Traverse City Light & Power officials say they have not made any decisions on where four proposed biomass energy plants -- which burn scrap wood to make electricity -- might be located around Traverse City.
For that matter, the city-owned utility says, it currently doesn't have a biomass plan at all.
"We don't have a plan, we don't have a size, we don't have a location," utility spokesman Jim Cooper said last week.
That may be; but the city-owned utility is sure acting that way. And given its track record city residents may want to sit up and take careful notice of what Light & Power says and what it does -- or tries to do.
In its capital improvement budget checked off on by the city commission, the utility included money for biomass plants. Off the record, utility officials say they're looking for land for plant sites. And just in the past few weeks, Light & Power approved a $5,500 contract to help sell the idea of biomass plants to the public.
"I believe it's imperative that Light & Power communicate effectively with the public about such an important project," said Light & Power vice chairman Mike Coco.
What project?
A better idea would be to let the public -- the folks who own Light & Power -- know that there actually is a long-term plan.
About four years ago, not long after it tore down its old wood- and coal-fired bayfront plant in 2005 -- the utility talked about building a wood-burning facility in nearby Elmwood Township, almost directly upwind of downtown Traverse City. That idea was never presented to the public as a full-blown proposal but it prompted a lot of criticism.
In 2008, the utility was talking about spending $120 million to buy into four new coal-fired plants being planned across the state -- a plant in Rogers City in particular -- and to invest in a windmill farm in Charlevoix.
Over the last two years, Light & Power repeatedly rejected any possibility of rehabilitating any of the dams on the Boardman River to produce electricity.
Now, apparently, biomass is here to stay.
If the utility is planning a public relations campaign the first step must be to educate and then listen to the public.
A few residents criticized biomass plants at a recent city commission meeting; they spew smoke and particulates, and many residents are likely to object. Siting them will be a nightmare.
Further, the larger issue -- should Light & Power be a power generator at all -- hasn't yet been resolved by the community.
Educate, listen, discuss -- and then decide.
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