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POWER
PLAY When springtime hits Coburg, locals roll up their sleeves. Freshly shorn sheep graze the pastures, blossoms streak the orchards with color, and irises bloom on Carolyn Kinnan's small, neat lawn. Like most of the town's 969 residents, Kinnan, a 66-year-old great-grandmother of 11, works from dawn until dusk — but she doesn't tend to livestock or crops. Instead, she visits neighbors and organizes meetings in an effort to stop a local developer from building a natural-gas-fired power plant less than a half mile from her home. The site of the proposed plant is a 100-acre plot of farmland next to the Weyerhaeuser veneer mill in northern Lane County, just a few miles south of the Linn County border. For years it has been used to grow grass seed, but the site also has commercial potential. Nearby power lines carry energy into the valley, and a gas pipeline runs through the soil. This infrastructure, says developer Gary Marcus, makes the site perfect for a natural-gas-fired power plant. The plant, if built, will take up 40 acres, and another 55 acres will become wetlands. Some locals argue that the area is badly suited for industry. Because of the 3,500-foot Coburg hills that hem in the valley to the east, the airshed is prone to temperature inversions, when stagnant cool air gets trapped below a layer of warmer air, holding pollution low to the ground. On rainy days, clouds hang in front of the hills as if too tired to surmount them. Opponents of the plant worry that emissions from the plant's 195-foot stacks would hang in the valley like those clouds. The grassroots struggle against the facility began in 2001, when Marcus submitted an application to the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) to permit air emissions from a 600-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Coburg. A community group called Save our Valley (SOV), spearheaded by Kinnan, rallied against the proposal, but Marcus folded when Enron, his prospective buyer, collapsed. In November 2003, Marcus emerged with a revised proposal to build a 900-megawatt plant. It consists of a base load with a 600-megawatt capacity and six peaking generators able to produce 50 megawatts each. Marcus claims that the plant, called the West Cascade Energy Facility, will supply enough power to serve all of the electricity needs of Lane, Linn and Douglas counties, and then some. Once construction on the $485 million plant begins, the South Dakota-based Black Hills Corporation will take over principal control of the facility. As Marcus pushes ahead with his proposal, clashes intensify. Opponents challenge West Cascade on the basis of the burdens it will place on local residents and its lack of public accountability. Supporters say that the facility will provide Lane County with reliable, low-cost energy while bolstering the local economy. Lately, the battle has intensified. Former County Commissioner Tom Lininger and Marcus spar on the opinion pages of The Register-Guard. Marcus courts support from municipal agencies, and SOV forms alliances with environmental groups. The arguments on both sides are compelling and complex. At a time when global warming threatens to change life as we know it and the national energy industry is undergoing a sea change, both sides may be missing the point. Looking beyond the personal attacks, the not-in-my-backyard arguments, and the smooth sales pitches, this becomes a local fight with global implications.
DO WE NEED IT? Proponents of the plant liken it to an energy insurance policy for the Willamette Valley, saying that it will lessen local reliance on transmission lines from east of the Cascades while providing emergency backup power. Opponents counter that Oregon already has an energy surplus, so we don't need more energy. Existing power demand in Lane County is 875 megawatts during peak hours. That demand is projected to grow by 175 megawatts over the next 20 years. West Cascade is designed to add generating capacity in phases, as demand increases, up to 900 megawatts. Only several hundred megawatts of reliable electricity are currently generated inside the Willamette Valley. The rest — about 625 megawatts in Lane County alone — travels across transmission lines from BPA's Columbia River dam and power plants east of the Cascades. Utilities will need to build additional transmission lines if Lane County imports more power from outside the valley. This is expected to increase electricity rates. Generating power from within the valley, on the other hand, would relieve incoming pressure on the lines. The BPA power that flows into Lane County now would go somewhere else. Marcus claims that the plant has a wide range of supporters. "This plant is backed by the public utilities commission, it's backed by the governor's energy office, it's backed by BPA," he says. "Anybody who knows anything about electrical infrastructure issues is behind this." The endorsements are hard to verify. "I spoke to a number of staffers and nobody seems to be able to confirm that," says Bob Valdez, spokesman for the Oregon Public Utilities Commission. "It seems unlikely." The Black Hills Corporation did not respond to requests for comment. But Springfield resident Garrett Paulson, a retired wastewater engineer, supports the proposed plant. "Because the Willamette Valley has one of the largest energy demands, this project just makes sense," he says. "It seems to me a win-win situation." Whether there is a need for the plant or not, the fact remains: Marcus has the legal right to build it. Oregon used to have a need standard, which meant that when a developer applied for building permits, the siting council considered the need for the facility. But several years ago, the Oregon Legislature banished the need standard because it wouldn't hold up in court under national deregulation policy. A carbon dioxide mitigation standard took its place. It requires new power plants to pay into the Oregon Climate Trust, which funds projects to offset 20 percent of the plants' carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon standard is the first of its kind in the country, but the need standard is dead. "Everybody can yell about how we don't need it or we do need it," says senior energy analyst for the Northern Energy Coalition Steve Weiss, "but it doesn't get you anywhere with the siting council."
