Aug 21 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tina Lam Detroit Free Press



Three years ago, eight new coal-fired energy plants were proposed in Michigan, causing environmental groups to decry the state's coal rush.

The rush appears over.

On Friday, the state denied air-quality permits for the last proposed coal-fired plant that requested one. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment said Holland's Board of Public Works can't build a new 78-megawatt plant to replace a smaller, older one because it's not needed.

Holland officials said the denial was wrong and illegal under state and federal environmental laws, which don't require an assessment of need.

 "It was the right choice for families, businesses and farmers who would have been forced to pay higher rates, and the right choice for the environment," a spokesman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Friday.

In February 2009, Granholm issued an executive order requiring applicants for new coal-fired plants to prove need and that there were no viable alternative power sources. She noted that coal-fired plants contribute to greenhouse gases and that demand for electricity in the state dropped by 1.4% in 2008.

Since then, none of the proposed plants has moved forward, either because the state denied permits or the companies changed plans.

"We feel like this is a triumph for common sense," said Anne Woiwode, director of the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, which opposed all the coal-fired plant permits.

The state approved permits in December for CMS Energy's new coal-fired plant near Bay City. But in May, CMS put the $2-billion project on hold, citing poor economic conditions and regulatory issues.

In May 2009, a consortium of energy companies withdrew plans for a new Midland plant.

The Lansing Board of Water and Light said this summer it would use natural gas rather than coal for a new plant. And Northern Michigan University now plans to use biomass instead of coal at a new plant.

Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative is suing the state because its permit was rejected in May. The state said Wolverine's plant would raise rates for customers by 60% and wasn't needed. Wolverine argues in its lawsuit that the state had no legal grounds to reject the plan.

The state gets more than 60% of its electricity from coal. Utilities must get 10% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015.

Contact TINA LAM: 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com

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