Governor signs $400,000 bill to study plasma gasification for Falls

Gov. Tim Pawlenty Tuesday signed a bill that will provide $400,000 to study the feasibility of a plasma gasification facility for International Falls.
Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, was so enthused when he heard about the governor’s action that he called a local official at 10 p.m. Tuesday from the House floor to tell them the news.
“It just seems fitting that the first thing I’ve been working on that actually gets done is funding this study which will lead to a great project,” said Anzelc Wednesday from St. Paul. “It made my week. Now if we can get lucky on a few other items in last 12 days it will be a productive end of the session.”
The $400,000 will be used to study plasma gasification technology and to determine whether a facility is feasible for International Falls. The project would be a partnership between the city, county developers Coronal, and other players, including Westinghouse, which owns the torch needed for the project, and the German company Siemens.
The facility would be called the Renewable Energy Clean Air Project. For more information, see the Web site at www.lrcd.org/energy/RECAP.
The project would "gasify" garbage and biomass, such as waste wood, to produce energy and other valuable byproducts. The facility would employ about 20 people ranging from administrative and engineering positions to mechanical operators.
 The project would aid in creating jobs and electricity, while at the same time reduce the costs for Koochiching, and possibly other governments, to place solid waste in landfills. Now, Koochiching spends about $1 million annually to haul and place its garbage in a landfill in Kittson County.
The project is considered green because it would lessen emissions, because of the high temperatures used, than other technology and also reduces the amount of waste going into landfills. The facility would make it possible to eventually mine garbage from landfills
The Legislature last session approved $2.5 million for the project in the bonding bill. The cost of the entire project is estimated at about $30 million, but local leaders say they’re moving the proposal forward one step at a time and will seek federal help with the project.
The proposal also includes an education component, which would call for Rainy River Community College to develop a curriculum that would help train workers for the local facility as well as facilities that are being planned elsewhere.
Mike Hanson, chairman of the Koochiching Economic Development Authority, has taken the lead on the project.
“It’s a little early for celebration, but it’s very positive,” he said of the money for the study. “The next step is to sit with the project managers and my colleagues and map out a process to seek bids for an engineering firm that has capacity to underline the most important aspects and compile a request for proposal that will delineate all the questions we’ve been trying to get answers to.”
Sen. Tom Saxhaug said Wednesday morning that he was in a good mood at the Capitol.
“The governor hasn’t let too many bills get by his veto pen,” he said. “He vetoed a couple of line items and very small things, but generally, the environment, natural resources and energy fared well. And key in energy is the study money for the gasification project.”
Paul Nevanen, director of the KEDA, called the governor’s signature to the bill that provides the money good news.
“It’s terrific,” he said. “The key to this is the feasibility study. While this technology and process holds a lot of promise, we have to prove it out and this money will prove out whether it can work here.”
Both Nevanen and Hanson said the study money is just a start of what is likely to be a very long process.
“We have a lot of things ahead, but this is a tremendous first start,” he said. “This process will take a lot of time, energy and commitment.”
Local officials complimented Anzelc and Saxhaug for their work at the Capitol. And, Hanson noted, the project wouldn’t have come this far without Nevanen.
“It’s really a team effort,” Hanson said. “Now we move on and hopefully have positive findings that a facility like this will not only work, but will work in International Falls.”