WHO BENEFITS? Customers in Lane, Linn and Douglas counties would use the energy generated by West Cascade. But on the power grid, use is different from sale. Although the regions closest to the power source use its electricity, the energy can be sold anywhere on the grid. "People inject power into the grid at one point, and then somebody somewhere else takes it out," says Weiss. "As long as there's a way for the power to travel, nobody color-codes the electrons." Marcus says that West Cascade will only sell to Northwest utilities. "We're not negotiating with any out-of-state customers," he says. "There are no lines to California." True or not, Marcus is under no legal obligation to limit his sales to Willamette Valley utilities. His target utilities include Pacific General Electric (PG&E), which sells to Portland and Salem, and PacifiCorps, which serves six states, including Oregon. If West Cascade doesn't sell to California, chances are good that it will free up other facilities' energy for export. The Northwest already has a surplus of energy, and developers have proposed dozens of new gas-fired plants in Oregon and Washington. Because energy cannot go onto the grid without a buyer to take it off, someone has to send the excess energy somewhere. "A portion of these new plants are intended to benefit out-of-state consumers," says Lininger. "When you add up the proposed generation for Oregon and Washington, and it far exceeds the local demand, that's California dreamin'." "Unless he's crazy," says Weiss, "when prices are real high in California, then that's where he should be selling."
POWER PLANNING The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 created the Northwest Power Planning Council, an agency made up of eight governor-appointed representatives from Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho. In July 2003, it changed its name to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to emphasize the importance of efficiency. The council releases a power blueprint for the northwest every five years. Its newest plan will come out this month. "People really respect [the council's] research because they don't have any axe to grind," says Weiss. Despite its good repute, the council doesn't have the power to enforce its recommendations. The first question that council members confront is, Do we have enough electricity for the next 20 years? Using computer models to crunch numbers, the council predicted that the Northwest's current energy surplus will last through 2008; then energy demand will hold steady with supply for several more years. By 2024, however, the Northwest will need about 6,000 more megawatts of energy. The next question is: If we need more energy, where should it come from? Council members consider gas, combustion turbines, coal, hydro, and wind power. They also explore conservation and efficiency as ways of reducing demand. The council's preliminary draft suggests that the Northwest should achieve about 2,900 megawatts of conservation over the next 20 years. By 2011, additional energy should come from wind farms. The council recommends no new gas plants and no new coal plants. Natural gas used to be the council's top choice for new power, but the gas market is becoming increasingly uncertain. One reason is the possibility of steeper regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. Natural gas plants produce large quantities of carbon dioxide, which is a primary contributor to global warming. A more immediate reason to avoid natural gas is because its price is skyrocketing. Gas prices have increased by 250 percent in the past five years. Canadian gas wells produce less gas for less time, and reserves in Alaska, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Indonesia are expensive to store and transport. "The price of gas probably won't come down very much from what it is today," says Weiss. "That's why [the council] is saying it's not worth it anymore." The power council's report may be the most credible argument against West Cascade. Weiss suggests that opponents urge utilities to refuse contracts with natural-gas-fired plants. "Go to EWEB and PG&E, and whoever he thinks he's going to sell electricity to, and say 'We don't want your power. We want renewable power, and we want conservation. It's too risky to buy from you,'" says Weiss. It may be daunting for a handful of local activists to influence the likes of PG&E and PacifiCorps, but it's the utilities that create the demand for power plants. "If utilities would stop demanding that kind of power," says Weiss, "these guys would all go away."
