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There is not nearly enough attention devoted to the Huskersphere. Buffalo County and Boys Town: Great places to raise kids! I don't think that Mr. Wilson will be taking you to Applebee's if you visit him in Lincoln. Don't let...

Deal 'opens the door' to wind power

DEFINITELY A WIN-WIN-WIN for South Dakota's Economy!

One of the biggest hinderances to the development of more wind power in South Dakota has been a lack of enough transmission line capacity to get the electricity to where it's needed.

There is a positive logic to the addition of a new coal-burning plant also. The US has an abundance of coal, and large deposits of high quality low-sulfur coal are just to the west in Wyoming. There is a synergy that comes into play here with a three-way synergistic development of South Dakota's utility and transportation infrastructure which is catalyzed by the planned construction of a new coal-burning power plant at Big Stone.

The first element of this synergy is the expansion of the DM&E Railroad, which, in spite of the usual opposition from envirowacko activist groups and assorted other NIMBY (Non-In-My-Backyard types pushed through approval of extending it's lines into the Wyoming coal fields, and upgrade of its existing mainlines to handle the greatly increased traffic that results from this. (See note 1 in extended entry) This increases the availability of coal for new plants.

With the abundance of coal, and modern abatement technology, it is possible to burn low-sulfur coal with a minimum amount of air pollution, plus it helps to increase the electric power capacity, which is an essential positive factor for continued economic growth in the area. (See Note 2)

Finally, this proposed coal plant will bring in a significantly serious excess in electrical power transmission capacity, above and beyound the needs of the new plant. This excess capacity is available for the development of large(r) scale wind turbine developments, which (a) provides yet more electricity, (b) is a clean, renewable energy source, and (c) provides yet another boost to the local economic structure.

So, what's the "win-win-win"? More needed electrical power, use of domestic coal instead of imported oil, and the enabled development of even cleaner wind power capacity. Three birds with one "Big Stone". Not too bad.

Jesse experiences an earthquake....

So I get up at 6 this morning to go to a meeting. Except that nobody told me that it was moved to next week. Other than that, how was my day? I'm glad you asked. I have a bit...

New York Times:The Senate Energy and Commerce Committee approved a measure on Wednesday to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas production, moving it an important step closer to becoming official. The committee...

Via Powerline, here is a detailed article by Steven Hayes that goes in depth into the famous 16 words of George Bush's in the 2003 State of the Union speech claiming Iraq had been seeking nuclear material in Africa. Regarding...

LA Times:THIS WEEK should have been a time of rejoicing in America. On Wednesday, Saddam Hussein went on trial ? the ex-master butcher of Iraq, reeking of blood. And last Saturday, the newly freed Iraqi people pulled off a referendum...

The moonbats have been flapping their leathery wings all day long about the "staged" teleconference with US soldiers in Tikrit. Y'know, because "staged" events -- phony red meat passion plays for the howling right-wing dogs -- are generally pulled together...

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