Clock ticking on $150 million grant

As we go to press Wednesday morning, there is still no word on the status of Wolverine?s main permit, the air quality permit sometimes referred to as the permit to install. Wolverine submitted the application in September 2007, but remains without either an approval or denial of the application for its 600-megawatt power plant proposed for Rogers Township. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) approved an application for a 900-megawatt power plant for Consumers Energy in Essexville in December, after promising to render a decision on Wolverine?s request as well by the end of 2009.

DNRE spokesman Bob McCann told the Advance in January he expected a decision to be made by the first part this year. When questioned last week, he said he could provide no specific timeline of when a decision would be ready to be made and refused to speculate on a date for the decision. Wolverine officials have 147 million reasons to fret over the long wait for its major permit. Applications for phase two of a federal grant are due April 16, which could mean $147 million of grant money gained or lost for an industrial carbon capture and storage project. Last October, Wolverine received $2.72 million in phase one a program through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The federal grant is officially named ?U. S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory Recovery Act: Carbon Capture and Sequestration from Industrial Sources and Innovative Concepts for Beneficial CO2 Use Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0000015.? One of the stated objectives in the grant is ?to demonstrate advanced technologies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources into underground formations.? Another objective as stated ?to demonstrate innovative concepts for beneficial CO2 use, which include, but are not limited to, CO2 mineralization to carbonates directly through conversion of CO2 in flue gas; use of CO2 from power plants or industrial applications to grow algae/biomass; or, conversion of the CO2 to fuels and chemicals.?

The remaining ARRA funding will be awarded to the most promising projects during a competitive phase-two selection process. Projects that best demonstrate the ability to address their mission needs will be in the final portfolio that will receive additional funding for design, construction and operation. Wolverine?s director of government and community affairs said the company is not just waiting around for something to happen. ?We are alw

ays looking at all of our options and will continue to do so. We are waiting patiently for word from the administration on our air permit, but we cannot sit back and do nothing but hope,? Ken Bradstreet said Tuesday afternoon. ?We continue to explore any option which will secure a long term reliable, affordable power supply for our members, as we have been doing throughout this process.? U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) praised Wolverine?s project and urged Gov. Jennifer Granholm to work with the DNRE to ?promptly approve the pending air quality permit,? he wrote in a Feb. 19 letter to the governor.

?Any delay after March 31 in approving Wolverine Power Company?s permit threatens federal funding and potentially puts Michigan in the backseat of this important area of energy research and economic development,? Stupak advised the governor. State Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) and State Rep. Andy Neumann (D-Alpena) also have urged the governor to support.

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