Thune concerned over EPA action on Big Stone II plant

The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to require changes in air quality permits for the proposed Big Stone II power plant in northeastern South Dakota is a discouraging delay to the project, Sen.

[Dman]

The South Dakota "Wind" Industry has not offered to pay for any new lines in Minnesota. They want the consumers in northern Minnesota and North Dakota to pay for the new lines, then they can just hook on and pay as they go. This is a farce.

[Buddy]

Senator Thune is trying to use his power to force the EPA to approve BSP II.He is up for re-election & cater's to the whim's of big business.This plant if built will not only pollute our air but be payed for by those poor, people on fixed incomes such as my 74 year old mother.The rates will increase 30 percent ( fact ).The job's will be payed for by these people for the next 40 year's.Wind energy will provide more job's at less cost to all ratepayer's & shareholder's.Ottertail power is in bad financial shape & can't even get coal shipment's to big stone plant.this plant is a disaster waiting to happen.

[Wheelchair Charley]

Buddy wrote:

Senator Thune is trying to use his power to force the EPA to approve BSP II.He is up for re-election & cater's to the whim's of big business.This plant if built will not only pollute our air but be payed for by those poor, people on fixed incomes such as my 74 year old mother.The rates will increase 30 percent ( fact ).The job's will be payed for by these people for the next 40 year's.Wind energy will provide more job's at less cost to all ratepayer's & shareholder's.Ottertail power is in bad financial shape & can't even get coal shipment's to big stone plant.this plant is a disaster waiting to happen.

...and your getting you statistic from where? Also how many wind turbines would be needed to offset the amount of energy produced by Big Stone plant?

[Owl Gore]

Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? Anybody? We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember.

The Department of Energy was instituted 8-04-1977 "TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL". HEY, PRETTY EFFICIENT, HUH?

AND NOW IT'S 2008, 31 YEARS LATER, AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR, THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!

[Buddy]

Wheelchair Snarley (charley) I know alot more fact"s about ottertail power co. then you would like to know.The fact of there 30 percent rate increase was in there prudence hearing's before the puc & also verbaly told to us by 2 ottertail power co. employees one being a spokes person.the fact that they can't get coal shipment's from the wyoming river basin is also fact.the fact that this plant is not needed has been factualy stated by two minnesota administrative law judges & a boston consultant group hired by your own minnesota puc.Also the fact that ottertail power is losing rate base & they have low cash flow & financial trouble may be ahead can be read under investor news in www.ottrblog.com there stocks are falling as well which concern's me & are listed as BBB-( one step above junk bond ). So don't question my facts do wakeup & do your own fact checking before spouting off.By the way where I live & also where the BSP2 plant is to be built there is plenty of wind .For the 160 megawatts OTP need wind or a gas turbine would do just fine.less pollution, less water draw down from big stone lake & our ground water most of all LESS RISK TO RATEPAYER'S & SHAREHOLDER'S.

[Wheelchair Charley]

Buddy, 1st of all you need to take a dip in the lake and cool off... you sure do get riled when someone asks where you get your info. If the blog is to believed I can understand your sentiments about the need for additional energy for Ottr. However isn't it possiblel Ottr can sell energy to other cooperatives thereby making them more solvent?

[Buddy]

Wheelchair Charley I apologize for my being riled up.I stand to lose alot as not only a ratepayer but as a shareholder as well being 56 years old I surely don't want to be a walmart greeter when I retire.The risk of this plant is a tremendous risk.If you read the blog ottertail's may intention is provide power to chicago as stated by mr. uggerude that this is business & it doesn't matter if it hurt's the ratepayer's.They are also being dragged down by alot of there subsudaries.They could make alot more money from the wind industry.they have 3 wind turbine factories in fargo, oklahoma & canada.Those laid off employees in fargo could surely use a boost from more interest in wind & ottertail if they took in interest could stand to make alot of money.But there not interested, they wanted to charge the big stone wind farm investor's 500,000+ to do an engeernering study just to see how the connection to there transmission lines could be acomplised & that wasn't even a promise miso would let them connect to there lines.MY point is ottertail isn't concerned about there ratepayer's the name of the game is what is in it for what bonuses the big shot's can make , like otp president erickson's average 1,500,000 dollars a year.If the company doesn't make it it is in there contracts they walk away with million's while the rest of us end up not retiring & working until we die.

[Buddy]

Dman wrote:

The South Dakota "Wind" Industry has not offered to pay for any new lines in Minnesota. They want the consumers in northern Minnesota and North Dakota to pay for the new lines, then they can just hook on and pay as they go. This is a farce.

Who do you think is going to pay for these transmission lines any way? The ratepayers. And as far as that goes, they will also be paying for the BSII plant if it goes through.

In my opinion, it is the ratepayers who should be the ones to profit off of the transmission lines and the plant if they go through approval, not the ones sitting around a big table who aren't putting up the money.