Web posted
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Talks on Kansas coal plants set
By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA (AP) -- Six legislators set the date for starting work on the final version of a bill allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas, but broader, more intense negotiations continued around them Friday.
Supporters don't doubt that both chambers will approve a bill giving Sunflower Electric Power Corp. the go-ahead for a $3.6 billion project that has been blocked since October by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' administration. But they hope the measure will pass with two-thirds majorities, which is what they would need to overcome her expected veto.
They have been attempting to cajole some House members who voted against their chamber's bill into supporting the final version crafted by House and Senate negotiators. But the behind-the-scenes debate was getting messy.
Confusion arose over a commitment Sunflower made to Kansas State University to spend $2.5 million on research into ''green'' initiatives, if it received the air-quality permit needed to begin construction on its two coal-fired plants by June 1. Rep. Sydney Carlin, a Manhattan Democrat, said House Speaker Melvin Neufeld and Transportation Committee Chairman Gary Hayzlett, both of whom are Republicans, suggested a local project she's pushing might be delayed unless she voted for the energy bill.
Sebelius sent legislators who had opposed either the House or Senate energy bills a letter thanking them. She said she didn't want energy policy ''tailored to a single company.''
Meanwhile, Westar Energy Inc., the state's largest electric utility, released a comprehensive energy policy that said the link between greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and global warming has become a ''mainstream belief'' requiring ''fundamental change'' in energy production.
Three Senate and three House negotiators have scheduled their first meeting for 3:30 p.m. Monday. Some legislators are eager to see them strike a deal.
''I don't think there's anything we couldn't accept,'' said Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican. ''In general, there's not that much difference.''
Both bills would allow Sunflower to reapply for an air-quality permit for its two proposed plants outside Holcomb, in Finney County, under rules designed to guarantee that the secretary of health and environment will approve it. Also, the secretary couldn't impose new air-quality standards stricter than the federal government's rules without legislative approval.
But the House bill contains several green provisions, including one requiring utilities to generate at least 5 percent of their electricity by 2012 from renewable resources, such as wind. Many House members believe their negotiators can't back off those provisions if they're to pick up enough votes for a two-thirds majority.
The Senate bill passed, 33-7 -- six votes more than a two-thirds majority. But the House vote was 77-45, leaving supporters seven votes shy.
''If we take the green off, we'll lose votes,'' said Rep. Carl Dean Holmes, a Republican from Liberal who is his chamber's lead negotiator.
Some critics don't believe supporters can get a two-thirds majority in the House because of the plants' potential CO2 emissions, estimated at 11 million tons a year. Sunflower has said will employ carbon-capture technology to reduce those emissions to as little as 4.5 million tons a year, but critics doubt the technology is ready.
Both chambers rejected proposals to set limits on CO2 emissions from new power plants.
And in its newly announced policy, Westar said it would defer ''as long as we reasonably can'' construction of any new coal-fired plants to meet growing demands for power.
For weeks, some legislators have worried that attempts to broker a deal on the energy bill will sweep in unrelated issues.
''The later it gets in the session, the more that sort of thing is likely to occur,'' said Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican, his chamber's top negotiator. ''We're getting far enough into the session that's liable to be a bargaining chip.''
Carlin told The Topeka Capital-Journal that she already has faced pressure to change her vote against the energy bill, when she asked for support to improvements at her local airport.
She said Neufeld, of Ingalls, implied her project could have an easier time getting Senate approval if she helped with the coal plants.
Hayzlett, of Lakin, told her he had projects that needed support like the coal plants.
Neufeld and Hayzlett said they simply reminded her that Sunflower's project represented important economic development for western Kansas.
And questions arose about Sunflower's much-publicized commitment to Kansas State University on research. Neufeld circulated a one-paged memo signed by Sunflower's chief executive outlining the agreement.
On Friday, Ron Trewyn, the university's vice president for research, said he and other officials hadn't seen the agreement. ''The last I checked, we did not have anything in hand,'' he said.
But Sunflower said it was working with former House Speaker Kent Glasscock, now the president of a national institute for bringing new technologies to market on the Kansas State University campus. Glasscock did not return a telephone message.
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