Supporters of the planned expansion of the Sunflower Electric Power Corp. facility at Holcomb must continue to wait for the project to move forward. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that, even in the face of adversity, there’s no plan to pull the plug on the project.
One year has passed since Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby rejected an application for an air-quality permit needed to proceed with construction of two 700-megawatt plants.
Bremby’s surprise, arbitrary decision angered southwest Kansas project supporters who were eager for the positive economic impact of the multibillion-dollar project, and also rightly noted the negative fallout of the state’s ruling on regulatory certainty Kansas needs to compete with other states for businesses.
Afterward, it was easy to tie the permit denial to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ political aspirations. ...
Moving forward, Sunflower and the chief investor in the project, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association of Colorado, remain committed to expanding the Holcomb facility to meet utility needs with affordable electricity — even in the face of economic uncertainty and possible new restrictions on carbon emissions.
Lawsuits triggered by Bremby’s denial have yet to be resolved. And expect lawmakers to again tackle an issue that dominated the last Kansas legislative session, with a number of bills that would have cleared the way for the expansion falling short.
Sebelius reportedly said rehashing the Sunflower project at the Statehouse would be a disappointment. But she can’t be surprised.
The governor helped make this issue political. Had the proper decision been made a year ago, we wouldn’t face another legislative session with Sunflower high on the list of priorities.
Besides, we should welcome more public discussion of the needed role of clean-burning coal in an energy portfolio that also includes wind and other renewable sources of energy.
GARDEN CITY —
