IN CASE YOU DON’T THINK YOUR bills from the Marquette Board of Light and Power are high enough, just wait. If the state legislature gets its way, they are sure to rise, even more than the cost of other goods and services.
That’s because our lawmakers are pushing municipalities to scrap their current fossil fuel generation and move to the more environmentally friendly renewables like wind and solar. Nothing wrong with the what and why of that. The problem is with the when.
State bills passed in 2023 require providers like our BLP to reach 100% clean energy by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Again, worthy goals, except when you consider the timeline and the cost of adhering to it.
Didn’t We Just Do That?
You see, it wasn’t that long ago that our Shiras coal fired plant was decommissioned, torn down, and replaced with Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (RICE) generators. That seemed pretty proactive at the time. Ahead of the game, even. And, in addition to becoming more energy efficient, we also opened up more space on the lakeshore in South Marquette. Well done.
Apparently though, not well done enough for the folks in Lansing. Following their rules, we’ll still be covering the cost of our obsolete RICE burners, while at the same time paying for our new green energy!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like tossing things out while they’re still working… AND I’m still paying for them! But that’s what we have to look forward to, unless…
Unless we voice our concerns, emphatically, to the people writing these laws. All we’re asking for is a carveout as such, allowing power providers like ours a grace period that will prevent those bills I mentioned from going sky high. We’d prefer to pay for only one thing at a time, if you don’t mind.
Power In Numbers
One group helping amplify our opposition to the mandate is the Marquette County Ambassadors. The Ambassadors is a collection of area leaders and influencers who take on issues like this, promoting economic growth and stability throughout the region.
“The Ambassadors have been, and will continue to raise awareness with legislators and administration in Lansing and advocate.” So says Ambassador Dave Aro. “Our hope was that common sense would prevail and the facts of what the 2023 legislation will inadvertently do to us would make for an easy fix to carve out the RICE generation.” That sounds reasonable.
“Unfortunately that has not happened,” Aro claims, “and so we are working on educating the public more so they understand how catastrophic this will be not only to industry, but their home electric bill.” That sounds serious.
In response, the Marquette County Ambassadors are encouraging residents that will feel the financial brunt of this action to voice their support for two bills currently on the table in the Michigan Senate – HB 4007 and HB 4283.
Passage of HB 4007 and 4283 would grant the U.P additional time to complete the transition to cleaner energy while continuing to utilize our relatively new RICE generators, designed to provide dependable service until approximately 2050.
A Talking Point
Mary Myers, Director of Economic Development Services for the Lake Superior Community Partnership, sums it up… “The U.P. solved its energy problem, reduced emissions, and made significant investments, and now we’re asking for the opportunity to continue using that infrastructure for the life it was designed to serve.” Is it possible that makes too much sense?
Action Plan
What can we do? According to the Ambassadors, we can learn more about the issue, and SEND A MESSAGE TO LEGISLATORS, by visiting marquette.org/up-energy-future. Short of outright civil disobedience, that sounds like a plan.
Military Returning to Sawyer?
At a recent Marquette County Commission meeting, the board voted unanimously to look into the possibility of a military return to K.I. Sawyer… now known as Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport.
A former SAC installation, K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base was once a huge economic and social driver in the county, employing or housing more than 12,000 people, enlisted and civilian.
The base closed in September of 1995 and four years later the facility became the home of Marquette County Airport, which relocated from Negaunee Township and took on the name, Sawyer International Airport. (Flights to Canada count as international.)
Seemed Like a Good Idea… at the Time
The idea for moving the airport to Sawyer, as I remember it, was that it would be a great way to re-establish that community as the vibrant hub it once was. Thirty some years later we’re still waiting.
Now County Board Chairman Joe Derocha is leading the effort to see if the military might like to come back, in one form or another. He contends the base could again be a valuable asset to our military. “The Sawyer strategic Northern location for US national defense that existed years ago, still remains.”
It’s not a stretch to think a permanent installation could be reinstated.
Why Not?
“Over the last several years, there have been increased military operations and training at Sawyer by the United States Army, Air Force and Air Guard,” Derocha says. “The military has also entered into annual contracts in regard to Army ice testing, Federal Forest Service, and use of other Sawyer assets.”
According to Derocha, the level of activity at the airport is such that additional functions could be integrated without disruption to local usage. “Currently the federal assets that have utilized Sawyer have operated in concurrence with day-to-day flight operations without interruption.”
Though this kind of came out of nowhere, I say… why not? Any time you can get the feds investing in your area, that’s a good thing. It might have a snowball’s chance in hell of happening, but there’s nothing wrong in asking. All they can do is say no.