The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission dealt a blow Thursday to Excelsior Energy's plans to build a gasified coal plant on the Iron Range.
Commissioners unanimously rejected Excelsior's petition to reconsider a proposed power purchase agreement with Xcel Energy. The commission rejected that purchase agreement in 2007.
"Today's decision wasn't a surprise to anyone who has been following the docket," said Tom Osteraas, senior vice president and general counsel for Excel-sior. He said Thursday's decision was simply the culmination of the August 2007 denial order.
Marc Fournier, a rate analyst for the commission, said the case is now considered closed. But Excelsior still might challenge the PUC's decision by taking the matter to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Today's ruling throws into question the future of Excelsior Energy's plans to construct a 600- to 1,200-megawatt power plant near the town of Taconite.
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But the project is not dead, Osteraas said.
"We're still moving forward," he said.
While identifying a buyer for its power is a key element, it's just one of several critical steps to making Excelsior's project a go, Osteraas said. Other tasks at hand include conducting an environmental review, obtaining needed permits for the project, completing engineering work and lining up financing.
Osteraas said the company has made "tremendous progress" on several of these fronts.
"Our project continues to be important to meeting national and state energy security goals. It also represents a way to replace the existing fleet of coal plants with a cleaner technology," he said.
