Wood power woes

Here's another story from Wednesday's Hibbing Daily Tribune that shows an unexpected problem with wood biomass as a source of electricity. The treetops used for power generation rely upon there being outside demand for the larger tree trunks below them. If there is no market for the lumber, the boilers get shut down as is being discussed in Hibbing and Virginia's exploratory biomass plants. I'm all for getting out of coal, but we've got to figure out a reliable source of baseload power to replace it.

Northern Minnesota can sustain forest-powered grid

It's repeated often around the Iron Range, certainly here, that our wealth of natural resources in northern Minnesota will keep us alive in some form well into the future. One of those resources (and a renewable one at that) got some mixed news this week, though probably a net positive

According to a story in the Duluth News Tribune and another at Minnesota Public Radio, a study shows that northern Minnesota's forests can sustain biomass harvest for energy production. This means we really can maintain healthy forestry practices while powering smaller power plants with something cleaner than coal or gas. However, the study also shows that the profits in collecting the necessary forest material would be small to none, an economic factor that will slow the development of large scale energy production from wood. If we can figure out how to sustain biomass energy, it would mean that we could create a self-sustaining energy loop in northern Minnesota, providing our own electricity for our own industry. (Right now, most of northern Minnesota's energy comes from coal-fired plants run by Minnesota Power or city utilities, with outside electricity coming from carbon-free hydroelectric plants in Manitoba).

Once that biomass energy grid is up we can leverage our control of the vast amounts of fresh water and minerals up here to force any number of posh suburbs into submission. Pretty cool, eh? Oh yeah, there is space available at our malls. LOTS AND LOTS of it.

Things are going to change, I can feel it.

Range town PUC considers abandoning coal for alternatives

The head of Hibbing Public Utilities says the city should consider phasing out coal in its power generation, preferring instead renewable sources of energy or buying cheaper power from Minnesota Power. Mike Jennings has the story in today's Hibbing Daily Tribune.

... Jim Kochevar, the public utilities general manager, said Monday that some problems with the wood-burning unit have already been solved and others will be once a sound re-engineering plan has been worked out. He said the thornier problems deal with coal — and the best long-term solution would be to abandon coal-fired power production.

...

Kochevar said getting coal that is free of fine particles has gotten harder over time, and getting rail delivery, which would eliminate the need for above-ground storage, has been impossible because BNSF Railway has refused to make coal cars available.

While the power plant can and will become a better neighbor in the near future, over the longer term Hibbing’s public utilities should “find a way to cost-effectively get out of coal,” at least at its downtown power plant, Kochevar said.He said the utilities might consider switching entirely to renewable fuels or producing power at a new location in partnership with Minnesota Power Co.

Hibbing, the largest city on the Iron Range, is one of two Range towns involved in the Laurentian Energy Authority which received hefty federal funding to develop biomass energy production that burns aspen and other trees grown in Northern Minnesota. Now outgoing Hibbing PUC general manager Jim Kochevar says the kinks are worked out and the city could consider switching all the way to biomass and buying some or most of its remaining electrical load from Minnesota Power. (Kochevar is soon taking a job with Cleveland Cliffs to run their Michigan energy operations, which includes biomass production).

All this comes in the context of a citizen meeting where Hibbing residents expressed outrage over all the coal dust settling on the neighborhood around the PUC plant.

If Hibbing can switch to alternative fuels, any town can switch to alternative fuels. This is worth following.

Cliffs hires away Hibbing PUC utilities chief to run biomass; a flash of what's to come?

Today's Hibbing Daily Tribune reports that Hibbing Public Utilities general manager Jim Kochevar is taking a job with Cleveland-Cliffs to oversee that company's energy operations in Michigan. Kochevar was one of the leaders who developed the Laurentian Energy Authority, a biomass power generation project shared by the cities of Hibbing and Virginia. Cleveland-Cliffs recently announced plans to develop biomass power plants to provide electricity for its some of its mining operations. They're starting in Michigan, but I expect that if that works they'll be building similar plants in or around their Minnesota operations.

As a newspaper reporter, editor and radio host in Hibbing, I interviewed Jim Kochevar many times. My impression has always been that he's a straight-shooter who deals fairly with the public and press. I hope that his activity with Cliffs leads to the continued development of a market for our area wood products as part of a clean renewable energy strategy.

Picture the not-so-distant future of the Iron Range. Large mining and steel operations, cities and other large electricity customers each have their own biomass plants burning homegrown wood products from nearby forests. Additional power needs are met ably by existing Minnesota Power plants and hydroelectric power from Manitoba. When you factor in environmental upgrades at Minnesota Power's plants, we could see a major economic boom all the time while holding down the amount of carbon emissions in northern Minnesota.

