Climate and energy

Lots going on today. (Don’t people know it’s Friday?)

Kansans prefer expanding wind energy to building coal plants (Eagle blog). “Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy, a Topeka-based group that opposes the building of two new coal plants near Holcomb, released a survey this week showing that, by 64 to 18 percent, Kansans prefer expanding renewable energy production, such as wind power, to building coal plants.”

Landfill gas experiment to produce energy in Harvey County (Hutch News). “Officials are hopeful about turning trash – from paper waste to banana peels – into energy. It’s just one idea that Colwich-based ICM soon will test as part of an ICM project at the Harvey County Transfer Station, said John Waltner, the county’s special projects director. ICM crews just finished building a gasifier at the closed landfill facility next to the transfer station that primarily will test using biomass to generate steam, as well as experiment with what residents throw away. And, Waltner said, if it works out, it might be one way to solve the issue of an overflowing landfill.”

KCPL under pressure to meet terms of agreement with Sierra Club (KCStar). KCPL and Sierra Club reached an agreement a few years back that KCPL could build Iatan II if it installed 500 total MW of wind. They are now trying to work out the actual construction schedule.

300 MW wind farm proposed for NW Missouri – the largest in the state (St. Joe News). “A major Midwest wind energy developer Thursday night announced a proposal to build a $600 million project in Holt and Atchison counties. Officials with St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group met with landowners and other Mound City-area residents on its bid to build a 150-turbine wind farm in the next few years. The company is continuing to negotiate with landowners to locate wind turbines. The company earlier built four farms that now operate in Gentry, Atchison and Nodaway counties. Wind Capital President Tom Carnahan told the News-Press that the 300-megawatt endeavor has been dubbed Wildcat Ridge and would constitute Missouri’s largest wind farm to date.” MH: MO has an RPS, and it has transmission.

I’m getting emails on the Governor Sebelius/ Lt. Gov. Parkinson situation – (1) if/ will Gov. go to Washington, and (2) the Lt. Gov.’s postion on coal plants.

I am constrained to answer that question on the basis of facts, not speculation. And of course I can pick and choose my facts like anyone else, so take the following list with a grain of salt.

However: (1) the Lt. Gov. participated in bringing NASA climate scientist and global warming educator James Hansen to speak at the energy conference last September, and (2) he runs the Wind Working Group, co-chairs the KEEP process (a climate planning strategy group for Kansas), and is very committed to clean energy. The Lt. Gov. has also indicated he is not interested in running for re-election.

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org