Wolverine ready for expected mandates on renewable energy

Agreeing that renewable energy sources must be a part of the mix, Wolverine Power Cooperative representatives say they are preparing for an anticipated state mandate by including renewable energy sources in their power generation mix. Renewables will be part of the overall energy plan, but coal remains the main focus of a plant planned for construction in Rogers City.

?We agree that renewables need to be a part of our fuel mix,? said Craig Borr, executive vice president of Wolverine Power. Wolverine?s participation in the Harvest Wind Farm in Huron County is evidence of his company?s intentions, he said. Wolverine is purchasing wind energy generated from the 32 wind turbines at the Harvest Wind Farm from principle owner John Deere Wind Energy. Wolverine predicts it will produce enough electricity to power more than 15,000 homes.

In addition, the company has a test site of its own at Adam?s Point on Calcite property. The test windmill will gather data to determine if it is feasible to construct a wind farm on the site.

ACCORDING TO A statement from Governor Jennifer Granholm?s office last summer, ?It is expected those steps will save Michigan citizens $4 billion on power generation over the next 20 years and set the state on the right course for sustainability and energy independence.? The Harvest Wind Farm project was supported with a state tax incentive package worth $6.5 million over 12 years. In addition, Harvest Wind Farm will receive approximately $5 million in sales tax exemptions through Michigan’s manufacturing/industrial processing exemption.

?We saw it coming down the path, and we have taken a significant step to make it part of our portfolio. A ten percent mandate by 2015 is most likely, one that came out of the state house,? Borr said. Borr said that the United States has a huge resource in its coal reserves ?The consequences of not using such an abundant resource is unthinkable,? said Ken Bradstreet director of community and government affairs for the utility. ?We are a country rich with coal. We have a supply good for several hundred years.? Currently at the state level, a bill, introduced last month by Rep. David Palsrok (R-Manistee), would mandate that electric utilities acquire a certain amount of their power from ?renewable? sources, with the specifics to be determined by the Public Service Commission according to a formula contained in the bill.

ON THE NATIONAL level, President George Bush addressed energy in his State of the Union Address Monday. ?To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Our security, our prosperity, and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together we should take the next steps: Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions,? President Bush said. ?The best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more energy-efficient technology.? Borr and Bradstreet said plans for the plant continue to move forward. Tests at the Calcite quarry site proved that the bedrock conditions show the area is suitable for the power plant, finding no evidence of karst formations at the site.

The Wolverine Clean Energy Venture will use ?circulating fluidized bed? technology, which experts say will emit only 10 percent of the sulfur and less than 20 percent of the mercury and nitrogen oxide of typical coal-fired power facilities. ?We would like to see the environmental groups concentrate their energies on working to retire some old resources,? Borr said.

THE COMPANY filed an air quality permit request with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality last fall. Publ

ic hearings could be scheduled within the next 12 months on the permit. If permits are secured, Bradstreet said, construction on the plant could begin as soon as 2009 and the plant could be in operation as soon as 2012 or 2013. In May of 2006, Wolverine announced it had secured an option to purchase approximately 400 acres of previously mined land from O-N Minerals to evaluate the site for clean energy projects which could include base load and renewable generation for its member-cooperatives. A wind farm is also being studied using a test tower, which was installed last year and is accumulating data for that study.

There have been no new power plants have been built in Michigan since the 1980s, and the average age of a power plant in the state is at least 48 years old. In answer to the state?s growing energy needs, as identified by the MDEQ, the state has called for more plants to be built.