Year in Review: Energy is top environmental issue in 2010

Energy issues dominated the environment reporting here this year as Michigan struggled with the ecological costs of power generation and the proper regulation of the means of power generation.

The year began with news that CMS Energy had received a permit from the state to build a hotly contested 830 megawatt coal plant at its Karn/Weadock facility in Essexville, but it soon became clear that the planned facility faced obstacles beyond state regulation.

In a report to investors in March, CMS warned that federal environmental laws and regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions and coal ash disposal would become more stringent and that the company will be required to make significant new investments in upgrades to pollution control equipment.

In May, CMS announced that it was putting plans for the plant on hold.

The company said that the plant, which was expected to go online in 2017, would be deferred indefinitely because of “reduced customer demand for electricity due to the recession, forecasted lower natural gas prices due to recent developments in shale gas recovery technology, and projected surplus generating capacity in the Midwest market.”

Company CEO John Russell said that CMS had not ruled out future coal power developments but expected to use the $1 billion it had slated for the new coal unit for other investments.

Permits for new coal plants

In May state regulators denied a permit for a 600 megawatt Wolverine Power Cooperative plant in Rogers City and in August they rejected plans for a 78 megawatt unit proposed by the Holland Board of Water and Light.

In both cases the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment based their permit denials on Michigan Public Service Commission analysis that found the utilities had overestimated future demand for power and could meet customer energy needs with less polluting alternatives.

Both companies have sued the state, arguing that it had no authority to consider need as part of the permitting process. This month an Ottawa County judge ruled in favor of the Holland BPW and ordered the state to reconsider the utility’s permit application.

Failing to comply with env. laws

Also this year, the state’s largest power company, DTE Energy, was hit with a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to install required pollution control technology on its Monroe coal plant.

EPA said that in 2009 the Monroe power plant emitted 27,320 tons of sulfur dioxide and 8,205 tons of nitrogen oxide, making it the largest individual source of these pollutants in the state. The agency warned that SO2 and NOX combine with other elements in the air to form particulate matter known as PM 2.5 which causes premature death, heart attacks and lung problems.

Fracking

In 2010 natural gas emerged as an affordable and less greenhouse gas-intensive alternative to coal but its production is raising concerns about water contamination.

In April the EnCana Corp. developed a successful natural gas test well in Missaukee County by hydrofracking the Collingswood shale formation 9,000 feet underground.

Hydrofracking or fracking involves drilling deep horizontal wells and fracturing shale deposits with a combination of water, chemicals and sand.

Though deep shale hydrofracking is big business in other states it is new to Michigan and the successful test well touched off a flurry of mineral rights purchases by gas companies. Drilling rights on 392,000 acres of state land were significantly more smog-producing NOX and VOC than the coal plant per unit of power produced.

After six months of intense public opposition to the plan, the Traverse City utility decided against pursuing biomass as part of its renewable energy plan.