At some point, probably in my lifetime, the Iron Range and northern Minnesota will receive a lot of attention for our vast supply of forests, fresh water and iron ore products. These are all things that will become more important if current climate, population and economic trends continue on their current paths. It'd be great if our region was ready, wide-eyed and sharp-witted about the challenges that will come with these changes.

Stay tuned.

Cliffs looks to another good year

WDIO reported last night (sorry, no direct link available) that Cleveland Cliffs is anticipating a return to pre-2001 production levels at its Minnesota taconite operations, including HibTac and UTac, in the near future. The company is also considering building a biomass power plant to cover some of the power needs for this revived taconite production. The fuel used would be primarily some kind of wood pulp also grown and processed in northern Minnesota.

Isn't it interesting that these big companies are predicting growth on the Iron Range and yet acknowledge that new coal-fired electricity probably won't be an logistically or financially feasible option? I think that's interesting. Kind of makes you wonder about certain boondoggle energy projects doomed to fail but that enjoy widespread political support. Kind of makes you want it to go away, like the guy you invited to the party because you thought he was cool but who drank all the beer in the first two hours and is starting to creep out the girls.

Anyway, I digress. In the midst of all the potential of big ticket new projects, let's not forget that U.S. Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs and their power broker, Minnesota Power, are all having damn fine years and will have a license to print money next year, too.

Wind, biomass and hydro usurp coal for next decade

If you had a time machine and brought this article back in time, even as recently as 2002, I might have suspected it was a work of fiction. Minnesota Power, the biggest coal burner in the state, is predicting no new coal-fired generation for at least 15 years. Instead, the company is planning additional wind, biomass and hydroelectric generation.

Minnesota Power: Renewable energy use likely to cut need for coal
Peter Passi
Duluth News Tribune - 10/31/2007

Despite growing demand for electricity, Minnesota Power said it projects it will have no need for additional coal-fired generation for the next 15 years.

The Duluth-based company will submit its resource plan today to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. That plan forecasts that by 2022, its customer load will approach 1,950 megawatts. Minnesota Power’s customers consume almost 1,750 megawatts of power. One megawatt is typically enough energy to power 250 to 300 homes.

“Through this resource plan, we’re recommitting to our goal of reducing carbon emissions,” said Dave McMillan, a senior vice president for Minnesota Power.

While Minnesota Power plans to steer clear of new coal-fired plants, it does aim to increase its overall power-generating capacity. McMillan said the company expects to add 300 to 500 megawatts of renewable energy through investments in wind power, hydroelectric and biomass-fueled plants.

McMillan said Minnesota Power continues to explore the possibility of building a biomass unit at Laskin Energy Center in Hoyt Lakes. He said he expects to announce an East Range project some time in the next several years.

The company already buys 50 megawatts of electricity from the Oliver Wind Energy facility in North Dakota and it expects to have another 50 megawatts of North Dakota wind power online by year’s end. During 2008, Minnesota Power plans to install 10 large wind turbines on Minntac property in Mountain Iron, adding 25 megawatts of wind power.

By state law, Minnesota utility companies will need to generate 25 percent of their electricity through renewable sources by 2025.

As Minnesota Power leans more heavily on wind power, it will need more plants that kick in during breezeless spells and periods of high demand.

McMillan said these generators probably will be fueled by natural gas. He said they will operate only as needed. Typically, natural gas-powered generators produce about 40 percent less carbon dioxide per megawatt than coal-fired plants.

The plants also will help Minnesota Power meet the challenge of growing air conditioner use in the Northland. McMillan said Minnesota Power has seen a surge in warm-weather electrical demand in recent years, largely because of growing development in the Brainerd area.

Several large industrial projects on the Iron Range also will boost Minnesota Power’s need for baseload electrical generation. Minnesota Power is preparing to supply electricity to new mining and processing plants now in the works, including PolyMet, which will need 75 megawatts of electricity, and Mesabi Nugget, which will need at least 15 megawatts, McMillan said.

Minnesota Power has a couple of merchant power contracts expiring in the next few years. This electricity, which had been sold under contract to other utilities in the past, will now be used to supply Minnesota Power’s customers, McMillan said. By 2010, the company should have about an additional 250 megawatts at its disposal as a result.

Note to those who believe in the Mesaba Energy Project boondoggle: That project is too expensive, unnecessary and risky to taxpayers and Northeastern Minnesota citizens. Spend your efforts instead on the Nashwauk steel plant, public works and small business development.