By Tim Carpenter
At this, Gove looks up, sees the people in the room and springs out of his chair. He prides himself on his good manners, has an animated grin on his face almost instantly and launches into a set of conversational pleasantries.fry Elton Hall, EAIA Executive DirectorVan Someren said speculating about a completion date was unproductive because so many external forces were in play. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could flex its regulatory muscle in Kansas. Congress could pass a cap-and-trade measure altering the financial landscape for new coal units. In the interim, Tri-State is investing in a wind farm in Colorado and solar facility in New Mexico.The out-of-state cooperatives would invest heavily in the project to guarantee access to a majority of energy generated at Holcomb II. Sunflower would earn management fees from its partners.In January, Sunflower requested the new air permit for an 895- megawatt generating unit. The company's latest public estimate pegged the cost at $2.8 billion.Rod Bremby's desk on the fourth floor of Curtis State Office Building in Topeka is 342 miles from the tiny community of Holcomb.THE CAPITAL-JOURNALWhen Gove started the job, he took every setback to heart. But now he is more phlegmatic, remarking that 'it is not given to any of us to avoid making mistakes, they occur'. He has also grown a thicker skin. When I ask him if he worries about criticism less now than when he first took office, he answers 'yes' without missing a beat. What is driving him on is a fervent belief that things in education don't have to be the way they are. To his mind, 'The biggest single problem in state education in England is that we are not ambitious enough.' Gove believes that 'five GCSEs, including English and Maths, should be seen as a baseline that we can get practically every child to, and there are schools that do it'.It was Bremby who became the first state regulator in the nation to justify rejection of an air quality permit for a new coal plant by declaring carbon dioxide emissions a public health hazard.The rural electric cooperative is now pressing for authority to build a 795-megawatt coal unit at Holcomb. KDHE will gather public comment on the permit through Aug. 15, and then focus on the latest permit decision.When I ask him whether he would campaign against his Lib Dem deputy, Sarah Teather, at the next election, he is - for once - lost for words. After a moment's pause, he settles on the line: 'Would the House of Commons be better after the election of Sarah Teather to it? Of course it would, no question.' He then adds the name of a few of other Lib Dems who he would like to still see in the Commons after the next election - David Laws, Nick Clegg and Jeremy Browne. But then, perhaps noticing the intense stare he is being given by one of his special advisers, he remarks, 'I suppose I'd better not answer the rest of that question.'The coal debate consumed the 2008 legislative sessions. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed three bills written to reverse Bremby's decision. The stalemate dragged on until Sebelius resigned in 2009. In short order, Gov. Mark Parkinson negotiated an agreement allowing Sunflower to proceed with an 895-megawatt expansion. A bill was passed to prevent Bremby from stepping beyond federal law on emissions. Sunflower agreed to build transmission lines, invest in wind power and promote energy efficiency.In return, he was inundated by political and industry advocates of a coal rush. Environmentalists spiced the conversation by declaring investment in coal a fool's errand. And there were regular folks who seek nothing more than a reliable source of power when flipping the light switch at home. These actors hit the stage with scene-stealing lobbying campaigns, tight votes on coal legislation, gubernatorial vetoes, brokered backroom deals and lawsuits.Simultaneously we thank those who have completed their terms of service. Linda Stanton served on the Board for two terms before taking up the duties of Secretary. Terry Page served one term on the Board including chairing the Budget and Finance Committee. George Lott had been appointed to fill an unexpired term of one who became an officer, but he declined the invitation to continue on the Board, preferring to serve EAIA in other ways, as he has long done to such purpose that he received a Long Time Service Award last year."We're on record saying we support and believe in traditional generating resources," he said.Allegrucci said financial, scientific and regulatory elements changed since Sunflower built its lone unit 30 years ago.KDHE issued the permit in 2002 and the agency, led by Bremby, granted an extension in 2004. The permit expired without a shovel being turned. In 2006, KDHE received Sunflower's plan for construction of three 700-megawatt coal-fired units. Public hearings in Garden City, Topeka and Lawrence drew 600 people, while 600 others submitted written comments to KDHE. In 2007, Sunflower condensed the proposal to 1,400 megawatts of production capacity. The project would be a partnership with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative, of Colorado; Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, of Texas; and Midwest Energy, of Kansas.We move over to a small coffee table in the corner of his large, light office with a view across the rooftops of Westminster to the Houses of Parliament. As soon as the interview starts, he moves forward to the edge of his seat. He is a bundle of energy, speaking at 150 words a minute in perfect paragraphs. He appears consumed by the 'fierce urgency of now'; an impression bolstered by the Obama 'Hope' poster hanging on the wall behind him.The Education Secretary claims that the best head-teachers now are 'thinking like social entrepreneurs who are looking for another opportunity in which their idealism can be given free rein'. One wonders, though, whether the idealism of teachers is enough to deliver the great change that is needed.One of the many obstacles to allowing schools to make a profit is the presence in government of the Liberal Democrats. But Gove has nothing but nice things to say about them."We need base load power," said Cindy Hertel, a spokeswoman at Hays-based Sunflower. "The demand for energy continues to increase. We need diverse generation resources, but certainly base load power is essential to our way of life."During Blair's whole time in No. 10 only 83 schools were turned into academies.Gove is unwilling to use the word profit. He admits that 'it is possible' that there would be more new free schools opening if the people setting them up were allowed to make a profit. But, rather comically for such a committed Eurosceptic, he hides behind the fact that European Union procurement rules mean that there are complications to letting state-funded schools make money. Intriguingly, though, he stresses that as a 'Blairite pragamtist' he believes that 'what's right is what works'.Sunflower, which serves customers in western Kansas with a 360- megawatt coal-burning plant, has sought to expand for a decade. The current proposal is the third since Sunflower executives asked KDHE in 2001 for permission to put up a 660-megawatt unit called Sand Sage.One would have thought that this would be enough to be getting on with, but there's more. Gove tells me that 'the 200 weakest primaries' will be placed under new management by the beginning of the next school year because 'there is only so much that you can do between 11 and 16'.Scott Allegrucci, executive director of the Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy, said the expansion of Holcomb was "inconsistent with the historic values of our state.""We know a lot more today about the impacts of these previous bad decisions," Allegrucci said. "The risks associated with outdated 20th-century technologies incurring significant additional debt and unknown additional environmental costs, are not the legacy we wish to leave our children."Earl Watkins, Sunflower's president and chief executive officer, said the decision was "arbitrary and capricious" because the federal government didn't regulate the compound as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.Poison legacy"They're not doing it because they're members of the Sierra Club," Cole said.
"We know there is a lot of interest out there," Bremby said.
Author: Tim Carpenter
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