Millions in public money spent, but Iron Range power plant still just a dream
August 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
DNT investigation, part 1 of 2: When Excelsior Energy launched its ambitious, clean energy project in 2001, the company touted it as a way to bring much-needed jobs and investment to the Iron Range. But after nearly a decade and receiving more than $40 million in public money, Excelsior has little to show.
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Minnesota RENEWABLE Development Fund tossed in $10 million to push a coal plant. People think grinding up $45 million and flushing it down the river is a great way to create jobs.
What will it take to convince Americans that government is not to be trusted to “invest” our hard earned wealth?
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**** People like D.A. think that governments like Somalia with their limited government approach have the best model ****
u want an analogy? My accusing you of trying to turn the US into Oceania would be analogous to your crack.
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My guess is that this $41 million dollars is another prime example of the re-distribution of wealth and the trickle down affect that everyone is hoping for. Taxes are collected from the working middle class and the mining companies and given to poor, underprivelidged Energy Company exectives to build up their retirement accounts. I am sure that the lawyers and consultants that a small percentage of the money did trickle to were making working class wages at $30 an hour…
Anyone who thought that this project was legit from Day 1 is a complete fool. Just another example of a slick talking lawyer bilking millions out of state and local governments. Just his comments alone “As I have indicated to you many times before, our company, like all others, does not disclose confidential information, including confidential financial information” screams unethical. What a complete joke Excelsior Energy is…There were never any jobs, there were never any plans for jobs…Just *POOF* Smoke (and the money is gone…and yes pun intended) .
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Most welfare is CORPORATE welfare.
It doesn’t “trickle down.” That is a MYTH that even George HW Bush called “voodoo economics.”
Hot debate. What do you think?
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You are conflating two different things.
Corporate welfare is a manifestation of the urge toward central planning. Obama calls this “investment”. It is always in all cases a disaster.
What you call trickle down is what I call reasonable taxation. Government allowing someone to keep a portion of the wealth he creates is not a gift.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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It worked well and saved GM, which is now profitable. So corporate welfare doesn’t ALWAYS create a disaster, as you say.
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If it’s such a success then why when Obama wants a fancy bus he goes to Canada not Detroit?
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We should all be taking notes here. Great example of how to do nothing and swindle the public out of millions. Plenty of blame for both sides on this one.
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One side advocates increased government “investment” in what should be private businesses.
The other side opposes it.
I blame the former side and do not blame the latter side.
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I am supportative of these two projects, but it is high time that that dago Micheletti get his act together. We’ve hung with him for a long time now. Thinking about putting wood in the stove doesn’t put wood in the stove. You have to go out and cut the wood, split it and pile it. Micheletti, what are you going to do? Build the plants or just suck blood? America needs the power, sell it to the REA or someother distributor and get your head out of the butt of Excel Energy. You need a good kick in the butt yourself. My vote…no more public money until you start to deliver something!
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It sure seems like a classic example of where Minnesotan’s tax dollars are Pis%ed away. Just like the Dallas Sams $700,000 fishing pier in nowhere, to nowhere. (home of the $100 stunted sunfish)
Maybe Minnesota can Excise St Louis county and give it to Quebec! I seriously think the Rangers would like that.
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I hope in Part 2 they print a graphic showing where that $40 million went.
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to use a phrase from an overworked commercial
“Its our money and we want to see where it went NOW”
These are not tribal gaming proceeds. They are funds from hard working taxpayers.
Only if the the principals have skin in the game, is there a snowball’s chance of anything good stemming from this “Great” deal.
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Wait a minute…this guy and his WIFE are co-Presidents, and they won’t disclose any financial data that is primarily based on public funding? Let’s seee, “looks like a fish and smells like a fish – …”. Get real Michiletti – it’s gonna’ be splashed all over the news any time now – show some integrity and tell your story before others do it for you.
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This is one on the longest-running and most disgraceful ripoffs in Minnesota. It’s a thoroughly bi-partisan scam: This spring the now-Republican-controlled Legislature passed language to the effect that Excelsior may use the permitting paperwork done for the proposed coal plant to build a gas plant, evading proper review of a different type of facility.
Also worth thinking about is that the citizens who have–very effectively–opposed the scam have had to use their own resources to fight Excelsior’s government-provided resources. What sort of democracy is implied by this??
See the sites of Citizens Against the Mesaba Project (http://www.camp-site.info/), http://mncoalgasplant.com/, and legalectric.org.
Good work by the News Tribune. But I hope the reporter was being humorous when referring to the proposed coal burner as a “clean energy project”. In the rhetoric of the energy industry these days, “clean” and “green” have inverted meanings, often referring to the dirtiest energy sources around.
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