TRAVERSE CITY -- A local public utility's flirtation with a wood-burning, power generation plant here nears decision day, but there's time for supporters and opponents to make their positions heard.
Traverse City Light & Power expects to decide by mid-April whether to pursue construction of a biomass plant. Such a plant could be fired by wood, plants or other organic material and replace a portion of the coal the utility uses to generate power.
TCL&P; scheduled two public forums -- 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at the City Opera House and 2 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Hagerty Center -- to further discuss the issue and gather input from area residents.
That will be followed by an April 7 forum in which officials will discuss their findings. The Light & Power board could vote to pursue such a project at its April 13 meeting.
A local environmental group also will hold a forum this month.
"(It's) going to be really key that people come out and voice their opinions," said Greg Reisig, board chair of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council. "I feel pretty strongly that they want to hear from the public."
NMEAC hasn't taken a stance on the potential project, but encouraged Light & Power to carefully consider all options before proceeding.
NMEAC will host a biomass forum Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Traverse Area District Library on Woodmere Avenue. The forum is designed to present alternate views on biomass plants and examine their impact on local forests and the environment in general.
"We've heard a lot about the pros of biomass, not too much about the cons of biomass," Reisig said.
Light & Power officials said they've made no decision. Officials contend they haven't pinned down the specifics of such a plant, and said they could end up not pursuing biomass at all.
Instead, they'd continue to buy the vast majority of their electricity from outlets that burn coal to produce power.
Light & Power is considering a parcel in a Traverse City industrial park for a biomass plant. Such a structure could be sited on about seven acres, with a 120-foot-tall smokestack. The plant could generate 10 megawatts of electricity and use up to 100,000 tons of wood annually -- about 10 truckloads per day -- utility officials said this week.
"We're asking the community to help us make this decision," board Vice Chairman Mike Coco said. "Their feedback and their participation in these forums is going to directly influence what we put in front of the board."
Still, Coco said, gauging public opinion through meetings can be tough.
"We've had five or six individuals who have come to a lot of meetings and are very proactive in voicing their concern about biomass, but what am I left to think about the other 11,000 ratepayers?" he said. "Do I assume they agree with them? We don't want to assume, we want them to come out."
Light & Power hopes neighborhood association presidents will show up to the forums, board Chairwoman Linda Johnson said, and that e-mails and letters on the subject will pour in.
