Letter: Plant will fall short of best technology

Sunday, August 26, 2007

I am very concerned about the proposed Highwood Generating Station that is being planned by Southern Montana Electric Generation Transmission Cooperative, which is made up of five rural electric cooperatives: Yellowstone Valley, Mid Yellowstone, Beartooth, Fergus and Tongue River. This coal-fired generating plant (to be built near Great Falls) sounded like a good idea when it was first proposed, but events and ideas have moved quickly to change the energy environment. It is no longer a good deal for us, the co-op ratepayers who will have to pay for it.

One of my major concerns is the wisdom of building a plant (with an estimated cost of $720 million) using technology that is not capable of capturing, let alone sequestering, carbon. Whatever plant we "buy," we will have to live with its cost and impacts for 50 years.

Coal-fired plants are under fire all over the country and are being put on hold (almost two dozen have been halted since early 2006). Technology for capturing the carbon produced when coal is burned exists and is being adapted for power generation. Why should we be the last group in America to fund and build a plant that uses outdated and inefficient 20th century technology? If we hang on for a little while longer, conserving and using affordable medium-term contracts, we will be financially much better off in the long run. It is much better to wait than to rush to complete a costly and soon-to-be outdated plant.

Kathleen Ralph

Columbus