Legalectric

Whew! Another federal judge comes down on the tRump Travel Ban, and grants a narrow injunction.  Read it here:

17-17168_9th Circuit Hawaii_Travel Ban 3.0

Yup, there’s the Red Wing City Council.  At the December 11, 2017 meeting, as part of “Other Council Concerns” they discussed sending it to the Human Rights Commission, a good thing, but it was not on the agenda, which it should have been.  No notice that this was coming up.  It’s in the “Administrator’s Report” item 11 on City Council agenda (click for larger version):

So it’s on the Agenda for Human Rights Commission, but it’s item 11b, WITH NO IDENTIFICATION OF THE ORDINANCE AT ISSUE!  How is anyone to know?

20171221 – Agenda_RW-HRC

On September 18, 2017, the City of Rochester passed a similar ordinance, ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, where there’s no discussion.  WHAT?!?!?

Pages from 2017-09-18 City Council – Full Agenda-2647_Rochester_D-6

I’m looking for the video to see how that went down.  It was on initiative of the City Attorney there, see agenda item D-6 from Council Packet above.  Pulled from Consent Agenda:

35. Ordinance Prohibiting Disturbance of Assembly or Meeting

Item D.6 was pulled to allow for discussion.

Councilmember Wojcik commented on his concerns with the vagueness of the
proposed language.

President Staver commented.

City Attorney Terry Adkins provided background information on this issue,

Councilmember Hickey commented in support of the proposed language being
presented.

Councilmember Campion commented, noting it appears from reading the ACLU’s
brief on this issue that they are in support of this sort of action.

Approved directing the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance and give it its first
reading this evening under H.1.

And under H.1:

H.1. H1 – First Reading:
An Ordinance Creating and Enacting Section 85.065 of the Rochester Code of
Ordinances, Relating to Disturbing an Assembly or Meeting was given a first
reading.

Then, on October 16th:

And the Council Packet for this item:

Really!  Nothing at all…

Here’s the video: At 1:26:45 – 1:27:14, LESS THAN 30 SECONDS, NO DISCUSSION

So tell me, what exactly did they pass?  My guess is that they passed it as introduced, but…

On Tuesday, Commerce is having a wind project transmission scoping meeting (MPUC Docket 17-322):

6 p.m. on December 19, 2017

Room 124

 Riverland Community College

Albert Lea, MN

The Albert Lea Tribune printed my Letter to the Editor about the Freeborn Wind Farm transmission scoping meeting:

Letter: Meeting on new wind farm is planned next week

Published 9:27 pm Wednesday, December 13, 2017

They’re recycling, and not in a good way.  Why is the STrib facilitating this?  Remember this from October?

Center of the American Experiment – Conflatulence!!

Here we go again, this time in the STrib:

The high cost of our failing wind policies

The two primary false arguments:

1) Wind is driving up ratepayer cost (it’s not, it’s the return on capital expenditures).

2) Clean Power Plan and renewable mandates aren’t lowering CO2 and are driving up rates (CPP and mandates only increase “renewables” and don’t cut CO2 production, it’s a percentage change, and using least cost generation.  Only reduction in burning will lower production of CO2).

3) High cost of electricity in Minnesota is connected to wind policies (When compared historically higher cost states like Illinois, yes, Minnesota’s rates are high, but it isn’t related to wind costs, wind is a least cost resource.  It IS related to the shift of electricity from serving a franchise area to a market based system, and the market has spoken. When electricity can be sold for more, and where utilities have transmission build-out from any Point A to any Point B, they will sell to highest bidder.  Higher priced markets will line up to buy our lower cost electricity and utilities will line up to sell it elsewhere rather than sell it for less to us, and we will have to pay the higher price to get electricity here.  That’s how a market works, Econ 1001. With wholesale market deregulated, and transmission lines built, we’ve got defacto deregulation.).

And a minor but very obvious false statement:

And the shortfall in summer wind production is being backstopped primarily by coal-fired electricity.

Coal runs constantly, as does nuclear, well almost, capacity factor of 80+.  But it’s natural gas, with its near-immediate ramping up that backs up wind, if generation is needed.  DOH!  Coal can’t get it up on command.

Why is the STrib printing this crap that is so patently false?

Here’s a good wallpaper to keep running, the MISO LMP map.

Check MISO’s real time LMP prices HERE!

See how Chicago area is cut out? That’s because it’s in PJM.

Check PJM’s real time LMP prices HERE!

Here’s what I’ve been able to find about MISO J407, the number provided by Xcel Energy in their 16-777 Resource Acquisition docket that included the Freeborn Wind project:

Xcel_Petition_201610-125953-02

And from Xcel’s Petition on interconnection (click for larger version):

And here’s what I could find from MISO:

miso-february-2015-initial-posting

20170117 IPTF Item 01f DPP Updates

20160714 IPTF Item 02 DPP Study Updates

GI-FeS-2014-DEC-J407-Report

GI DPP 2015 FEB West SIS PJM Addendum R2

There ya have it!