To the editor:

The 1-25-2024 Independent headlined: “Swedzinski: Xcel lines should not be built”. He said: “I think Xcel is making a mistake shutting down the coal-fired plants,” and “Give us more than just two choices. Give us a third, to just say no.” The meeting expressed landowner concerns about wildlife environment, soil compaction, stray voltages and eminent domain. But nothing was said about why we even need to shut down our few remaining coal fired plants. ‘Green Mantra’ propaganda says we need it to cut back on atmospheric CO2 from coal, to reduce ‘global warming’. Anybody know how that works?

Utilizing a $50 million gift from M. Bloomberg, Sierra Club put together a group of some 200 lawyers and activists in 2010, then shut down more than a third of U.S. coal fired power plants. The results? CO2 is still rising.

In 15 plus years of following the climate issue, I have yet to see sound empirical evidence that man’s microscopic contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere can jerk the global weather system around. Even if man-made CO2 did have some effect, consider that China emits far more CO2 than the U.S. and is planning on building 43 coal-fired plants and 18 coal-fired blast furnaces to bolster its economy (helps keep us supplied with solar panels and other green energy stuff). Yet landowners are expected to go along with this nonsense.

Profit seems to be the reason Xcel and Allete/Minnesota Power exceeded government mandates for renewable power; they can raise rates after building new infrastructure like windmills and solar and power distribution systems. These regulated utilities have captive customers to pay for the cost in our rates. They have an incentive to build the most expensive generating facilities it can, because their allowed amount of profit increases the more costly its facilities.

Search: ‘Center of the American Experiment’ Mar. 25 and April 3 issues to understand why using wind and solar to provide the bulk of electricity demand results in higher costs compared to using the existing coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants currently serving the grid.

Phil Drietz

Delhi