Local group fires up to walk on coal

April 13, 2007

By Russell Stigall/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - The Valley's Goliath power purchaser may have met its David.

More than 50 concerned Valley residents and Matanuska Electric Association members met Thursday night to discuss how to bring about the end of the co-op's coal-fired generation plans.

The group is focusing its attention on researching and promoting renewable energy alternatives to the 100 megawatt coal plant MEA has planned to open in 2015.

“It was a good turnout,” said Bill Erickson, a meeting organizer. “We started a coalition of small groups and they'll build and coalesce and make something solid.”

Erickson is promoting a signature-gathering campaign to force MEA to allow his group to present its alternatives to coal at a special meeting before the MEA board of directors. The opportunity for the meeting is written into MEA bylaws. Erickson needs about 4,500 to 5,000 signatures to force the meeting.

Thursday night's organizational meeting took place in the basement of the Matanuska Telephone Association building. MEA board members Larry DeVilbiss and David Dahms attended.

After the introductions and discussion of the meeting's purpose, moderator Will Taygan asked those in attendance not willing to help stop the coal to leave. At that point DeVilbiss and Dahms left.

The group organized into teams to address the health effects of coal production and burning, state funding of renewable energy sources, promotion of the public process, community education, legal resources and election of responsive MEA board members.

Recently, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment cosigned by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to add $125 million in funding for geothermal, ocean and small-scale hydroelectric renewable energy development in 2008.

Russ Maddox, board member of Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance, told the attendees to be optimistic.

“In rooms all across America there are groups like this,” Maddox said. “Everywhere people are in the same dilemma.”

Maddox's group helped stop a small coal plant in Seward proposed by developer Mark Marlow.

For more information contact meeting organizer Tim Leech at 746-0242.

Contact Russell Stigall at 352-2267 or russell.stigall@frontiersman.com