A MIGHTY WIND As the price of natural gas increases, wind technology improves. The areas ripe for windmills — the breezy hills of Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and Montana — are desperate for new jobs and property taxes. One windmill can produce about 3.5 megawatts of energy, netting a farmer around $10,000 per year. "Wind is probably the next bet for the region," says Weiss. "Wind is a little more expensive [than gas] right now, but once you build it, it's always there. There's no gas and there's no carbon. It's not going to be subject to regulation." There is no rush to find new power now. Because of the economic recession, many power plants have closed down. As electricity rates go up, people consume less. Current regional energy demand is 10 to 15 percent lower than it was four years ago. The council doesn't expect electricity demand to reach 2000 levels for a few more years, and it probably won't grow beyond that for five or six years. That allows plenty of time to set up wind meters, scout for the best sites, and build transmission lines to carry power from the eastern hills to the cities. An efficient network of wind farms could whir into action by 2010.
EMISSIONS Don Nelson, a 66-year-old retiree, owns 10 acres of land rimmed by the Coburg hills. He has noticed that on some summer days, when neighbors burn their fields, the smoke hangs in the bowl of his land. Nelson worries that the same thing would happen to power plant emissions. A straightforward man who weighs his words carefully, Nelson doesn't fit the profile of a typical activist. Though he is a member of SOV, he criticizes the NIMBY attitude as short-sighted and emphasizes the need for industries and environmentalists to compromise. Still, he worries about the effects that the plant would have on the local air quality. "When I say I'm not an environmentalist, I have to breathe the air in this hole that we live in," says Nelson. "Marcus' attitude toward siting a generation plant near the need for power is a good concept. I just think there are places better suited for the dispersion from the fallout of this pollution." According to LRAPA data, West Cascade would emit 825 tons of criteria pollutants every year: 86 tons of volatile organic compounds, 401 tons of nitrous oxides, 52 tons of sulfur oxides, 326 tons of fine particulate matter, and 286 tons of carbon monoxide. It would also emit 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Opponents of the plant argue that the pollution would concentrate in the Coburg area. Marcus refutes that claim. "The facility stacks will widely disperse the emissions so the pollution will not be concentrated anywhere," he says. "In fact, there are only a few places where it will even be detectable." He says that the facility will be one of the most efficient natural-gas-fired power plants in the nation, incorporating $18 million in pollution control technology. "There are no significant health issues [with the plant]," says Marcus, noting that a person breathing near his facility for a year would inhale no more pollution than a person standing on a street corner in downtown Eugene for a day. That argument doesn't fly with Lininger. "If we have pollution problems in Lane County, let's try and solve the problems," he says. "Let's not cite the other pollution as a rationalization to pollute more." Fine particulate matter is also a concern. Currently, Lane County has particulate levels of 68 micrograms per cubic meter, and the federal limit is 150 micrograms. On average, the plant would add up to 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter in Lane County. Particulate emissions have been linked to asthma, which is on the rise in Lane County. "Studies have demonstrated a direct correlation between exposure to fine particulate matter and an increased death rate," says David Monk of the Oregon Toxics Alliance. "The fine particulate matter coming out of these so-called 'clean' natural-gas-fired power plants is coated with the arsenic, mercury and cadmium also being emitted. Breathing in these fine particles allows these heavy metals to enter deep into a person's lungs and thus directly into their bloodstream." In short, says Monk, the West Cascade proposal is not fair. "The investors get the profit," he says. "The local community gets the pollution."
WATER, LAND, JOBS West Cascade would provide 270 jobs for two years during construction of the facility and 30 full-time jobs once it's running. The plant would pay $4.4 million a year in property taxes and spend $7 million a year on supplies and services. "To see a plant of that magnitude, that imposes that sort of burden on the local community, only generate 30 ongoing jobs, is pretty remarkable to me," says Lininger. But a local farmers' irrigation cooperative looks forward to one of the plant's potential benefits. Marcus agreed to make $1 million in improvements to the Muddy Creek irrigation canal in exchange for its use to transport water to and from the facility. West Cascade would use 10 cubic feet of water per second (or about 4,500 gallons per minute) from the McKenzie River. This constitutes about 3 percent of the river's industrial water right. The water would travel to the plant via the irrigation canal, and 90 percent of the intake would evaporate during processing. The rest would be cooled to 64 degrees and discharged to canal, where it would flow toward the farm fields. The farmers in the cooperative extol Marcus' generosity, but Kinnan brushes it off. "It's the trick of the super-salesmen," she says. "They'll tell you anything and everything to get you to sign on the dotted line." Although some farmers support the plant, others compile cases against it. According to land use attorney Dan Terrell, who is representing a Coburg resident, the land use code in Oregon protects high-value farmland. Although the law allows 17 acres per farm for energy production, West Cascade would cover 40 acres. Once land is used for energy production, says Terrell, it is usually rendered unfit for farming. "Toxic materials that will be used for everyday processes will invariably make their way into the ground," says Terrell. "Does a plant this big have a right to be on high-quality farmland? The supporters would say yes, and we say no. The reality is that once these plants are built, every effort is made to keep them running for as long as possible."
