July 31, 2007: Two Energy Companies Square Off Over Iron Range Power Plant

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is deciding the fate of coal gasification power plant in Minnesota's Iron Range. Xcel Energy does not want to purchase the power, and many Minnesotans are raising concern over dirty fuels.

Minnesota Public Radio
Two Energy Companies Square Off Over Iron Range Power Plant
By Bob Kelleher
July 31, 2007
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/07/31/pucgasificationh...

St. Paul, Minn. — This could be the end game for a project that's been on the drawing board since 2001.

Excelsior Energy's Mesaba Energy project could be the nation's first large-scale coal gasification power plant. That's a technology that's supposed to provide power with much fewer emissions than conventional coal plants. It also has the ability to capture carbon dioxide -- a gas blamed for global warming.
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Canisteo pit

The power plant would be a big economic boost for Itasca County. But it needs a customer.

Under state law, that customer would be Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, but only if the Mesaba project fits certain criteria. It has to be in the public's interest, and it has to be cost effective.