Legalectric

WHOOOO-EEEEEEEEEEEEE!

ALJs Recommend that Big Stone II transmission Certificate of Need and Routing Permit be denied.

Can you believe it??? Here’s Recommendation:

ALJs Recommendation — Denial of Certificate of Need & Routing Permits

Amazing…

In the St. Paul Pioneer Press with “Comment Opportunity”:

A reversal on coal plant

Here’s the STrib article:

Judges deliver major setback to Big Stone II project

Nothing in Sioux Falls Argus Leader yet…

In the Forum Newspapers with Comment Opportunity:

Willmar Tribune: Judges say Reject Big Stone request

Worthington Daily Globe: Judges say Reject Big Stone request

Forum Newspapers that don’t allow comments (why not?!?!?!)

Nothing in the Bismarck Tribune yet

Fargo Forum: Decision setback for plant

There’s a post on Gristmill, but it’s not coming up…

On MPR today:

Judge delivers setback to Big stone II

The next step is that the parties submit “Exceptions” to the Recommendation (our issues with it, the things we’d want to see different), and then it goes before the PUC. It usually takes at least a month. The PUC can accept the Recommendation, Deny the Recommendation with specific reasons why, or somewhere in between, as they did with Mesaba, accept parts, deny parts, and so there’s no way to tell what might happen.

mncoalgasplant.com is a limited intervenor in this docket, because Excelsior Energy had intervened and was arguing that the Big Stone utilities should buy Mesaba Project electricity instead of building that plant.

To see the entire PUC docket, go HERE and then search for Docket 05-619.

This Recommendation of DENIAL is certainly a problem for Big Stone II. Without transmission, it won’t go anywhere, but then again, there’s always CapX 2020! Remember where CapX 2020 goes? Look at this SW map — why, that would work just fine! But nooooooooo…