CHUCK LEGGE/Valley Voices

March 4, 2007

Well, here it is. It's time for another MEA board of directors election. Of course the question any election asks is: “Do you like the way things are going?” Well, do you like the way our co-op is being run?

If you like not being burdened with decisions about how our collective dollars are spent, then leave the board as is. If, on the other hand, you think a co-operative has something to do with co-operation between administrators and members, then you might want to make some adjustments.

We've recently learned that the board wants MEA to go beyond just distributing power produced by Chugach Electric and move into the power-generating business. Actually, this sounds like a good idea. Too bad the MEA board didn't ask those of us who will be footing the bill what we thought of it.

The board wants to explore using alternative sources of renewable energy. Again, this sounds pretty nifty. And again, no one bothered to ask the bill payers what we thought.

The renewable energy portion of the MEA plan amounts to about 10 percent of the total package. I say “their” plan because our input was apparently not needed. Well, if 10 percent of their plan is renewable, non-polluting energy, that means 90 percent is not.

The cornerstone of the MEA plan is to build a coal-burning generator that will produce 100 megawatts of power. Hmmm, a coal-powered generator in an area famous for wind, gigantic tides and almost 24 hours of summer sunshine. This could be why MEA didn't want any input from its owners.

There are also plans for a natural gas generator that would produce an additional 100 megawatts of power, but we're still not sure where that gas is coming from. If the North Slope gas line doesn't pan out, or if it's not ready in time, that 100 megawatt coal plant will probably become a 200 megawatt plant.

Since the MEA board hasn't seen fit to include us in the process, it should come as no surprise that they haven't explained how this coal burner works. It's called a Circulating Fluidized Bed generator, or CFB.

McGraw-Hill's Science and Technology Dictionary defines fluidized-bed combustion as: “A method of burning particulate fuel, such as coal, in which the amount of air required for combustion far exceeds that found in conventional burners; the fuel particles are continually fed into a bed of mineral ash in the proportions of 1 part fuel to 100 parts ash, while a flow of air passes up through the bed, causing it to act like a turbulent fluid.”

So this is basically a high-tech way of fanning the flames. The fire burns hotter, which means more of the fuel is consumed, which results in more power generated with less pollution.

Actually, this sounds like a good idea. Of course there will still be pollution, but it will be at “acceptable” levels. I'm not sure what acceptable levels are, but if the MEA board thinks they are acceptable, who are we to question.

Even better, the MEA board has decided to finally let us participate in something. We get to decide where this steam engine goes.

That's right. We've been left out of the process until it comes time to decide which of our neighbors will get to have acceptable levels drifting down into their back yards.

Well, we are facing another MEA election. We are, once again, asking the question: “Do we like the way our so-called co-op is being run?” If you like the way things are going, then don't vote for reform candidates Dan Tucker, in the Palmer district, or Katie Hurley, in the Wasilla district.

If, on the other hand, you don't like things as they are, well, the reform candidates are Dan Tucker and Katie Hurley.

Chuck Legge is a free-lance cartoonist whose work appears in every edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. His Valley Voices column appears here every four weeks.