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Friday, February 13, 2009
Environment - "Indiana lawmakers and Gov. Mitch Daniels are making another attempt to resurrect a proposed coal-to-gas plant"
That is the lede to Bryan Corbin's lengthy story in the Evansville Courier & Press today. Some quotes:
Indiana lawmakers and Gov. Mitch Daniels are making another attempt to resurrect a proposed coal-to-gas plant that potentially would bring a $2 billion investment to Spencer County.In another coal story today, Gitte Laasby of the Gary Post-Tribune reports in a story that begins:A state Senate committee Thursday approved a bill that would try to remove an obstacle to financing the plant by having the state act as a go-between for the plant and utility companies.
Proponents of Senate Bill 423 said it would pave the way for the plant's developer, Indiana Gasification LLC, to line up federal loan guarantees that would allow it to obtain financing and start construction.
Environmental groups that long have opposed the plant also opposed the bill Thursday.
Indiana Gasification wants to build a $2 billion plant that, using a process called coal gasification, would convert high-sulfur coal into a "pipeline-quality" natural gas substitute that in turn would be sold to utility companies to provide as gas to their customers.
Announced in 2006, the project has been delayed repeatedly because the developer and utility companies — Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and Evansville-based Vectren Corp. — never could reach an accord on 30-year contracts for purchasing the gas. The proposal was withdrawn from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in late November.
Rather than Indiana Gasification selling to utilities directly, Senate Bill 423 would allow a state agency, the Indiana Finance Authority, to purchase gas from the plant and immediately resell it to utilities at the same price. * * *
Gov. Mitch Daniels has been a vocal advocate of the project from the start, and said Thursday that he refused to give up on it. * * *
Hershman told the committee that neither state government nor Indiana taxpayers would be on the hook for the gas purchases, since the state agency would buy the gas and immediately re-sell it at the same price. The rate impact on utility ratepayers would ultimately be decided by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
The developer's attorney, Larry J. Wallace, told senators that taxpayers are not at risk if the project isn't built. "In this case, we (the developer) take the risk, we take the construction risk, and if we can't deliver the gas we don't get paid for the gas," Wallace said.
Opposing the bill Thursday was the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.
"If this were a financially viable project, they wouldn't need federal loan guarantees," coalition program director Kerwin Olson told senators. "If this were a good deal for energy, where are the utility companies? Why are they not testifying in support of this bill? Why did they not have these contracts? Why did this contract not get signed? Because this was a bad business deal."
Gov. Mitch Daniels received more than $430,000 from the coal industry for his re-election campaign, according to a report released Thursday.Four groups behind the report -- the Citizens Action Coalition, Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, Common Cause Indiana and Valley Watch -- claim the money bought the companies political influence, but couldn't provide specific proof.
The money came from corporations, political action committees, executives and lobbyists who are members of the Indiana Coal Council or own coal mines in Indiana. Daniels' biggest contributors were NiSource, parent company of NIPSCO, with $100,250, and Duke Energy, which gave $83,337 between January 2005 and November.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 13, 2009 08:52 AM
Posted to Environment