NO WORD; Wolverine waits for state do decide on permit as clock ticks on possible $150 million carbon sequestration grant

by Richard Lamb Advance Editor–

Another week has past without word on Wolverine Power?s major permit, the air quality permit and some are getting anxious. A group of individuals and businesspeople did what they could to get the word out about the wait experienced by Wolverine by purchasing large advertisements in downstate newspapers last week. The public support came days before a looming deadline for Wolverine, which could mean the gain or loss of millions of grant dollars going toward the project.

LAST OCTOBER, Wolverine received a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for an industrial carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project to accompany the proposed Rogers Township power plant. The CCS project will allow Wolverine Power to develop innovative new technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. A second phase in the DOE evaluation process could result in an additional $147 million in federal funding for the project if the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) issues the air quality permit to Wolverine Power by March 31. If the permit is not granted by that time, and application is not made, those funds would be lost. Deadline to file for the additional grant is April 15. Gov. Jennifer Granhohm encouraged Wolverine to apply for the federal grant, and now some say she is standing in the way of the permit, blocking the DNRE from making a decision either way on Wolverine?s permit application.

A FULL-PAGE ad in the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press asked the governor to ?let the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) do its job. Say YES to a permit for the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture?s clean coal plant in Rogers City.? The ad listed six talking points to explain why the people who paid for the ad think the Wolverine 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant is a good idea. They said it will use state-of-the-art technology, will be located at an ideal site, would be safe, and would benefit many through the jobs it would create and the taxes it would pay.

A second ad in the Lansing State Journal took a more direct approach in a message to the governor. ?Please do the job you were elected to do and approve the air quality permit,? the page two ad read. ?All the legal requirements have been met. It is in an ideal location. It is safe. It will create jobs. It is needed,? the ad concluded before listing those who paid for the ad. A third ad in the March 29 edition of the Lansing State Journal also asked the governor to support the project. All were designed to get the attention of the governor and those who make the decision on the permit, which Wolverine applied for in September 2007.

Through a representative, the Gov. Granholm said there was still much work to be done on the permit, when contacted by the Advance last month. She didn?t directly say if she supported the plant or if she stood in the way of the permit?s approval. ?Before determining whether to support the construction of a new coal-fired power plant that would cost Michigan ratepayers billions of dollars and affect Michigan?s environment and natural resources, the governor believes it?s important to first understand whether the energy from the plant is needed and whether the plant is the best way to meet our energy needs. The decision of whether or not to issue the air permit to Wolverine is not being driven by politics ? this is all about whether issuing the permit is the right policy for Michigan under the laws that govern air quality,? said deputy press secretary Megan Brown last month when contacted by the Advance.

WHILE WOLVERINE waits for the major permit, the cooperative got approval for a Type III landfill March 15, the date promised by the DNRE. The permitted area covers 221.95 acres in sections 25, 30, and 36 of Rogers Township. The actual area used to store combustion byproducts covering is 58.5 acres. Last year Wolverine and Carmeuse received a permit to expand the Calcite harbor to be able to handle two more 1,000-foot freighters. Both the harbor and the landfill permits are important pieces to the puzzle, but only if the overall project moves forward. That hinges on a timely decision by the DNRE.

DNRE spokesman Robert McCann said the DNRE is still working on the permit with the company and he couldn?t provide a specific timeline of when a decision will be ready to be made. The agency had promised a decision by the end of 2009, but chose to grant a permit to a 900-megawatt Consumers Energy plant in Essexville and put off a decision on Wolverine?s application. He later said he expected the DNRE to make a decision ?the early part of this year.?

WOLVERINE OFFICIALS countered McCann?s stat

ement by saying their work is completed and all questions posed by the regulatory agency have been answered. Wolverine is simply waiting for the DNRE to say yes or no while the clock is ticking on what could be a major grant to help fund the project. ?Wolverine sees no reason why the state of Michigan cannot approve an air quality permit for the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture by late March so as to allow us the opportunity to pursue nearly $150 million in Phase II federal grant funds for the project through the U.S. Department of Energy, ? said Wolverine?s director of community and government affairs Ken Bradstreet.

As many as 2,000 temporary jobs would be created during the four- to five-year construction period with 100 full-time jobs created at the power plant once it is in operation. A study by the Anderson Economic Group showed annual property tax revenue from the plant would be $12.5 million with more than $3 million allocated to Presque Isle County.