Show your support for HCCP
Come show your support for the Healy Clean Coal Plant at tomorrow’s rally. Here are the details:
When: The rally begins at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30. It should conclude no later than 2:30 p.m.
Where: Outside the headquarters of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, at the corner of College Road and Diane Street (830 College Road). We’ll be rallying on Diane Street.
Why: Interior Alaska needs cheaper power now! HCCP is the fastest way to lower electric bills. But GVEA cannot restart the plant because four environmental groups have objected to the HCCP air permit, putting the project in limbo. We’re sending a message to these groups: drop your opposition so this plant can get back to work.
What to bring: Bring a friend! If you want to make a sign that’s great. We’ll have some sign making material available.
Who will be there: Your neighbors. Community leaders. Politicians. The news media. The larger the crowd, the stronger the message we send.
Why rally? Opposition to the plant is small but organized. Meanwhile, support for the plant is big but disorganized. This rally will help organize the silent majority that wants cheaper power.
The rally will be led by Bernie Karl, president of K&K Recycling and Chena Hot Springs Resort. Bernie is a strong advocate of both renewable and conventional power in the Interior.
What you can do: We’ll have a petition to sign. You can sign up for HCCP e-mail updates. We’ll have action cards that you can mail to these groups and to our congressional delegation. You can meet other Interior residents who share your concern about high energy costs.
Parking: We recommend that you park on side streets or at Joy Elementary. There will be no parking on College Road or Diane Street.
Show your support for HCCP,
Will the misinformation never end???
Theresa D very cleverly makes reference to a parcel of land that is owned by a corporation named NEWTON Ventures LLC that has goal ash deposited on it. Then she erroniously claims that GVEA CEO Brian NEWTON takes home a salary of $457 thousand per year. She then makes the not so subtle inference that Brian Newton is in cahoots with the Usibelli family on the use of coal.
The truth is that Newton Ventures LLC is owned by Mr. Mick Killion and Ms. Colleen Harshman, both of Fairbanks. Information that it took me all of 5 minutes to find on the internet.
Theresa D doesn’t know how to read the federal tax information that has been posted on the internet and has grossly overreported Mr. Newton’s salary.
I am all for an honest discussion about the restart of the Healy Coal Plant and why the Northern Alaska Environmental Center continues to take steps to oppose it. But we will never get down to the real issue if Theresa D and her kind don’t stop throwing out bad information.
Shame on GVEA leadership for organizing this protest and shame on the Board of Directors for not stopping them. What a waste of money! I’m outraged that GVEA has decided to fund this media misinformation campaign with ratepayers dollars. How on earth does this bring interior residents closer to solutions to the energy crisis we all face? I’m a member of the GVEA Ratepayers Alliance – we’ve made a very simple form that you can fill out and with a click of a button can email the board of directors and the CEO. Please join me in asking GVEA leaders to stop this nonsense – http://www.gvearatepayers.com/submit-your-comments/
Do as the OP says: join the discussion tomorrow at the Northern Enviro Center. Listen to both sides. (http://northern.org/naec-on-healy-2) If you agree that GVEA needs a refresher on its allegedly “cooperative principles”, then come on down to show solidarity with the NAEC for advocating the rule of law.
According to the local press, GVEA is driving the effort to bring LNG to the Interior at an affordable price and they are in the midst of constructing the largest windfarm in the state of Alaska. Ms. Kuhn seems to suggest otherwise. From my perspective the utility is not pitching the coal plant as our “savior” but they are saying it needs to be a part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future. That strikes me as being reasonable as long as the plant operates according to the laws and regulations of the land. According to the reports in this newspaper the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation approved the application for GVEA’s air permit renewal and the EPA has so far remained silent. If the plant can clear these hurdles I don’t thing there would be any fines.
I am really surprised that you are using our co-op’s resources for this project to protest at the Northern Environmental Center. It’s inappropriate.
It is appropriate that the GVEA website has a tab labeled “beware of scams”.
I think a whole chain of custody would be an enlightening and an interesting application as it relates to the entire energy issue in Fairbanks. GVEA, Aurora Energy,UCM…what’s going on?
Why is there a tract of land owned by Newton Ventures LLC on North Van HOrn Road (Conger Street) stacked 50-60 feet high with Coal Combustion Waste? It’s pretty wet back in that area… are we not at all concerned about what this stuff leaches? We know damn good and well, the laissez faire attitude would preclude any forward thinking of making sure the damn thing is lined before we pack CCW in there. We already are seeing deformities in our interior waters’ fish. We’ve got high water and our water table is not so deep into the ground as I understand it.
Amazing that Mr. Newton is able to pull down a $457K annual salary..i would love to see how that’s justified. Who makes the decision about how much this person should earn as a cooperative leader. Truly would the members vote that kind of a salary for the group…And then as a group, Mr. Newton is rallying the troops on the electric cooperatives dime to say that TDE’s are mucking up their progress? How
unprofessional.
while we’re toiling away to fill our tanks, and put groceries on the table, as GVEA and the UCM companies partner to slug their way through the onslaught of uncertainty, public health issues and TDE questions about HCCP.
Ah the chain of custody. Quite a tangled web but i believe it doesn’t have the strongest of legs and could unravel quite easily.
Hogwash! If Healy 2 is such a good idea, why did you have almost a decade of arguing with AIDEA and Homer about restarting this albatross. Coal is not a stable commodity: between 2007 and 2008 the price went up 16.9 %. The global market for this filthy stuff is rising and with the increase in demand is going to come increase cost. When is GVEA going to listen to wise council and focus on alternative sources of energy like LNG and wind and solar and tidal. Coal belongs to the ignorance of the Middle Ages. Fairbanks is the laughing stock of the nation: as the number of coal fired plants decreases Outside, we continue to blow smoke about how coal is the savior. Two years from now we could have LNG. Two years from now with coal will only see us with another 200 MILLION PLUS dollars in debt that the ratepayers are going to be paying off and fines from the federal government for the coal pollution. We will be the beggars at the coal mine doorstep. Don’t believe the rants about damn the EPA; they hold the cards and the federal pot of money and if you don’t agree with the sanity of protective rules, then go crawl back in your cave. Leaders of the community: lead forward and not backwards. GVEA board of directors, you represent ALL of us. Is this town not already divided enough? Think about this: if the price of a Kwh drops 2%, this will translate into $4.00 on a $200 KWh bill. But only the KWh cost is affected: you will still be paying off the debt and the other charges that make up your bill. And if you conserve and lower your usage, GVEA will charge you more. Do your math and don’t be fooled. GVEA is not your friend. GVEA is a co-op, owned by the members. GVEA is acting like a corporation that is out there for for the CEO and multiple VPs.