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Ratepayers petition against proposed coal-fired power plant

By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-871859.mp3

Lansing, MI – Environmental groups are joining utility ratepayers in a statewide petition to block Consumers Energy from building a proposed $2 billion coal-fired power plant.

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Consumers Energy wants to build an 800-megawatt plant to augment its existing facility near Bay City. The company says the facility will control carbon dioxide emissions by burning low-sulfur grade coal at higher temperatures than conventional power plants.

But Anne Woiwode with the Sierra Club of Michigan says the operational costs would be too much for ratepayers.

"We don't mine it in Michigan," Woiwode says. "And every time we bring in a truckload of coal to fuel these coal plants, we're sending truckloads of money out of state to pay for the coal that's coming to these plants."

Consumers Energy initially filed for an air permit two years ago. That request is still pending before the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

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