ÒDonÕt lose heart,Ó was the message Chuck Kerr of Great Northern Power Development of Houston brought during recent meetings with supporters of GNPDÕs proposal to develop a coal-fired power plant in the Circle area.
While there may not be visible signs of progress on the project, GNPD personnel are working very hard behind the scenes in planning and development, he explained. There are not a lot of people on the ground in eastern Montana, but GNPD has added staff specifically for the eastern Montana project and has a lot of people working on it.
ÒIt all takes time, effort and lots of money,Ó he said.
Air quality issues have been addressed. A lot of computer modeling has been done. The company is confident that its proposed plant will meet MontanaÕs regulations. It is now ready to file for a mine permit, a process which can take up to three years.
While the company completed all the work required to file an air quality permit over a year ago, officials chose to wait to apply for that until they were ready to apply for the mine permit. Since obtaining permits is a lengthy and expensive process, they didnÕt want to spend the money, receive one permit and then have it expire before the other was granted, he explained.
By waiting and applying for both permits at the same time, they hope to avoid that problem. Technology continues to change and advance so waiting to apply for the air quality permit will also give them a chance to take advantage of any new technology that will make the plant cleaner and that will be less costly.
Along with addressing permit issues, GNPD is still looking for a customer for the power that will be produced by the plant. The company is convinced that the Pacific Northwest is a viable market, and GNPD officials have had good discussions with a number of potential customers but have no firm promise at this time, he said.
That kind of firm commitment from a customer is a critical element of the project. Without it, financing for the mine and power plant will not be possible to obtain, he added.
On his visit to eastern Montana, Kerr said he found people to be extremely supportive of the power plant project. At one public meeting, he recognized that there are always opponents of coal-fired power plants and told people GNPD officials wanted to be sure the people in the area wanted this kind of plant in their back yards.
After the meeting one man came up to Kerr and told him he didnÕt want the plant in his back yard, he wanted it in his front yard. ÒI wanted to hug him,Ó Kerr said.
Most local people see this kind of development as a huge benefit for eastern Montana, but there are some people who just donÕt want to see coal resources developed. ÒI respect that opinion,Ó he added.
According to the Montana Coal Council web site, Montana leads the nation in coal reserves with 119.3 billion tons followed by Illinois with 104.5, Wyoming with 64.3 and West Virginia with 33.2.
While some of that coal can be mined and transported to other locations, the coal n the area of the proposed GNPD power plant is a lignite coal which cannot be shipped. As a result the power plant must be built at the site of the mine and the electricity generated at the plant transported to where it is needed, Kerr said.
Eastern Montana is awash in this natural resource, but tapping into it is a complicated process. GNPD believes in the viability of the project and will continue working to develop it, he added.
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