So far, our answers to Traverse City Light & Power’s questions about our “20-20″ proposal have explained that saving a watt is the same as generating a watt and is much cheaper, so spending on efficiency makes way more sense than spending on new power plants.
During that time, I was immersed in the glories, the sorrows, and the constant that is coal.
I want to tell you about a place called the Yellow Dog Plains, way up north in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Its waters are pure and true and they run into the Great Lake, mother Superior.
Air permit denied! I had long thought that when I finally read those words I would be filled with happiness and joy. The reality was that I cried. And then I got really angry.
Those first and last points won the day with the state, which determined that Wolverine has other, cheaper, cleaner options for obtaining power, and that the plant would increase the cost of its customers’ electricity by close to 60 percent.
My understanding of how best to grow renewable energy in Michigan-and across the country-keeps me climbing up some pretty steep learning curves.