Dear IndianaDG Readers:
In case you missed it, there were two Guest Editorials this past weekend in the Indianapolis Star that I neglected to mention about the Indiana Gasification, LLC plant.
- One was written by Mark Lubbers who is a proponent of the Indiana Gasification, LLC plant and on the payroll of the company. http://www.indystar.com/article/20130223/OPINION03/302230028/Mark-Lubbers-Why-the-Rockport-plant-makes-sense
- The second was written by opponents of the project and is entitled, "A bad deal for Indiana, or a bargain? Coal-to-gas plant would hurt ratepayers" by Steve Francis and Ed Gerardot. Francis is chair of the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club. Gerardot is exeuctive director of the Indiana Community Action Association. See http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302230027
Mark Lubbers is trying to make this battle and SB 510 about the BIG BAD coal-hating Sierra Club. Yes, although it is true that the Sierra Club does not like coal this argument belies the fact that this project is BAD BUSINESS. To get this perspective on the project, I urge that you read a research report by Indiana University entitled, "Natural Gas, Unnatural Prices; How SNG and Artificially High Natural Gas Prices Will Affect Indiana's Economy". Researchers at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) and the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) at the Kelly School of Business measured the expected impact of the SNG construction, operations and the SNG loss tax. The research was published February 2013 and the full report is available at www.ibrc.indiana.edu/studies/naturalgas.pdf.
Ok, so the Report was prepared on behalf of Vectren who opposes the current "deal" for Indiana Gasification, LLC. That doesn't mean that the findings of the report are invalid.
Just because this debate has also turned into an attack on Vectren also does not mean that the plant is BAD for Indiana. Is Vectren perfect? No perhaps not. Is this a case of the "pot calling the kettle black"? Maybe but it still does not discount that the Indiana Gasification plant planned for Rockport is not a good idea.
I urge you to study the issue for yourselves and then share your thoughts with us here at IndianaDG. OK?
Laura Ann Arnold
By Lesley Weidenbener TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The proposed coal-to-gas plant planned for Southern Indiana could get a second look from state regulators under legislation passed Tuesday by the Senate.
But that review would take place only if the Indiana Supreme Court strikes down a 30-year contract that calls for the state to buy most of the fuel produced by the Indiana Gasification plant, resell it on the energy market, and pass the savings – or the losses – on to customers.
The contract, which was signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration but has become controversial among some natural gas utilities and lawmakers who say the deal isn’t a good one for Indiana ratepayers, is currently tied up in a court battle.
Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Yorktown, said the legislation is designed to ensure that if the Supreme Court rules against the contract, those ratepayers are treated fairly by giving the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission more authority – and more direction – in its review of the deal.
“They can modify or they can reject the final purchase contract, which would have a very big effect on the plant going forward,” Eckerty said.
The contract includes a $150 million guarantee that could be paid to natural gas customers at the end of the 30-year contract
Eckerty’s original bill would have ordered changes in the contract that Indiana Gasification would have killed the deal.
But lawmakers decided that interfering in the contract would be ill-advised. The amended bill now moves to the House, where Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he’s had concerns about the contract. Ultimately, though, he said he decided that the state couldn’t break a contract.
But Bosma said if the court strikes down the deal, a new look by state regulators is a good idea.
Lesley Weidenbener is managing editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.