Tag Archives: Sunflower Electric
Coal Plant Critics File Supreme Court Brief
Environmental activists working against a proposed $2.8 billion coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas filed a brief with the Kansas Supreme Court outlining objections to issuance of a state permit needed to proceed with construction of the controversial projec Continue reading
A Spineless Public Official
Robert Moser is secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, paid with tax dollars to protect public health. And he’s been making some pretty important decisions lately about the Sunflower Electric power plant, including another one Thursday. Alas, Moser refuses to return phone calls to The Kansas City Star’s reporters after he makes those decisions. In my book, that’s a spineless decision, showing that a public official doesn’t have the courage to stand up and explain his or her actions to the public. Continue reading
Sunflower Coal Plant Gets Break from State on New Pollution Laws
The controversial Sunflower coal plant in western Kansas may have caught a break Thursday when the state gave it an unusual extension on its construction permit. The state order means the proposed power plant apparently will not have to face new and stricter pollution laws when the utility finally breaks ground. Continue reading
Sunflower Flimflam
So much for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s “fair and objective” review of Sunflower Electric’s permit application (7/5, A1, “Kansas power plant held up in legal fight”). Thanks to The Star and Karen Dillon, we now know the extent of the long-suspected corruption of the permitting process, initiated by then-Gov. Mark Parkinson and carried forward by the department in collusion with Sunflower. Continue reading
Sunflower Avoiding 5% Solution on Coal
Correspondence produced as a result of a Kansas Open Records Act indicate Sunflower officials helped KDHE write an explanation why the 5 percent coal provision could be sidestepped. Continue reading
What’s your plan, Governor?
Gov. Sam Brownback has received praise for declaring Kansas’ Flint Hills totally off limits to wind energy development. There is no question that this pristine prairie environment must not be spoiled or endangered, but we have some concerns about what happens next. We do not doubt Brownback’s sincerity in guarding those hills, but he now must demonstrate that he is equally committed to capitalizing on his state’s vast wind energy development potential. It is much easier to declare where wind turbines cannot go than it is to open opportunities for their development. Continue reading
Richard Crowson on Sunflower Electric’s Clean Coal Plant Claims
For more of Richard Crowson’s work, visit his website. Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Editorial Cartoon on the Sunflower Coal Plant
“Is it efficient? Why it’s already producing hot air.” Continue reading
Sneaky Grinch Appears in Kansas, With a Whole Bunch of Coal
If in the odd chance you’re looking for an opportunity to be disgusted by political malfeasance, look no farther than Kansas. Continue reading
Holcomb Coal Plant Approved; Denver Switching to Gas
Meanwhile, the Holcomb approval is being described as allowing “40 percent fewer emissions” than a proposal killed in 2007 — an odd fact to emphasize, given what KDHE appears to have approved. It is not clear whether the 40 percent emissions reduction claimed by the acting secretary (and repeated by the Eagle’s editorial) reflects any improvement other than the approved plant’s reduced size. Continue reading
