New Ulm PUC suspends coal boiler project
The Sierra Club is applauding New Ulm's decision to suspend a project to convert a boiler at the city's steam plant from natural gas to coal.
The New Ulm Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to indefinitely suspend the project. The decision came after commission members received a revised economic outlook. The current price of coal makes natural gas costs more competitive than when the project was first proposed in 2006.
The Journal of New Ulm reports the permitting paperwork completed so far will be kept and filed, in case the PUC ever resurrects the project.
Sierra Club representative Jessica Tatro tells Minnesota Public Radio News that her group and the community group New Ulm Citizens for Clean Energy support the PUC's decision to suspend the conversion to coal.
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