DECISION-MAKING Kinnan estimates that more than half of Coburg's residents oppose the plant, but opponents complain that they do not have a venue to voice their concerns. Marcus chose to seek binding review of the West Cascade project through the state Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) rather than through the local Board of County Commissioners. EFSC will review over 3,700 pages of the facility's applications for a variety of permits. Once the agency deems the permits complete, it will hold public hearings. The input that EFSC receives from county commissioners and residents is not binding. This frustrates opponents of the plant, who want a voice in the process. "I think the proponents should put their money where their mouth is," says Lininger. "If they think this is such an innocuous plan, and it's great for the local economy, present it to our local elected officials." Marcus defends his decision, saying that members of EFSC, unlike the local commissioners, have expertise in the subject and a resource-rich support staff. Had he sought and won re-election, "Tom Lininger would have been a county commissioner," says Marcus. "And he has demonstrated that he has very little knowledge about this facility, energy in general, and he would be incapable of making this kind of decision." For some residents, Marcus' decision to pursue permits through EFSC is reason enough for suspicion. "It looks like one of those good-old-boy networks going on," says Nelson. "I have no problem with people making money, but it doesn't have to be at the expense of the people living here." LRAPA is currently reviewing the air emissions permit based on federal air quality guidelines. Robert Koster, LRAPA's operations manager, will decide whether to issue the emissions permit and then hold a public hearing and 30 days of public comment. He says that the feedback will not affect his decision unless someone points out that he's made a legal error. Lininger encourages opponents to continue to raise their voices. "The fact that this has been taken away from the normal democratic process makes it more urgent to speak up," he says. Marcus counters that there is plenty of local input. "There's more local input in this project than anyone could ever want," he says. "What I want is for the project to be judged on its merits according to the law and according to due process."
DREAMS AT STAKE For some, the fight over the power plant is personal. That's the case with Kinnan, who became an activist the day she first got whiff of the proposal. Kinnan owns less than an acre of property in Coburg. Plants and wind chimes clutter her front porch. Cats she never meant to adopt prowl the yard. Inside, her grandchildren's wedding photos hang on the walls. She can see the site of the proposed plant from her house. "This was my little tiny part of the American Dream that I worked hard to have," says Kinnan, who was self-employed while she raised her five children. She saved up money and bought her house 14 years ago. Now she lives on Social Security. "This land is the only thing I had to leave to my kids," she says. "I cannot consciously leave something to my grandkids, my great-grandkids and beyond, that will kill them. I can't do that." Her eyes well up behind her big bifocals. "My American Dream is going up in the cloud of emissions," she says. "If this thing comes about, my whole life is destroyed. I need this place for my grandkids. He needs the plant for his profit. Whose need is greater? His or ours?" But Marcus says his need is also personal. "I need to finish the power plant," he says. "If this plant gets somehow run out of town, it sends a very bad message." Marcus has lived in Eugene since 1975, and he feels that he has made the community a better place. He received an interdisciplinary master's degree, and then a law degree, from the UO. He bailed the Eugene Symphony out of debt, founded the Eugene Jewish Federation, and started up a knee brace company. He's written two novels (neither published) and is working on a third. He says that the two issues that concern him most are overpopulation and global warming. Marcus professes a commitment to cleaner energy. For his own home, he buys 100 percent wind power from EWEB. A small hydropower plant he developed on Falls Creek won a governor's award for environmental innovation. He points out that West Cascade could actually reduce pollution by decreasing the output from dirtier facilities. "The sooner we switch to all sources of non-fossil fuels, the better," says Marcus. "It's unfortunate that the federal government does not take the lead in this as they should. What we need is a national tax on CO2. We also need to sign the Kyoto protocol." Even Lininger attests to Marcus' good intentions. "He's a good guy," says Lininger of Marcus. "Among people who could propose plants like this, Gary's the one you want. His heart's in the right place."
