Op-Ed from Sierra Club

On numerous occasions over the last year or so, the Sierra Club's position on Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal plants in general, and the M&M Research Park in specific, have been misrepresented in both print and public presentations. It is time to set the record straight.

The Sierra Club firmly opposes any new development of polluting sources of energy, including IGCC coal plants and the M&M plant proposed for Alma. The reasons for this opposition are many.

Coal is a dirty fuel, regardless of whether it is burned, gasified, vaporized or turned to liquid. There is no such thing as "clean" coal. Sierra Club looks at the entire lifecycle of coal, from the environmentally destructive way it's mined to the carbon dioxide and pollutants that come out of the stack and coal combustion waste that pollutes are waterways and can create up to 160 semi-truck loads of toxic ash per day in our landfills. It takes only a trip to the Appalachia Mountains (or a quick surf of the web) to see the destruction that mountaintop removal is inflicting upon one of our country's most spectacular mountain ranges and the terrible consequences our ravenous appetite for coal is having on Appalachian communities.

While IGCC coal technology promises cleaner air emissions, the pollution removed from the smokestack is simply buried in solid waste landfills where it eventually will get into the water table. It is like sweeping our problems under the rug.  IGCC technology is tremendously expensive and will greatly increase electric rates. While the Gratiot County area may garner some level of economic development from the M&M Energy Park, this local gain will be offset by higher energy prices for all. A M&M Energy Park that invests in new renewable energy resources without using coal is a better investment for local jobs and our health.  This is the kind of economic development that will continue to create jobs for our families. 

Carbon sequestration has not yet proven to be the panacea some would like to believe. Certainly it will be extraordinarily expensive. There is no track record as to whether large-scale and long-term storage of Co2 in old oil and gas wells will contaminate groundwater or cause other environmental or human health impacts. There are no regulations covering Co2 sequestrations to protect public health. Gratiot County has had more than its fair share of pollution troubles. Is the community ready to gamble its health again on unproven IGCC technology?

The Sierra Club believes that Michigan should invest heavily in clean, less expensive energy technologies before spending a dime on more polluting and more expensive technologies. Many major banking institutions have withdrawn funding for numerous new coal fired power plants and the feds withdrew funding from the proposed FutureGen IGCC plant planned for Illinois because the costs were too high.

Financial powerhouses like Lazard (Lazard.com), an international financial company, that have analyzed the costs of energy show that IGCC coal is more expensive than wind power. Even the Department of Energy has made it clear in their staff reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in June that renewable energy is cheaper than coal, and much cheaper than IGCC Coal. Their presentation can be viewed online at:

http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/06-19-08-cost-electric.pdf

Michigan must postpone all major investments in expensive and polluting energy sources until we have fully invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy – two inexpensive and clean energy options that we haven't even begun to tap. Michigan could reduce its energy demand significantly by using power more efficiently, achievable at bargain basement prices compared to new coal or nuclear plants.

Gratiot County has much to gain from a new energy economy based upon wind, solar and clean biomass. It may not have much to gain, and perhaps much to lose, from a new, expensive and unneeded IGCC coal plant.

Sierra Club appreciates the opportunity to put our position on the record.