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Big Stone Ii - Latest Stories

Despite setback, Big Stone II still slated for 2010 construction

By Jon Pike | 07.20.09 | 8:54 am

Despite a metro-area city backing out of the project, representatives for the proposed Big Stone II power facility say they remain optimistic about the plant’s future, while opponents are still saying that it means dirty power for the Dakotas and Minnesota.

‘Death knell’? Obama’s EPA decides against Big Stone II power plant

By Paul Schmelzer | 01.23.09 | 5:01 pm

A week after the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved transmission lines needed to build the 500 megawatt coal-fired Big Stone II power plant near the South Dakota border, the Environmental Protection Agency has opposed issuing…

Big Stone II transmission project gets utility commission OK

By Tom Elko | 01.16.09 | 10:46 am

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved the Certificate of Need for a transmission line project necessary for the construction of the Big Stone II coal-fired power plant in Milbank, South Dakota.

Despite a room full of citizens opposed to the plants construction for environmental concerns, many holding signs and some dressed in animal costumes, the PUC did not deliberate on the coal-fired facility itself or the environmental impacts that it may have, focusing instead on the cost of the project and its implications for utility rate payers.

Earth to Pawlenty: NASA scientist calls on governor to oppose Big Stone II

By Tom Elko | 04.28.08 | 9:23 am

The director of NASA’s Goddard Institute has asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to oppose the Big Stone II

Study: Carbon legislation makes coal a foolish investment

By Dan Haugen | 03.26.08 | 6:30 am


A financial research firm that was ahead of the curve on red-flagging Bear Stearns Companies’ bad investments is now warning a Kansas utility that expanding a coal-burning power plant would also fall under the financially dubious…

Carbon regulations to cost coal projects, bank says

By Dan Haugen | 02.13.08 | 5:18 pm

Bank of America is estimating federal carbon regulations will cost coal-burning power plants between $20 and $40 per ton of carbon emissions, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s more than twice the estimate being used by backers of…

Big Stone II, the prequel?

By Dan Haugen | 02.06.08 | 9:50 am

In the news again: A controversial transmission line project that will carry electricity into Minnesota from a new coal-burning power plant beyond our border. I’m not talking about Big Stone II, but rather Arrowhead-Weston,…

Carbon Regulation Will Cost Big Stone II, But How Much?

By Dan Haugen | 12.06.07 | 7:46 pm

Utilities trying to build new power plants should plan on paying a premium to burn fossil fuels, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said in a vote Thursday.

Environmental groups seized on the news as…

Big Stone II Coal-Plant Debate Turns To Carbon Regulation

By Dan Haugen | 11.13.07 | 10:03 pm

A coalition of environmentalists fighting a proposed coal-fired power plant near the Minnesota-South Dakota border said it suspects the project’s investors are underestimating the impact of future carbon regulations on its finances.

The group of…