Sherburne County Citizen: Bachmann energy tour starts in Becker
Becker, Minn.,
Apr 13 -
By David Hannula
Sixth Dist. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann kicked off a two-day “energy tour” Monday with a visit to the Xcel Energy Sherco Plant in Becker. The tour had a tight schedule, with same-day visits planned for the Xcel Energy Nuclear Plant in Monticello, the Stearns Electric Association in St. Joseph and a final stop at St. Cloud State University.
Promotion of energy sources of all kinds and a controlling and/or lowering the price of gasoline has become a centerpiece of Bachmann’s campaign to retain her seat in the 6th Congressional District In the November elections, where she will face the endorsed Democrat and possibly other candidates vying for the seat.
While visits by sitting members of Congress are usually black SUV or limousine affairs, Bachmann, Press Secretary Becky Rogness and several other staff members turned up at the Sherco plant in a bright red Ford Focus®, a high-efficiency vehicle that highlighted the energy theme of the tour.
During the Sherco visit, Bachmann met with Plant Mgr. Ron Brevig and other Xcel officials, where she received a briefing on operations at the plant and took part in a discussion on ways to develop more sources of energy for the future.
Brevig characterized the briefing and discussion as “a good meeting”, and he noted Bachmann was extremely well informed about the energy business and the Sherco plant in particular.
In an interview immediately after the briefing, Bachmann noted the Xcel Sherco plant does not, in her view, get enough credit for their work in lowering emissions at the coal-fired facility, which is achieved by equipment choices and use of low-emission coal from Montana and Wyoming.
While acknowledging that global oil prices are not controlled by the U.S. Government, Bachmann noted only a small portion (3%) of Federal lands are currently leased for energy production. In an earlier press release, she had stated that the Congressional Research Office estimates that the U.S. currently has the largest combined reserves of natural gas, oil and coal in the world.
In the interview, she also said the nation will face increasing competition on the world energy market from rapidly modernizing nations like China (which also holds significant U.S. debt) and India. She pointed out that China has recently signed a lease agreement with Cuba to explore and drill for oil within 50 miles off the coast, oil that the U.S. - only 90 miles from Cuba, could be actively pursuing.
She also expressed support for the Keystone Pipeline project, which President Obama recently halted, citing environmental concerns. Bachmann said that the project, which includes pumping oil extracted from Canadian tar sand and oil shale, would create a large number of jobs both during the construction and subsequent operational phases.
Bachmann also said she is a supporter of developing all types of energy in Minnesota. “I like them all,” she said, “wind, solar, oil and gas, even hamsters running in a wheel if it produces clean energy.”
Tuesday, Bachmann visited with constituents at a filling station in Lino Lakes, discussing the current jump in gas prices as she helped them pump their gasoline. She also visited a meeting of the Elk River Chamber of Commerce, stopped by the Sar/Tec Corp. in Anoka to see the conversion process that makes biodiesel fuel from plant oil and animal fats, and concluded the tour with a visit to the Minnesota Petroleum Marketers Association convention in St. Paul. The most successful fund-raiser in Congress in the last election, Bachmann receives major support from the energy community, both in Minnesota and nationally.
Bachmann stated in her news release that the “time is now” to open up the American energy market. She also wrote that: “My constituents are feeling the pain at the pump when they fill up their tanks with gasoline that is nearly $4 a gallon. I am committed to both lowering the price of gasoline and legalizing all forms of American energy.”
This article was published by the Sherburne County Citizen on April 13, 2012.
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