Debate Topic : Best Burger Place

Minnesotans have debated where the best burgers are, but if the question is where is the best place for a debate and a burger?
Then the answer has to be The Channel Inn in Fairmont Minnesota … especially if the debate topic is America’s Energy Future.
Fairmont, which is nicknamed the City of Lakes, features as a main attraction, The Channel Inn which offers dining inside, or on the deck outside. All of the great varieties of burgers are scrumptious, but one thing that is immediately noticeable once you sit down, is the wind propellers across the lake.

With John McCain talking about 45 to 100 new nuclear power plants and the Republican endorsed candidate for the First District Dr. Brian Davis and Senator Norm Coleman seeming to be in agreement, the obvious question is, could a city actually be able to generate enough wind energy to become self-sufficient or should one of those new nuclear plants be built in southern Minnesota?

That’s the debate question.

Some may scoff at wind until Rock Port Missouri is considered. The Columbia Tribune reported “Officials in this northwest Missouri town christened a four-turbine wind farm this week, making Rock Port the first U.S. city to get all of its electricity from wind power.
In fact, the wind farm produces more than it needs.
The construction cost to the taxpayers for the project … zero. The impact to the county … more than $1.1 million annually in county real estate taxes.
Impact on consumer rates over the next decade … zero … zilch … no price increases.
Jobs created during the one year construction period … 500.
And, of course,
No air pollution,
No greenhouse gases,
No nuclear waste,
No nuclear proliferation,
No trade deficit.

Conversely, nuclear has its debate points.
Cost to taxpayers for subsidies … unknown, but the S.2191 Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007, which Senator Norm Coleman is a co-sponsor, encourages new nuclear plants and potentially $500 billion (or more) in taxpayer subsidies could be directed toward new nuclear reactors. Would any new construction occur without government subsidies … doubtful.
Time from construction to yielding energy … a senior industry representative said on April 7 that any new nuclear plants are more likely to come online in the US in the 2016-2017 timeframe … 8 years.
Construction cost to the taxpayers? Some states allow utilities to recover from ratepayers the cost of plant construction when it's incurred — years before the plant goes online -- whether the units are completed or not.
And what about the nuclear waste ? Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the motto here. And as Senator Coleman recently commented about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s performance, "I'm still not convinced they fully grasp the psychological and economic impact that even a small dirty bomb attack would have on the American public."

OK, so there could be a great debate about harnessing wind energy versus nuclear.

We know that Minnesota already has two nuclear power plants, but could Rock Port happen here in southern Minnesota?

It is !

The Trimont Area Wind Farm, which has been in operation since November 2005, will be soon be increasing wind energy production as the 99-megawatt Elm Creek Wind Power Project construction has begun.

"In Southern Minnesota, we are showing the rest of the nation what is possible in renewable energy development," said Congressman Tim Walz. "With skyrocketing energy prices, it is imperative that we work together to ensure that our growing wind industry remains strong. In Congress, I have been a strong advocate of legislation that promotes wind development and research into other forms of renewable energy."

"Property taxes from the Trimont wind farm and now the Elm Creek project benefit county programs and schools," said Jackson County Commissioner Roger Ringkob. "The wind projects are not only a good fit with agriculture in rural Minnesota. They also bring in business to our local hotels, restaurants and campgrounds." Production tax revenues from the project for Jackson and Martin (where Fairmont is located) counties are expected to range from $350,000-$400,000 annually.

Even Minnesotans that don’t see wind farms in their area are becoming more aware of the potential. Boone Pickens is now running radio and television ads for his Pampa Wind Project which I addressed on June 12th.

Unfortunately, not everyone is voting to support wind energy. Republican Congressman John Kline (MN-02) and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) voted in opposition to H. R. 5351 Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008. The bill is languishing in the Senate and as I wrote in February, if Norm Coleman really wants to exhibit his ability to bring people together, he needs to get this bill to a final vote. Sadly, while John McCain comes to Hudson Wisconsin and talks up wind energy as part of the solution, he fails to attend Senate sessions to vote on the issue. For that matter, he has failed to appear for over 80 consecutive votes since April. Admittedly, that Barack Obama has also missed many votes, but he has shown up for the critical ones … including the FISA vote which did not endear him to his base. By failing to vote, McCain is not only delaying more investment in wind energy (and bringing America closer to energy independence,) but is actually hiding from the voters his true feelings – billions for clean coal and nuclear plants while his goal for renewable energy is for it “no longer merits the taxpayers' dollars.”

What a great subject for a debate over a burger at the Channel Inn that would be --- do we want look at Wind Farms in Motion or a Nuclear Power Plant.
Across Minnesota’s First District, Wind Farms are popping up everywhere … would you rather have these or a Nuclear Power Plant in your backyard?

I don’t know how the Energy debate will be resolved, but I guarantee that you will agree that The Channel Inn burgers are tops !