Arnulf Overland
June 3rd, 2005
“Mr. Moose” put me on the trail of “Wergeland’s Children – Jewish Life in Norway,” a photo exibition that’s now touring in Norway and the U.S., which lead me to Arnulf Overland, Norwegian poet who wrote “Dare not to sleep” during World War II, excerpted here from a opening speech at the exibition opening by Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Minister of International Development, Norway:
How dare you endure, sitting smug in your home
Saying: Sorry, so sad, poor they are, and alone
You cannot allow it! You dare not, at all.
Accepting the outrage that on all else may fall.
I cry with the final gasps of my breath
You dare not be seated, nor stand and forget.
After the Nazi invasion and occupation of Norway, Overland was arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
Variations on the “stand up, keep fighting” theme…
Sen. Dick Day and Rep. Connie Ruth asleep at the switch
June 3rd, 2005
HF 2228 was amended the last day of session to include hundreds of lines of Tax Omnibus Language from HF 785, and it was passed by both House and Senate and is on the Governor’s desk to be signed.
Sen. Dick Day and Rep. Connie Ruth “authored” this part of the bill, which covers the Simon Industries power plant near Waseca. What’s disturbing is that the language is so different from similar bills — it doesn’t protect the rights of their constituent local governments to negotiate Host Fee Agreements!
LOOK AT LINES 146.3-146.5 – only COUNTY mentioned !!!
145.19 Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 272.02, is
145.20 amended by adding a subdivision to read:
145.21 Subd. 72. [ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITY PERSONAL
145.22 PROPERTY.] (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 9, clause (a),
145.23 attached machinery and other personal property which is part of
145.24 either a simple-cycle, combustion-turbine electric generation
145.25 facility, or a combined-cycle, combustion-turbine electric
145.26 generation facility that does not exceed 325 megawatts of
145.27 installed capacity and that meets the requirements of this
145.28 subdivision is exempt. At the time of construction, the
145.29 facility must:
145.30 (1) utilize either a simple-cycle or a combined-cycle
145.31 combustion-turbine generator fueled by natural gas;
145.32 (2) be connected to an existing 115-kilovolt high-voltage
145.33 electric transmission line that is within two miles of the
145.34 facility;
145.35 (3) be located on an underground natural gas storage
145.36 aquifer;
146.1 (4) be designed as either a peaking or intermediate load
146.2 facility; and
146.3 (5) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
146.4 governing body of the county for the exemption of personal
146.5 property under this subdivision.
146.6 (b) Construction of the facility must be commenced after
146.7 January 1, 2006, and before January 1, 2008. Property eligible
146.8 for this exemption does not include electric transmission lines
146.9 and interconnections or gas pipelines and interconnections
146.10 appurtenant to the property or the facility.
146.11 [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective for assessment
146.12 year 2005, taxes payable in 2006, and thereafter.
Here’s language from the other exemptions in that bill:
(covers county, city and school district)
142.29 (6) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
142.30 governing body of the county, city, and school district in which
142.31 the proposed facility is to be located for the exemption of
142.32 personal property under this subdivision.
(covers host city)
143.23 (b) To qualify under this subdivision, an agreement must be
143.24 negotiated between the municipal power agency and the host city,
143.25 for a payment in lieu of property taxes to the host city.
(covers county and city)
144.14 (5) have received, by resolution, the approval from the
144.15 governing body of the county and the city for the exemption of
144.16 personal property under this subdivision.
(covers county and township)
145.7 (6) have received by resolution the approval from the
145.8 governing body of the county and township in which the proposed
145.9 facility is to be located for the exemption of personal property
145.10 under this subdivision.
Let’s give Dick Day and Connie Ruth the benefit of the doubt and assume that they “forgot” to mention the township, and that they “forgot” to require a host fee agreement in the bills they “authored,” even though other bills show how it’s done! But there’s no way that they “forgot” that their constituent communities, Waseca County and Blooming Grove Township, have passed resolutions requiring a Host Fee Agreement! They’ve been sent copies of these resolutions and newspaper articles how many times now???
Blooming Grove Township: Speaking up on power plant issue
County rescinds first resolution and passes another requiring host fee agreement!!
This bill does not represent the intent of the local governments.
Who are you representing, Dick Day and Connie Ruth? Why aren’t you protecting your constituents and making sure that the legislation matches their intent? In this legislation, only the county has power of approval and host fee agreements for both county and township aren’t even mentioned!
Call Dick Day at (651) 296-9457 and Connie Ruth at (651) 296-5368 and tell them to fix their error!
Transmission Bill is Policy Disaster
June 1st, 2005
My Guest Column is in the Northfield News:
Transmission Bill is Policy Disaster
Ray Cox supports the Transmission Omnibus Bill because “SF1368 contains some very good provisions. The bill has an interesting group of supporters.”
Sounds good, until you look deeper, and that’s the job of a legislator. I don’t hear the important questions: What’s the supporters’ interest in this bill? Is this bill in the public interest?
