by Bruce Goodman 

What does it take for a state (that is not California) to have an energy policy?  The question is timely because elections are approaching and one would hope the candidates would address all the important issues.  But will anyone take a public stand on unresolved energy issues: increasing the renewable portfolio standard percentage; new coal-fired generation; feed-in tariffs; standby rates; recommendations of the Great Lakes Wind Council or the Climate Action Council?  I suspect not.  Thus come January we are likely to continue with state energy policy “on the fly”, with a dash of gridlock and pinch of skepticism.  Let the Feds make the hard decisions on GHG regulation and renewable energy standards.  Term limits have done their job—left Michigan with a legislature with little institutional memory and little legislative expertise to address complicated issues such as energy.  Hey, how about energy platforms and energy debates in all the state races so that we can get these issues on the table.  Watt would be wrong with that?

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by Bruce Goodman 

The Holland Board of Public Works has entered an option agreement for 3000 acres of land in five Allegan County townships that could generate up to 130 MW of wind energy. The installation of wind-measuring equipment has commenced, with construction possibly beginning as early as 2013 if the area has sufficient wind resources. The municipal utility already has three sources of renewable energy; a 1 MW share in a Grayling biomass plant and two 6 MW shares in landfill gas generation. Meanwhile, after waiting three and a half years for an air permit for its proposed new 70 MW circulating fluidized bed boiler coal-fired power plant, the BPW has voted to take legal action to compel a decision by the MDNRE.

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by Bruce Goodman

The biomass power industry can help reduce the spread of forest fires by cleaning highly flammable debris from the forest floor and harvested areas.  Forest fires can be fueled by small trees and brush that create fire ladders that direct fires into the crowns of  larger trees.  Biomass energy plants use this and other material to create renewable energy.  They encourage good forest management by creating a market for the excess small trees, slash and brush that can foster forest fires.  Michigan has seven biomass-fired power plants and the resources for more.  A number of coal-fired generators are looking to co-fire biomass.  Reducing the risk of Michigan forest fires by improving forest health can even reduce greenhouse gases, as decomposing dead brush and slash  releases methane.  Managed forest resources provide the state with its own source of renewable domestic fuel and Smokey the Bear with a modified slogan:  “Only you, with the help of the biomass power industry, can prevent forest fires – use it or lose it.”

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by Bruce Goodman

The MDNRE has denied Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative’s air permit application for a new 600-megawatt power plant in Rogers City to be fueled by petroleum coke and coal. The decision was based on MPSC findings that the plant was not needed to meet future supply needs and would increase electricity rates by more than 59% to over 20 cents per kwh.  The MPSC analysis suggested that Wolverine had alternatives to supply electricity to its customers at a fraction of the cost of a new power plant.  Separately, Consumers Energy announced deferral of its  development of a 830-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Bay City that it planned to have in operation in 2017. The reasons given included reduced customer demand for electricity due to the recession, forecasted lower natural gas prices due to recent developments in shale gas recovery technology, and projected surplus generating capacity in the Midwest market.

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 by Bruce Goodman

In 2007 a group of citizens requested that the MDEQ create rules to regulate CO2 emissions.  When the request was denied an appeal was taken to the courts. The trial court held that under applicable Michigan law there was no clear legal right to the creation of specific rules regarding CO2 emissions. Nor was the Michigan air permitting scheme, which has no CO2 emissions regulations, deficient under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. On February 9 these rulings were affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

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by Bruce Goodman

By Executive Order dated July 30, 2009, Governor Granholm put into motion the climate action plan recommended by the Michigan Climate Action Council. She set goals of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2020, and an 80% reduction by 2050. The MDEQ was directed to begin tracking progress toward this goal beginning in 2012. Implementation measures include developing:

• Building codes to adopt higher energy efficiency standards;
• Strategies for reducing vehicular congestions; 
• An eco-driver program to improve driving patterns and practices;
• Practices for implementing carbon sequesteration practices in agriculture and forestry; 
• A statewide truck idling program; and 
• Adaptation plans for state.

54 climate mitigation actions form the basis of the climate action plan.

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by Bruce Goodman

The Department of Energy has awarded an initial $3.71 million grant to study whether carbon dioxide from Holland Board of Public Work’s proposed new coal-fired electric generating plant can be safely injected in below-ground sandstone formations.  PraxAir Inc. assisted in garnering the funds for the Board’s study.  Test wells will be drilled at the location of the plant.  The cost of the carbon-sequestration project is estimated to be $150 million in addition to the $240 million cost of the new plant.   The DOE has also awarded Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc. $2.7 million to demonstrate the use of advanced amines and additives to capture 300,000 tons of  CO₂ per year from its proposed 600 MW circulating fluidized bed power plant near Rogers City.  Both projects are in the process of negotiating air permits with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.  Meanwhile the state legislature is working on a bill that would charge a one-time $1 per ton CO₂ fee and 15 cents per ton annually in exchange for the state assuming liability for the CO₂ storage.

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by Bruce Goodman

A good example of how agricultural-dependent countries can help sequester carbon and thereby  benefit from the concern about carbon dioxide emissions can be found in the Carbon2Markets Program.  This program, developed by Michigan State University, is an agro-forestry land management program that encourages participation in the carbon credit finance markets by small landholders in developing countries. The Carbon2Markets program includes collaborative projects with farmers, researchers and government agencies in five developing Asian and African countries. MSU researchers help the farmer groups grow high-value forest crops such as jatropha or shea using sustainable methods. The carbon stored in the soil by the trees will be measured and recorded using high-resolution remote-sensing earth- observing satellites, web-GIS tools, and modeling. The measured offsets will allow the farmers to supplement their income by participating in the global carbon market.  It would also be extremely helpful if developed nations worked to create the market for jatropha, shea, and other sustainably produced products.

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by Bruce Goodman

For a long time, the energy industry has recognized the value of Michigan’s underground storage capacity, which constitutes ten percent of the nation’s natural gas storage capacity.  Now, with rumblings about cap and trade and the need for carbon sequestering, there is the question of whether there will be a “land rush” for this resource.  This also raises the question of whether Michigan needs new regulations (and perhaps new legislation) to develop, regulate, protect, and exploit this resource.  Although the U.S. EPA is working on rules for underground carbon dioxide storage under the Safe Drinking Water Act, it is unlikely to address the real need for regulations—defining the long-term environmental liability for sequestered carbon dioxide.  Commercial-scale sequestration creates numerous environmental liabilities for entities that will own/operate sequestration facilities or transport carbon dioxide to such facilities, including accidental carbon dioxide releases.   Other states are acting on legislation by transferring the  liability for post-injection carbon dioxide to the state.  Will Michigan act soon enough and be prepared to catch this wave?

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