ST. PAUL - Closing arguments in the Big Stone II transmission case yielded more questions from state officials weighing the project.
Regulators on Tuesday questioned utilities led by Fergus Falls-based Otter Tail Power Co. about their proposed electric transmission project in western Minnesota.
The project's price tag and future costs to the utilities to limit pollutant emissions from the proposed coal-fired Big Stone II plant in eastern South Dakota remain key issues in the case.
The five-member Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is poised to decide the case Thursday, more than three years after the utilities first approached the regulators seeking to boost electricity transmission capacity in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Minnesota regulators have no say over construction of the coal-fired power plant, but the energy companies say new transmission lines in Minnesota are necessary in order for the entire $1.6 billion project to go forward.
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Big Stone II attorney Todd Guerrero said there is a need for expanded transmission capacity, there are no viable alternatives to the project and the applicants met criteria for a "certificate of need."
The utilities also stressed the need for action. The two largest firms in the group - Otter Tail Power and Montana-Dakota Utilities - are losing contracts for electricity from other providers in the coming years. They need a replacement source of electricity.
"We are running out of time," Guerrero told the commission.
Big Stone utilities want to build two transmission lines carrying electricity generated from the proposed plant to stations near Willmar and Granite Falls.
The utilities said the project would help the regional economy and once constructed, the plant would employee 40 to 50 people at a "livable wage," Guerrero said.
Environmental groups opposed to the project say the utilities low-balled the construction estimate and have not adequately considered the future costs associated with carbon dioxide emissions. Opponent Elizabeth Goodpaster said the utilities have had more than enough time to prove the project is needed.
"But the reality is they have failed to do so," said Goodpaster, lead attorney for the project opponents. That group includes the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the Izaak Walton League.
A main argument by Goodpaster's group is that the utilities are relying on outdated models for their project. Utility regulators in other states have rejected power projects because their cost estimates were as "stale" as Big Stone estimates, Goodpaster said. Inforum searchword: Minnesota Wente works for Forum Communications Co., which owns The Forum. He can be reached at (651) 290-0707 or swente@forumcomm.com
