Top scientist objects to coal-based power plant

Gov. Tim Pawlenty won't speak out against a new 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.

Phasing out coal-based power, Hansen wrote, "is 80 percent of the solution to the global warming crisis."

Pawlenty said in an interview on Thursday he will let the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) make its recommendations on the plant. The panel is expected to get findings from an administrative law judge next week and render a decision by early July on where in Minnesota the transmission lines could be built.

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. But coal will continue to be a key ingredient of the energy package, he said.

"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 unnecessary, and 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 carbon dioxide emissions standards for coal-burners.

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, who noted he has relatives in Minnesota, said he has also leaned on leaders in other countries and states to halt new coal plants.

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 it'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