Review of Iron Range project to begin

MINNESOTA - Plans to build an Iron Range power plant that burns gasified coal inched ahead recently, when the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission authorized staff to begin evaluating the project.

The commission agreed to accept Excelsior Energy Inc.'s applications for a site permit, a high-voltage transmission line and a natural gas pipeline permit.

Commissioners also instructed staff to appoint a citizen task force to help determine the scope of issues that should be addressed in an Environmental Impact Study for the project. The task force would be 15 people; seven of those members are to be citizens serving in nongovernmental roles.

Excelsior wants to build a plant just north of the city of Taconite in Itasca County. But the company also has identified an alternate site about 1 mile north of Hoyt Lakes.

The company aims to begin construction of a plant in 2008 and have it working by 2011. Initially, the facility would produce 606 megawatts of power. But Excelsior plans to expand the plant's capacity to 1,200 megawatts.

Excelsior hopes to have this second phase of the power plant completed by 2014 or 2015, said Bret Elnes, a senior facility planner for the Public Utilities Commission.

Elnes said the review process may take up to one year to complete.

Tom Micheletti, Excelsior's co-CEO, estimates it will cost about $1.5 billion to build the first phase of the power plant.

A 600-megawatt plant would employ about 110 people, and a 1,200- megawatt facility probably would provide work for about 200, Micheletti said. Putting up the power plant also could create about 1,500 construction jobs, he said.