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April 1, 2008
Kansas Governor Vetoes Coal Capacity Expansion in Holcomb
Kansas
Governor Kathleen Sebelius has vetoed legislation designed to allow
construction of a new coal-fired power plant near the Colorado
border at Holcomb. Sunflower Electric Company, a cooperative based
in Amarillo, Texas, proposed two coal-fired plants at the site: one
serving Kansas and another serving rural cooperative members in
Colorado whose coops are served by Tri-State Generation and
Transmission Association.
Sebelius
rejected the bill because she said it would create a significant
economic liability for Kansas if carbon were regulated in the
future. Most analysts expect the next Congress to take up carbon
regulation after the November election because all major
Presidential candidates support the idea. The Sebelius decision
represents the first time a state has rejected a power company
request to build a power plant on the basis of its carbon emissions.
(The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service, which
provides funding to rural electric coops, also recently issued a new
policy limiting the use of federal funds to support new coal plant
construction.)
"Instead of
building two new coal plants, which would produce 11 million new
tons of carbon dioxide each year, I support pursuing other, more
promising energy and economic development alternatives," Sebelius
said. For more information, see the governor's March 21 press
release.
http://www.governor.ks.gov/news/NewsRelease/2008/nr-08-0321a.htm
The vetoed
bill was sponsored by Sunflower Electric and coal industry
supporters in the Kansas Legislature. It would have stripped the
state of any authority to regulate power plant emissions beyond
federal standards of the Clean Air Act. Under the U.S. Constitution,
states have authority to regulate utilities and other commerce
unless they pass a statute such as this one that modifies this
authority.
The bill
included some modest support for energy efficiency and wind energy.
Sebelius called these measures window dressing, and said her
administration would push for rapid expansion of wind energy in
Kansas. For background, see a February 14 news article from CRES
Clips published on the CRES website titled “Kansas Deal Breaks Down
over Carbon Tariff:”
http://www.cres-energy.org/clips/clips_08feb14kan.html
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