You may have gotten a postcard from GPACE in the last week. You may also have gotten phone calls from our phone bank over the weekend.
If you live in Kansas, and have taken an action on behalf of GPACE, or supported GPACE financially or attended one of our events, we have contacted you asking if you’d like to make a public comment to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment regarding the proposed Sunflower Electric/Tri-State G&T coal plant.
There are a lot of you – that list is pretty big.
We are reaching out to you because it’s important. The KDHE public comment process is probably your last opportunity to have your voice heard regarding the proposed coal plant and perhaps your best opportunity to influence the state’s – and the nation’s – energy policy.
How do I get to state and national energy policy from a single coal plant permit process?
In the wake of Congressional failures to create national energy policy, this article is a stark reminder of the huge importance decisions like the proposed Sunflower Electric/Tri-State G&T Holcomb coal plant have for the future of our nation. With no meaningful federal energy legislation, the process of deciding the nation’s energy policy will occur at the state and regional level.
The Kansas coal plant debate has been in the national spotlight for three years now. The pending decision about this huge, unneeded coal plant in Kansas will have legal and regulatory ramifications that will likely impact national policies.
But the impacts start closer to home.
If Kansas commits to this coal plant boondoggle, it will almost certainly reduce the amount of wind and other renewable energy we can produce and distribute. That in turn, will reduce interest in Kansas as a center of wind energy development, manufacturing, and services. This despite the fact that we have the nation’s second-best wind resource.
Also of note: the total amount Kansans spend to import coal ($518 million) is greater than the recent mid-year budget deficit ($510 million) that required a tax just to close the gap.
And the real owner of the coal plant is on record stating that they do not anticipate construction starting on the coal plant (if it is permitted) until 2016 at the earliest – contradicting claims by some unions and Sunflower Electric representatives. So, no construction jobs will be created until at least 2016, and no energy until at least 2020.
The proposed coal plant is a legacy decision that so far is being decided by out-of-state special interest money and misinformation. No wonder, given the money and national policy implications that are at stake. If this is all about jobs for Kansans, why are union members from Missouri and Iowa sending pre-printed postcards favoring the coal plant?
We thank you for your interest and for all that you have already done. We remain committed to a cleaner, more prosperous Kansas for generations to come. If you are also committed to that goal, KDHE needs to hear from you now.
You can provide a comment to KDHE and get more information here.
Many thanks,
Scott Allegrucci
Director
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much of Kansas including the Holcomb area have a significant opportunity to explore utility grade wind generation. Review the http://www.regenedyne web site or our efforts with Unified FUELS for Public Works at http://www.unifiedfuels.com
In wind areas rated #2 #3 or #4 the Regenedyne units take 100 acres to provide clean energy that does not impact aircraft rdar,or migratory fowl. It can accomplish this without fossil fuels at a cost far less that coal.