Busy day for Goodhue Wind Truth
February 2nd, 2012
Yesterday was a busy day for Goodhue Wind Truth.
First was a Motion to the Appellate Court:
Goodhue Wind Truth - Motion for Intervention/Request for Participation as Amicus Curiae
Next was our Petition for Rulemaking, filed yesterday as a part of our Power Plant Siting Act Annual Hearing Comments, and formally filed with Dr. Haar at the Public Utilities Commission.
The PUC is in charge of the Wind siting rules, well, the EQB was directed by the legislature in 1995 to promulgate rules, and finally in January, 2008, the Commission finalized the siting rules for wind projects under 25 MW (and above 5 MW):
And for projects 25 MW and above, they haven’t done anything, that was 17 years ago, so here we are… do we have to get a Writ of Mandamus?
WAKE UP PUC! Time to do some wind rules!
(2) procedures that the commission will follow in acting on an application for an LWECS;
(3) procedures for notification to the public of the application and for the conduct of a public information meeting and a public hearing on the proposed LWECS;
(4) requirements for environmental review of the LWECS;
(5) conditions in the site permit for turbine type and designs; site layout and construction; and operation and maintenance of the LWECS, including the requirement to restore, to the extent possible, the area affected by construction of the LWECS to the natural conditions that existed immediately before construction of the LWECS;
(6) revocation or suspension of a site permit when violations of the permit or other requirements occur; and
(7) payment of fees for the necessary and reasonable costs of the commission in acting on a permit application and carrying out the requirements of this chapter.
Signing off for a day…
January 17th, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, a day of silence.
See ya Thursday!
Making some bread
January 10th, 2012
Not bad for an amateur!
Tried some ciabatta, let the sponge go a little too long but it came out great — must be beginner’s luck. At this ripe age, I decided that it’s time to learn to bake bread, never have before, and I don’t know why. Must be nesting, trying to get the kitchen in the “new” house together. Or maybe it’s just time to make some dough…
Excelsior Energy Air Permit Incomplete
January 5th, 2012
It appears Tom Micheletti, Excelsior Energy, is having another bad day. The Air Permit for the Mesaba Energy Project was rejected by the MPCA as incomplete, modeling not approved, the list goes on and on… Yes, that’s “our” Mesaba, the coal gasification power plant that can’t get a Power Purchase Agreement if its life depended on it, and yes, its life does depend on it.
MPCA Letter - Mesaba App Incomplete - Dec 30 2011
Thank you, Air Quality at the MPCA, for making my day!
BLM rules for solar and wind projects
December 30th, 2011
The Bureau of Land Management has issued Advance Notice of Rulemaking for solar and wind projects on federal land.
Here’s the Notice:
Send Comments by February 27, 2012:
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Mail: Director (630) Bureau of Land Management U.S. Department of the Interior Room 2134LM 1849 C St. NW.
Washington, DC 20240 Attention:
1004–AE24 Personal or messenger delivery: U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management 20 M Street SE., Room 2134LM, Attention: Regulatory Affairs Washington, DC 20003
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov Follow the instructions at this Web site.
Here’s an article from Bloomberg about it:
U.S. Proposed wind, Solar Leasing Rule on Federally Owned Land
By Benjamin Haas - Dec 29, 2011 3:14 PM CT
The U.S. Interior Department is seeking comment on how it should issue right-of-way leases for competing solar and wind projects on government land.
The department wants to establish a competitive bidding process that would bring “fair market value for the use of public land,” it said in a statement today. The government is considering bidding procedures within zones designated for wind and solar projects, including how companies would qualify and what financial arrangements would apply. A 60-day comment period ends Feb. 27.
These zones may be beneficial to birds, the American Bird Conservancy said in a statement today. “American Bird Conservancy is developing a map of the areas where wind energy would be most risky to birds,” said Kelly Fuller, the organization’s wind-campaign coordinator.
The Department’s Bureau of Land Management oversees 245 million acres (992,000 sq. kilometers) across the U.S, according to the report. It plans to have 10,000 megawatts of wind, solar and geothermal projects approved by 2015.
To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Haas in New York at bhaas7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net