The bill’s supporters don’t speak for a broad coalition of “environmental groups.” They speak in their own names in their own self-interest growing from a transmission agreement in 2003, between the Izaak Walton League, ME3, North American Water Office and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
The agreement contained a transmission agenda on which this bill is based, promoted by these groups, notably “Wind on the Wires” (WOW), a Walton/ME3 pseudo-organization based on a very large grant from the Energy Foundation. In 2001, WOW received $4.5 million and in 2003, the day after the TRANSLink agreement was announced, it was awarded $8.1 million. The purpose of this Wind on the Wires grant? To promote transmission.
WOW has joined with utilities, transmission organizations and coal companies with plants in North and South Dakota to promote transmission in the hopes that large wind developments will secure transmission access. WOW has pushed environmental groups to adopt its transmission agenda.
What’s wrong with that? It assumes that the many megawatts of planned coal upgrades and construction will not usurp transmission access, but that cannot be guaranteed. It also assumes that large central station wind developments which necessitate large transmission infrastructure, which is only one option to get renewables on line. The SEED coalition, composed of the major environmental groups, has repeatedly declined to adopt the WOW transmission agenda, a significant policy statement.
Yet on his blog, Ray Cox claims that SF1368 contains provisions that he’s “glad to see:”
* Creation of the Community Based Energy Development ? or C-BED. This tariff will help Minnesota property owners finance small wind-energy systems.
* Promotion of bio-mass energy projects.
* Promotion of development of hydrogen energy technologies.
* Includes a Wind Integration Study to determine what is needed to reach a statewide 20 percent energy from renewable sources. The report will be presented to the Legislature in January 2006.
* Promotes construction of transmission lines that are needed for the delivery of wind energy.
It’s not that simple. C-BED corrects a problem created by “environmental” groups in the negotiation of the wind tariff, which was set too low for a competitive investors market to develop. C-BED front-end loads the contract, rather than correct the problem. An avoidant approach is not good policy.
Biomass and hydrogen projects are a mixed bag that requires a more thoughtful forum than legislation, because the green house gas and fuel preference issues of biomass and the issue of hydrogen production from onerous coal and nuclear sources have not been settled.
A Renewable Energy Standard is a good thing for Minnesota, but the WOW party line would not permit language that the energy be generated in Minnesota, conferring local benefits from taxes, jobs and investment. For that reason, the RES lost some grassroots support.
“Transmission for wind” is an illusion, as we learned in the southwest Minnesota transmission proceeding where only 213-302 megawatts of the 2085 capacity 345kV line is coming south from Buffalo Ridge into the line. The 1700MW of remaining capacity is for what? Transmission under federal law is “non-discriminatory,” as is electricity under the laws of physics, and no one can assure that transmission will be “for wind.” In fact, it is a lot easier to assure that much will be for coal, given the number of coal plants under construction, for example the Big Stone and Coal Creek additions of 1,100MW. The CapX2020 plan for transmission criss-crossing the state shows what’s in store for us.
The transmission provisions are significant changes in public policy. Ray Cox has been given resources for follow-up, he’s even attended my “Transmission 1001,” yet he accepts the Transmission Omnibus Bill.
This bill allows TRANSLink style companies to operate in Minnesota and divests our state of jurisdiction over that transmission. Ray Cox is willing to accept “regional” need as justification for new transmission rather than require it be based on need within Minnesota. He is also willing to accept language that gives transmission owners automatic rate recovery for transmission “for renewables” rather than have them prove up that claimed use.
All legislators have access to this information, and have the ability to ask questions. It’s their job. We’ll soon wake up and discover our energy nightmare.
Greetings from Grand Marais!
June 1st, 2005
For a change, I saw these guys first — usually they’re flying hooves over head after they’ve been up close and personal with my grill. This is a big improvement for all of us!
I’m still working on my CLE whirlwind tour of Minnesota, and last stop — Grand Marais! (thankfully I didn’t do it the way these guys did!) I haven’t been here for decades, since I went up here with “Mr. Moose” to the family cabin on Lake Superior and visited with relatives in Grand Marais. I think they had a shop, and someone in the family was an artist (art teacher too?) and were part of the arts community there, but my memory is awfully foggy. In town, it’s apparent the importance of tourism to the local economy. Here’s a Calendar of Events in Grand Marais.
Here’s the Taconite Harbor Energy Center, owned by Minnesota Power:
The taconite industry, second behind electrical generation, is a leader in mercury emissions, and the industry has been targeted for emissions reduction.
Airshow – a somber note
June 1st, 2005
Since the airshow posting, I’ve learned that at last year’s Red Wing airshow, Don Hinz, pilot of a P-51C Mustang, crashed after engine failure and died of his injuries the following day. He had lead the restoration of the airplane and was an integral part of the “Red Tail Project,” honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, after which the plane was named. His son, Kelly Hinz, died in a plane crash over Iraq on May 2 of this year.