THE BIG PICTURE The proposal to build the West Cascade Energy Facility is part of a larger trend called energy deregulation (see sidebar story). Even if this facility is defeated, other proposals are likely to fill its void. Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club recommend diversifying power to include renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass. This would cut back on greenhouse gases while increasing domestic security. Weiss emphasizes that the energy problem is national, if not global, in scale. "Ultimately, the problem is the entire country's policy," he says. "Utilities have to stop buying [fossil fuels] and taking those risks, and the country has to stop subsidizing fossil fuels." Lininger suggests an equitable approach. "I'd say first of all, let's fully explore renewable resources, see how far we can get with that," he says. "Let's fully explore conservation, see how far we can get with that. Then, if it's necessary to build new power plants, let's disperse them evenly throughout the Willamette Valley." Surprisingly, Marcus advocates more regulation of the energy industry. "We have the technology to live in a perfect world," he says. "We just don't have the political will to pay for it. If we could make greenhouse gases more expensive, it would just be a matter of a few years before industry would respond." In the meantime, he'll get to work on his plant. A community meeting on the power plant is planned for 7pm May 5 at Harris Hall. For more, call 465-8860.
DEREGULATION Energy deregulation is the reign of the free market in energy sales. Under deregulation, private utilities compete with public utilities and the government scales back pollution restrictions. There are two levels of deregulation: wholesale and retail. America has seen wholesale energy deregulation since the George H. W. Bush administration passed the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This was during the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, when the U.S. placed a trade embargo on Iraq, thereby losing 10 percent of its oil imports. Although the act emphasized drilling for domestic reserves in the Arctic, it also offered incentives to conserve electricity and promote renewable resources. Wholesale deregulation increases competition among electricity generators by allowing anybody to generate electricity and hook up to the power grid. Utilities no longer have to build their own power plants; instead, they buy from the cheapest bidder. Before deregulation, Gary Marcus would not have been able to build a power plant because he is not a utility. Now, anything goes. Retail deregulation allows individuals to buy power from whomever they choose. Though it is popular on the East Coast, retail deregulation in California led to the recent energy crisis there before it was repealed. Retail deregulation provokes utilities to slash budgets for renewables, conservation, and discounts for low-income consumers. Only wholesale deregulation applies to residential consumers in Oregon. In Eugene, for example, all residents have to buy electricity from EWEB, but EWEB is free to choose its power supplier. EWEB Commissioner Sandra Bishop speculates that EWEB is unlikely to buy power from the West Cascade Energy Facility. She doubts that it would benefit Lane County residents. "It is a bad idea to build this kind of plant in this location," she says. "Even if it's a clean technology, it's not appropriate to have this kind of plant in the Willamette Valley." — Kera Abraham
LONG-TERM CONTRACTS? Gary Marcus says that the West Cascade Energy Facility will only negotiate 20-year contracts. If so, his energy might be a hard sell. According to energy analyst Steve Weiss, Pacific Gas & Electric only signs contracts with generating facilities for up to five years. According to Weiss, few utilities are willing to negotiate long-term contracts for gas-fired power. "The price [of natural gas] depends on supply and demand, and no one is willing to offer gas for more than three- or four-year contracts because even the drilling companies are uncertain about how much gas they'll have in three to five years," says Weiss. West Cascade does not plan to supply natural gas for utilities. Instead, the facility will negotiate long-term "tolling agreements," which stipulate that utilities have to obtain their own gas. "It's a renting of the equipment, but not of the fuel," says Weiss. "No power plant developer can guarantee the price of the electricity. They can guarantee the use of it. So they'll offer PacifiCorps, or they'll offer PG&E, or they'll offer EWEB what is called a tolling agreement. You, as a utility, have the right to use my gas plant if you provide the natural gas." Weiss doubts that there will be many takers. "If [Marcus] is saying he's going to make a deal with someone for 20 years, it's some stupid utility that signs up for 20 years and then five years into the deal finds out that gas is so high that they'll never repay the plant," he says. "That's why the power planning council is saying, 'Don't do it. It's too risky.'" Considering Marcus' proposal, Weiss says, "There's a good chance that this guy will go out of business." — Kera Abraham
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