The developer proposing a wood-burning power plant in south Minneapolis is asking for more time on its option to buy the property from the city, the Star Tribune reports today. Kandyohi Development Partners wants to build the Midtown Eco-Energy facility on the site of a city-owned garbage transfer station at 2850 20th Ave. S.

The project has faced heated opposition from neighbors and air quality activists, and now Council Member Gary Schiff tells the Star Tribune he opposes the project because of residents’ concerns about the cumulative health impacts. I get a feeling that both sides are probably guilty of blowing a little smoke in recent months as the debate has escalated. From a public health perspective, the plant’s emissions would be a statistical blip, I’m told, compared to what’s routinely spewed from car traffic on nearby Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue. However, the Phillips neighborhood where it would be situated is already home to several polluters, and no study has been done to measure the big-picture impact off adding to existing pollution levels.