Hannibal BPW General Manager Bob Stevenson thinks
In previous columns you might have read between the lines to think I am in favor of the HBPW buying wind energy from western Kansas.
No, Bob, what I think is that you're a shameless shill for Clean Line Energy Partners and I wonder what you're getting out of it, on a personal level. No reading between the lines required! I read between the lines to try to decipher your grammatically tired columns. And that makes me tired. But, hey, what would Tuesday be without an advertisement for Clean Line penned by Bob? Productive, that's what.
This week's column purports that Clean Line is the only way for Hannibal to reach economical wind markets. Really? Based on what? Bob doesn't say. It's a fantastical statement without any facts to back it up. I don't believe it.
Bob shares that he will be changing Hannibal's purchasing strategy in June, 2017. Is that when the open and competitive purchasing process ends and the sole source back room deals begin? Like most municipalities, Hannibal has codified purchasing requirements. I guess Bob is going to change the City Code? Good luck, there, tiger!
What's the problem with soliciting bids for wind energy and paying the transmission costs on the existing system? Could it reveal that economical wind energy could reach Hannibal without a Clean Line? You could even sign a PPA for that wind, just to keep your prices "stable" over the long term. Because stable prices, even those that become way too high when compared to market prices, sort of like Prairie State, are best, right? You'll never know the possibilities of what energy is available until you openly solicit bids!
Instead, Bob prefers to operate in a much smaller world where the all the energy available can only be delivered by a Clean Line. That's simply ridiculous, Bob! And it's not true.
And then Bob starts waxing Sibylline about a future where all businesses in the world relocate to Hannibal because only it has green energy delivered by a Clean Line.
Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, Bob? Sure, businesses like to pretend they are powered by green energy. But that's all they do... pretend! They don't have to move to Hannibal to pretend they're powered by green energy They simply buy renewable energy credits (RECs) and carry on at their preferred location. Having energy delivered by a Clean Line isn't a draw for businesses to relocate to Hannibal. Buying junk RECs from renewable energy projects in another state or region allows a business to claim it's powered by green energy, at little cost. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than relocating the physical business to Hannibal.
Hannibal could become known for something alright... for buying capacity on a transmission line to nowhere at great expense to its ratepayers.
Have you ever tried your hand at fan fiction, Bob?
This week's column purports that Clean Line is the only way for Hannibal to reach economical wind markets. Really? Based on what? Bob doesn't say. It's a fantastical statement without any facts to back it up. I don't believe it.
Bob shares that he will be changing Hannibal's purchasing strategy in June, 2017. Is that when the open and competitive purchasing process ends and the sole source back room deals begin? Like most municipalities, Hannibal has codified purchasing requirements. I guess Bob is going to change the City Code? Good luck, there, tiger!
What's the problem with soliciting bids for wind energy and paying the transmission costs on the existing system? Could it reveal that economical wind energy could reach Hannibal without a Clean Line? You could even sign a PPA for that wind, just to keep your prices "stable" over the long term. Because stable prices, even those that become way too high when compared to market prices, sort of like Prairie State, are best, right? You'll never know the possibilities of what energy is available until you openly solicit bids!
Instead, Bob prefers to operate in a much smaller world where the all the energy available can only be delivered by a Clean Line. That's simply ridiculous, Bob! And it's not true.
And then Bob starts waxing Sibylline about a future where all businesses in the world relocate to Hannibal because only it has green energy delivered by a Clean Line.
Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, Bob? Sure, businesses like to pretend they are powered by green energy. But that's all they do... pretend! They don't have to move to Hannibal to pretend they're powered by green energy They simply buy renewable energy credits (RECs) and carry on at their preferred location. Having energy delivered by a Clean Line isn't a draw for businesses to relocate to Hannibal. Buying junk RECs from renewable energy projects in another state or region allows a business to claim it's powered by green energy, at little cost. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than relocating the physical business to Hannibal.
Hannibal could become known for something alright... for buying capacity on a transmission line to nowhere at great expense to its ratepayers.
Have you ever tried your hand at fan fiction, Bob?
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