Dakota officials, would sell about 45 percent of its electricity in Minnesota. The PUC will decide whether there is a need for the plant, and where its supply lines could be built. An administrative law judge is expected to present his conclusions on those issues to the PUC as early as next week, triggering a four-week review and decision-making process by the commission.

Last September, two Minnesota utilities, Great River Energy and the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, pulled out of the Big Stone II project, forcing it to be scaled down and extending the approval process. Otter Tail Power Co. is the lead developer for the project. Partners are Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, South Dakota-based Heartland Consumers Power District and Missouri River Energy Services, and North Dakota-based Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.

As originally proposed, Big Stone II would have cost $1.6 billion and produced 630 megawatts of electricity. It's been scaled back to produce 500 megawatts to 580 megawatts.

Hansen, an Iowa native who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, has been in the forefront of global warming research for more than 25 years. In recent years he has claimed that NASA and White House officials have tried to edit his statements to make global warming appear less threatening.

Hansen said he has also leaned on leaders in other countries and states to halt new coal plants. Phasing out coal-based power, he wrote, "is 80 percent of the solution to the global warming crisis." More than 100 coal-fired plants are under consideration around the U.S. In a March report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said CO2 emissions from electric power plants increased 11 percent since 1997 and that those plants "are making an already dire situation worse."

Dan Sharp, communications manager for Big Stone II, said the plant will be about 20 percent more efficient than existing coal plants. It is being designed to accommodate CO2 capturing technology once that's available; meanwhile, it will buy carbon "offsets" to counter its emissions. He also noted that several dozen wind-power producers have lined up to use Big Stone's transmissions lines.

Bill McAuliffe • 612-673-7646