Without Interference

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been running around all over the place trying to get some company interested in coal to fuel plant on the Otter Creek coal tracts and he hasn't found any traction for his idea yet. I've pointed out time and time again that with no infrastructure at Otter Creek, no company was going to be interested.<br />n<br />nNow I see an interesting announcement today.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/07/18/news/state/38-peabody-energy.txt">Companies team up on Colstrip coal-to-liquids project</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Peabody Energy, the largest private coal producer in the world, and Rentech, Inc. Tuesday announced that they have entered into a joint development agreement to evaluate sites in the Midwest and Montana for coal-to-liquids projects that would transform coal into diesel and jet fuel.<br />n<br />nPeabody had a mine near Colstrip, which is now being reclaimed, and owns coal reserves nearby. The projects would be sited where Peabody has large reserves and would be designed using Rentech's proprietary Fischer-Tropsch coal-to-liquids process.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSo, some companies are interested in doing this and the Governor isn't even mentioned anywhere. Private companies are just doing business and they are trying to do it without interference by the Governor. Notice where they are interested in doing this too, a developed coal mine that has the industrial infrastructure to support such a project. Not some place like Otter Creek that doesn't even have a mine yet. The Governor needs to get his ducks in a row. Instead of trying to get a coal to fuel plant as the first thing at Otter Creek, maybe he needs to think about mining some coal first and building up some infrastructure to support such a thing. Any reasonable businessman can see little details like this are important, which just shows you how much of a politician <a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a> is and not the man of the people he pretends to be.<br />n<br />nOn a personal level I am happy to see such a development and hope the comapnies involved can get it off the ground. Trying to convince people to allow such a plant, like the <acronym title="Northern Plains Resource Council">NPRC</acronym>, is going to be very tough. But then the important things are never easy.<br />n<br />n<strong>Details create the big picture. Sanford I. Weill</strong>