News5/26/2009 Parkinson Signs Energy BillGov. Mark Parkinson signed a renewable energy bill Friday that he had demanded from legislators as part of an agreement allowing a new coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas. The new law says wind farms and other renewable sources must provide 20 percent of public utilities’ electricity by 2020. It also has provisions to encourage conservation and consumers’ use of small wind or solar generators for their household power needs. The changes take effect Thursday.
Parkinson struck a deal earlier this month with Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to end a 19-month dispute between the Hays-based utility and the governor’s office. It allows Sunflower to build a coal plant outside Holcomb, in Finney County, but it required passage of the renewable energy bill first.
Sunflower had wanted to build two plants, but the administration denied the utility an air-quality permit in October 2007. Sunflower turned to legislators and the courts for help, and the resulting dispute blocked renewable energy policies.
“Prior to this year, Kansas was falling behind many other states in the production of cleaner energy,” Parkinson said in a written statement. “With this legislation, we are no longer at the back of the line.”
Parkinson’s deal had broad bipartisan support among legislators, most of whom were grateful to see the dispute end. The agreement also settles multiple lawsuits over the denial of the air-quality permit.
“I give him a lot of credit,” House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said of the governor. “He took a very practical approach.” But some environmentalists argue the renewable energy policies Parkinson obtained weren’t good enough to overcome the environmental damage caused by a new coal plant.
Sierra Club spokeswoman Stephanie Cole noted that the bill will give utilities extra credit toward meeting the renewable energy standard for wind farms they already have built. She said other provisions will make it easy for them to escape penalties if they fail to comply.
Also, critics note another key concession to Sunflower and its legislative allies. The bill prohibits the Kansas secretary of health and environment from imposing air-quality standards that are stricter than the federal government’s rules without legislative approval.
“The renewable energy policies do not begin to match the concessions made to Sunflower,” Cole said. “All of this is attached to a huge new coal plant that’s going to result in massive amounts of new air pollution.”
Sunflower will be allowed to build an 895-megawatt plant, with enough capacity to meet the peak electric demands of about 448,000 households. The utility agreed to take steps to offset the plant’s potential carbon dioxide emissions, estimated at almost 6.7 million tons a year.
The agreement between Parkinson and the utility also calls for new transmission lines in western Kansas, which would then be used to carry power from wind farms.
“We’re not going to be able to fully develop the wind capacity in Kansas unless we have transmission capability,” O’Neal said.
The utility hopes to begin building its coal plant next year and finish it in 2014. Sunflower expects the project to generate 1,500 construction jobs.
After then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius resigned April 28 to become U.S. secretary of health and human services, Parkinson immediately began trying to make a deal with Sunflower, arguing later that it was the only way to get renewable energy legislation. On his sixth day in office, Parkinson signed an agreement with Earl Watkins Jr., Sunflower’s chief executive officer.
“The nation’s energy challenge provides the opportunities for a 'made in America’ energy program, and Kansas is ready to be a leader in that effort,” Parkinson said. “We look forward to the new jobs, more wind power and the stronger economy that will be a result of this legislation.”
To read this article at the Topeka Capitol Journal, click here.
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