Cleveland-Cliffs announced yesterday that it will build a biomass fuel plant near Orr in Cusson, a rural location just north of the Iron Range. The wood briquettes produced there would be used to generate power at Cliffs’ Range taconite plants. If permitted, financed and built as planned, the Renewafuel plant will employ 25 people. The real benefit, though, is the addition of another market for the struggling wood products industry in northern Minnesota.
This project is, among other reasons, why Cliffs hired Range native Jim Kochevar away from the Hibbing Public Utilities Commission, where he was instrumental in the biomass trial project still ongoing in Hibbing and Virginia. Though biomass can’t replace coal up here yet, it is now easy to see how it could become a very viable secondary base load electricity source for Iron Range customers. Coupled with more Minnesota Power wind turbines, any perceived demand for new coal-fired production could evaporate before the end of the decade.
Wind turbines do not reduce the consumption of coal. Due to winds extreme variability coal fired power plants must remain online and ready to carry the load, this is called spinning reserves. The only reason that we have wind turbines connected to the power grid is government mandates and tax incentives.
C.O.
C.O. — We’ve talked about this before, I know, but I do think that wind makes sense when it’s next to power consumers. I think household units make a lot of sense and I think turbines next to the mines are also good in trimming the electrical needs and reducing the burden on the grid.
You’ll note that i said no “new” coal generation. I’m not suggesting we shut down our current producers until and unless we figure out a consistent alternative for base load energy. Biomass isn’t there yet (as I said) so that leaves coal, nat gas or nukes. I think you and I would agree that nuclear needs another look, especially when they process the fuel to the maximum.