The Hays Daily News

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Groups run ad campaign in newspapers against coal plants

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Groups run ad campaign in newspapers against coal plants

Published on -10/11/2007, 3:53 PM

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By SARAH KESSINGER Harris News Service TOPEKA -- A coalition of groups opposed to proposed coal-fired electric plants at Holcomb launched a campaign of full-page advertisements in newspapers today. The ads came out on the same day as the scheduled release of a poll of Kansans on coal plants. A spokesman on the poll, which was funded by an Oklahoma natural gas company opposed to new coal plants, wouldn't specify Wednesday what the survey found, leaving details to today's noon release. The ad campaign, which encourages Kansans to call for clean energy development, is running mainly in western Kansas where support has been strongest. A key concern voiced by the mix of environmentalist, religious, health and civic groups who funded the ads is coal plants' carbon emissions. Hays-based Sunflower Electric Corp. seeks to build the two pulverized coal-based electric generators with investors Tri-State Generation and Transmission of Colorado and Golden Spread Electric of Texas. Sunflower spokesman Steve Miller said Wednesday he wasn't surprised by the ad. "They're trying to rally their supporters like we're rallying our supporters. May the good guys win," he said. The companies are waiting for word from Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment Rod Bremby, who has said he'll decide by month's end whether or not to permit the plants. The debate over global warming and coal plants recently moved to the forefront in Kansas as state legislative leaders, who mostly hail from western Kansas, press for permit approval. They say the plants' application meets current environmental rules and the western economy could use the injection of new jobs offered by the power plants. Those opposing the plants, however, say supporters are overlooking the possibilities of a renewable energy economy in western Kansas. They said backers also overlook the fact that the cost of coal and diesel fuel to transport it are expected to continue rising. "A huge coal plant is not only bad for the health of Kansans, it is also the wrong choice for our economy," said Craig Volland, spokesman for the Sierra Club, one of the ad's backers. The issue is brewing in states nationwide as evidenced by the poll set for release today. The survey of Kansans, conducted by a national Republican pollster, was funded in part by Chesapeake Energy, an Oklahoma natural gas company. Chesapeake was among the chief opponents of a proposed coal plant in Oklahoma, which regulators there recently rejected. The company also has joined a coalition of groups fighting new coal plants in Texas. Sunflower officials continue to meet with environmentalists, Miller said, in hopes of finding middle ground. "We have met several times with four groups, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense, Western Resource Advocates out of Colorado and EarthJustice, a law firm for the Sierra Club." "We've been trying to meet with them to understand what their needs are and try to find a way we can all win," Miller said. The groups launching the ad at a press conference in Topeka on Wednesday said Sunflower's plans to add 1,400 megawatts of coal-fired electricity would saturate the region's power grid, depleting the market for wind. Afterward, a lawmaker who wants the plants approved said he strongly disagreed. "That's horse manure. It would be ridiculous to think we would rely on any single source," said Senate Utilities Chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg. In the news(papers) Newspapers where the ads were to run today: Dodge City Daily Globe, Garden City Telegram, Great Bend Tribune, Hays Daily News, Hutchinson News, Lawrence Journal World, Manhattan Mercury, Salina Journal, Southwest Daily Times, Topeka Capital-Journal.