The request for more transparency isn't a new one, but with HEA's contract with Chugach Electric Association, which supplies the utility with most of its power, coming to an end Dec. 31, 2013, and rates increasing 40 percent since the summer, members want to know the board's future plans.

Though the board held an executive session to discuss HCCP before the Jan. 14 announcement, on Thursday a special, open meeting was held to specifically discuss the project.

"I don't think that these kinds of partnerships are good for anyone," said HEA board member Mike Pate. He said long-term contracts don't work because board members of the parties involved constantly change. Pate said in 10 years neither GVEA's nor HEA's board will look the same.

Pate suggested a one- or three-year contract with a rolling option to renew. He said HEA shouldn't commit to a potential 50-year deal.

According to the terms agreement, HEA would purchase half of the energy produced by the plant, starting in 2014, until the associated debt is paid off, 25 years, or the for economic life of the plant, whichever is longer. Pate said the plant has a potential lifespan of 50 years.

The terms sheet, which was signed by all three parties, is not a contract. The terms terminate if AIDEA and GVEA have not come to a sales agreement by Feb. 15, or if HEA, GVEA and AIDEA "have not executed mutually acceptable definitive agreements" by Aug. 1.

Pate also suggested having an independent third party conduct a power cost analysis study before entering into a contract.

"We need to set aside our own personal biases," he said. "We have a responsibility to all members."

Coal aside, Pate said should the contract be identical to the terms sheet, it would be a bad deal for HEA.

"It doesn't look like a very smart decision," said Bob Shavelson, executive director of Cook Inletkeeper, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains. Shavelson said he'd like to see HEA invest in renewable energy.

"If we don't do Healy we've got a bridge to nowhere," said recently elected HEA board member Bill Tappan. He said coal isn't his first choice of fuel, but with HEA's contract ending with Chugach, the cooperative must act soon.

"The real value of Healy is as a bargaining chip," said Brian Hirsch, HEA board member.

Hirsch said HCCP doesn't have the technology to meet the mercury emissions cap that would be imposed on it.

On Jan. 12, 2007, AIDEA petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency, stating it couldn't achieve the imposed mercury emissions rules.

"Mercury is a huge unknown," Shavelson said. "This plant certainly is not equipped to capture (greenhouse gases) let alone sequester them."

According to HEA board member David Thomas, no medium-sized or large-sized coal plants have the ability to capture nor sequester carbon or mercury emissions.

"We are far past both the legal and, indeed, the moral deadline for the EPA to take action to control toxic air emissions from this enormous industrial source of mercury and other poisons," said Clean Air Task Force attorney Ann B. Weeks in a written statement. "At the same time we are hopeful that the Obama administration will act quickly to mandate the deep cuts in this pollution, as the Clean Air Act requires."

According to his energy plan, Obama wants 10 percent of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025. His plan also includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

"Conceptually, we're rolling the mercury dice," Thomas said.

Thomas said coal produces 62 percent more carbon emissions than natural gas, which could be taxed should HCCP surpass the imposed limit set by the EPA.

The potential of emissions taxes is one of many unknown figures surrounding the plant. The price of power also tops the list.

In the terms sheet, HEA agrees to purchase half of the power, but no price was given.

Kate Lamal, vice president of power supply for GVEA, said if the price of a barrel of oil is $100, then GVEA members could save $10 a month on their electric bill once HCCP is online. Because HEA's power supply is mostly natural gas, Lamal said to put savings into perspective for HEA members would be difficult.

"Coal is a non-volatile priced fuel," she said. "Your price of energy is predictable."

HEA president Debbie Debnam said being involved with Healy is a way to add to HEA's fuel diversification and lessen its reliance on natural gas.

"It's a bonus for all HEA members," she said during a Jan. 14 press conference.

"As far as I know, clean coal is an absolute myth," said Russ Maddox, board member for the Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance, a Seward-based environmental protection group. "There are many, many aspects of coal that are dirty. We're not asked if we want pollution or not, we're told how much we're going to get."

"You can't extract coal in any environmentally sustainable way," Shavelson said.

"It's called clean coal because it's part of the Department of Energy clean coal program," Lamal said.

In terms of Healy, the word "clean" refers to the technology to reduce nitrous oxides and sulfur oxides, said Karsten Rodvik, AIDEA project manager, external affairs.

During the HCCP-specific meeting, Thomas also brought up concerns about the state's reliability and GVEA's litigiousness.

GVEA and AIDEA have been locked in litigation for nearly a decade and the plant hasn't been in operation since 2000. The 50-megawatt plant, which was originally constructed for GVEA, was completed in 1997 at an approximate cost of $297 million.

A trial to resolve the current litigation between AIDEA and GVEA is set for June 1. The trial will be dismissed when the transaction is complete.

"As far as I know, it's 20-year-old technology still," Maddox said. "It's really disappointing to hear that we as a state are going to such great lengths to open a plant with such old technology."

Lamal said that both GVEA and AIDEA recognized improvements needed to be made for the plant to operate more efficiently but they didn't always agree on what those improvements were. The coal handling system, plant control system and safety issues were some items on the list, she said.

Lamal said GVEA doesn't have its execution plan finished but is working on it. She estimated start-up costs for the project between $20 million and $30 million.

In the agreed terms, AIDEA, which is financing the $50 million sale, is also giving GVEA a $45 million line of credit to cover any restart expenses.

"I don't want the past work on Healy to color this decision," Thomas said, presenting both pros and cons for the project during the meeting.

Thomas said the results of a survey conducted last year showed that 74 percent of HEA members were in favor of renewable energy.

Mike O'Meara, spokesman for the HEA members forum, a group developed around moving HEA toward a renewable energy base, cited the Bradley Lake hydro project as one example of renewable energy. Bradley Lake accounts for 10 percent of HEA's power supply.

"Coal is a dead end," O'Meara said.

"The Healy coal plant being reopened is not a good step," Maddox said. "Coal is not the answer, it's moving backwards."

Mike Nesper is a reporter for the Peninsula Clarion. He can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.