Environmental and public action groups are sponsoring a forum on energy at the University of Minnesota Duluth next week, focusing on Minnesota Power's ongoing review on whether to shut down its oldest coal-fired power plants.
The event, set for April 11 at UMD, includes a panel discussion with Al Rudeck, vice president of strategy and planning for Minnesota Power; J. Drake Hamilton, science policy director for Fresh Energy; Jill Doberstein, program manager for the American Lung Association of Minnesota; and Michael LeBeau, owner of Duluth-based Conservation Technologies, a company that installs renewable energy systems.
The Duluth chapter of the League of Women Voters will moderate the discussion. The event is sponsored by Fresh Energy, Izaak Walton League of America-McCabe Chapter, Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group and the Sierra Club.
Duluth-based Minnesota Power has been required by the state Public Utilities Commission to study near-term plans for transitioning from its oldest coal plants and replacing that power with cheaper, cleaner energy such as energy efficiency, natural gas, wind and solar power. Information on Minnesota Power's report on the future of their oldest coal plants will be offered and panelists will discuss plans for diversifying the region's electricity supply to renewable sources.
The forum -- set for 7-9 p.m. in the UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics, Room 125, 1318 Kirby Drive --is free and open to the public.
