Board moves to decommission Rochester power plant

The unanimous decision by the Rochester Public Utilities board to decommission Silver Lake Plant by Dec. 31, 2015, is part of a nationwide trend, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports. The decision puts the coal-fired plant in northeast Rochester in line with 114 coal plants across the country to either switch to burning natural gas or shut down.

Author:: BMTN Staff
Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: Aug 8, 2012

The unanimous decision by the Rochester Public Utilities board to decommission Silver Lake Plant by Dec. 31, 2015, is part of a nationwide trend, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports. The decision puts the coal-fired plant in northeast Rochester in line with 114 coal plants across the country to either switch to burning natural gas or shut down.

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The Post Bulletin reports Rochester Public Utilities officials could decide to shut down some or all of the generators. Another option is converting the generators from coal to natural gas. RPU just completed a nearly $40 million upgrade to keep its newest generator in compliance with new EPA regulations.

Minnesota's Department of Commerce recommends closing Minnesota Power’s five oldest coal-fired power plants by 2020 to save consumers money. The Duluth News Tribune reports environmental groups have also sent letters urging the Public Utilities Commission to close the plants to reduce emissions.

Minnesota Power says it wants to further study the environmental benefits and economic impacts. The Department of Commerce recommends closing at least three of utility's coal-burning plants by 2016. Each unit is more than 50 years old. Environmental groups have also urged closing the coal power plants, while industrial users want state regulators to disregard the advice.

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Great River Energy has announced it will close its North Dakota coal plant several years earlier than planned.

Coal plants in our neighbor state have been violating clean air rules for years with little push back from state or federal regulators, according to a report from the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and other news organizations. But the nonprofit Sierra Club has campaigned for a decade and applied legal pressure to force energy producers to cut emissions.

Therefore, North Dakota officials feel the state should be exempt from a Minnesota law that requires utilities to pay more to burn coal, even those from out-of-state. It's part of Minnesota's Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 that requires new coal power emissions to be offset.

Starting Nov. 1, the regional carrier will offer two weekly non-stop flights from the Rochester International Airport to Mesa, Ariz., the Post Bulletin reports. Allegiant Airlines ended its service from Rochester to Las Vegas in 2010 because of a lack of demand. The newspaper notes Mayo Clinic has a campus in a suburb of Phoenix.

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