But some citizens in Lent Township have concerns about LS Power’s plan to develop the Sunrise River Energy Station, and, in particular, about its effect on property values, sight lines and the local environment.
Union activists worry that those concerns have the potential to derail the energy project.
Lent Township will host an informational meeting to discuss the proposed Sunrise River project July 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lent Town Hall, 33155 Hemingway Ave., in Stacy. The Chisago County Labor Assembly, an affiliate of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, is urging union members who live or work in the area to turn out for the meeting.
LS Power is an independent power producer with 20 plants in 13 different states. If built, the Sunrise River project would utilize “peaking” technology, running primarily on natural gas with a fuel-oil backup, to generate up to 780 megawatts of electricity for customers – electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and the like – throughout the Upper Midwest.
LS Energy has a history of building union – a history that includes its facility in Cottage Grove. The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council has received written confirmation from the company that construction of the Sunrise River station will be an all-union job. That would mean hundreds of jobs for union members during the two years it would take to construct the Sunrise River plant. LS Energy says the capital investment in the plant would be at least $300 million, and the company hopes to begin construction in 2011.
In the last legislative session, state lawmakers got the ball rolling for the Sunrise River project, passing a law that exempts LS Power from having to pay personal property taxes on the development. Now, backers will begin lining up support on the local level.
For more information on the information meeting – or on the project in general – contact Kera Peterson of the St. Paul RLF at 651-222-3787, extension 18.
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.
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But some citizens in Lent Township have concerns about LS Power’s plan to develop the Sunrise River Energy Station, and, in particular, about its effect on property values, sight lines and the local environment.
Union activists worry that those concerns have the potential to derail the energy project.
Lent Township will host an informational meeting to discuss the proposed Sunrise River project July 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lent Town Hall, 33155 Hemingway Ave., in Stacy. The Chisago County Labor Assembly, an affiliate of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, is urging union members who live or work in the area to turn out for the meeting.
LS Power is an independent power producer with 20 plants in 13 different states. If built, the Sunrise River project would utilize “peaking” technology, running primarily on natural gas with a fuel-oil backup, to generate up to 780 megawatts of electricity for customers – electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and the like – throughout the Upper Midwest.
LS Energy has a history of building union – a history that includes its facility in Cottage Grove. The Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council has received written confirmation from the company that construction of the Sunrise River station will be an all-union job. That would mean hundreds of jobs for union members during the two years it would take to construct the Sunrise River plant. LS Energy says the capital investment in the plant would be at least $300 million, and the company hopes to begin construction in 2011.
In the last legislative session, state lawmakers got the ball rolling for the Sunrise River project, passing a law that exempts LS Power from having to pay personal property taxes on the development. Now, backers will begin lining up support on the local level.
For more information on the information meeting – or on the project in general – contact Kera Peterson of the St. Paul RLF at 651-222-3787, extension 18.
Michael Moore edits The Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation.