Air Force seriously pursuing fuel plant
By PETER JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Writer
greatfallstribune.com
The Air Force is seriously considering a partnership in which a potential commercial interest could build a 20,000 to 30,000 barrel a day coal-to-liquid-fuel plant at Malmstrom Air Force Base as early as 2011.
The plant, which would be financed and operated privately, is still in the early planning stages, "with a lot more wickets to pass through before it gets a green light," Assistant Air Force Secretary for Installations, Environment and Logistics William Anderson said Wednesday.
His press briefing followed a closed two-hour meeting with community elected officials and business leaders.
City Manager John Lawton said the 20 local officials attending "showed significant interest in the proposal, but it's probably too early for us to stake out a position until we get more information."
Anderson said the Air Force, the government's largest user of energy, is committed to finding alternative fuel sources that will reduce the nation's dependence on overseas oil.
The Air Force is converting its jets to use synthetic fuel, he said. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer also is a major supporter of coal-to-liquid-fuel technology.
"Our interests are in line and parallel," said Anderson.
He added that the governor and Montana's congressional delegation asked for the Air Force's help in finding a suitable second mission for Malmstrom beyond operating Minuteman missiles.
The Air Force could lease 700 "under-utilized acres" at Malmstrom to a private company to build and operate the plant, with the fuel being sold to the Air Force and commercial interests, Anderson said. The plant would sit on about 400 acres, with the other 300 acres serving as a buffer between it and base housing and base operations.
The 700 acres include where the base's runway and flight operations buildings sit, but Anderson said the Air Force has no plans to reopen the runway.
"The Air Force has no flying mission identified either today or in the future for Malmstrom," he said, adding that it would take "many, many millions of dollars" to repair the runway and bring back an air control tower, lights and navigation aids.
Local and congressional supporters may keep pushing to reopen the runway, Anderson said, "but I can only speak on reality and the fact is there are no flying missions for the runway."
The delegation and local military leaders are advocating an active-associate wing in which active-duty pilots and mechanics — along with additional jets —would be sent to Great Falls to be trained by more experienced Montana Air National Guard personnel. Under the proposal, the active-duty folks would stay at Malmstrom and use Gore Hill facilities for training. In the long run, supporters hope the Air Force would station more planes and personnel at Malmstrom to make better use of the area's unrestricted flight training space.
Attorney Warren Wenz, a long-time leader in the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 80 military lobbying group, said it was good to hear Anderson say the goal would be for the synthetic fuel plant to be "completely clean and green, or they won't build it."
Military backers are concerned that the buffer area of the proposed plant would cross the southern portion of Malmstrom's runway and greatly restrict its use for possible flying missions, he said.
"But we're also interested in moving Great Falls forward, and if this plant, in fact, would produce several hundred good-paying jobs, we'd be foolish not to consider it," Wenz said.
He said Anderson told him the Air Force would consider the possibility of swapping the land near the runway for other property nearby to build the power plant, provided it made sense for the Air Force.
That would preserve the option of using the Malmstrom land for a flying mission or other development, Wenz said. He added that no local groups have proposed such a swap yet.
Anderson said the high price of oil and the improved environmental aspects of synthetic fuel could make it a good alternative fuel.
"This can be and must be an environmentally friendlier alternative than anything offered today," he said, adding it would include capturing carbon and re-using it commercially.
The Air Force plans to schedule an industry day early next year in which bankers, builders and operators of synthetic fuel plants can look at the infrastructure Malmstrom has available. Soon after that, the Air Force would put out a request for specific proposals, and evaluate where to go next, Anderson said.
The Air Force will consider a lot of factors, including company proposals, finances, environmental issues and state plant siting review, before deciding whether to approve the plant, Anderson said.
"It's a national strategic and security imperative that we wean ourselves from our addiction to foreign oil," he said, adding that the Air Force wants to be a player because it consumes 10 percent of the nation's jet fuel.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Peter Johnson at 791-1476, 800 438-6600 or pjohnson@greatfallstribune.com.
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Officials meet on Malmstrom coal-to-liquids plant
By KARL PUCKETT
Tribune Staff Writer
greatfallstribune.com
A top official with the U.S. Air Force met with Gov. Brian Schweitzer Tuesday in Helena to discuss details of a proposed $1.3 billion coal-to-liquids plant at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
William Anderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, is scheduled to discuss the project with invited Great Falls government and private sector leaders at a meeting this morning on the base.
The meeting is not open to the general public.
"We're certainly willing to listen but we obviously have some concerns about building a facility of this nature and size so close to the community," said Warren Wenz, chairman of the Committee of 80, a local military lobbying group.
Wenz will be at the meeting.
The Air Force is considering constructing the facility on 400 to 700 acres of land at Malmstrom. If constructed, it would convert coal into liquid such as diesel and aviation fuel.
Schweitzer, a strong supporter of coal-to-liquids technology, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the project would provide 1,000 jobs without polluting the environment.
"This would be one of the first big commercial plants in the United States," he said.
Schweitzer said the facility is not similar to Highwood Generating Station, a proposed coal-fired power plant east of Great Falls.
The coal-to-liquids plant would not have a smokestack nor would it emit sulfur or mercury, he said.
Moreover, the governor said, the plant would be "carbon-capture ready," meaning it would produce a pure stream of carbon dioxide that could be captured and piped to eastern Montana and used by oil companies in the "enhanced oil recovery" process.
"I've got people who will buy it," Schweitzer said.
However, shipping the greenhouse gas would require a pipeline between Great Falls and Baker, he added.
The coal-to-liquids plant would not use much water, he said.
"It would be like irrigating 30 to 40 acres of alfalfa."
Schweitzer said the plant would be a "starter" facility, producing 22,000 barrels a year to begin with. It would cost $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion to construct, employing 2,500 workers during that time.
Anderson approached the governor about a project at Malmstrom after hearing Schweitzer speak at a coal-to-liquids conference in New York City several months ago, Schweitzer said.
Anderson later talked the idea over with the state's congressional delegation.
He said the plant would start the Air Force on the path of using empty space on some of its bases to create a fuel that could help wean the country off foreign oil.
"We can't afford to be curtailed by governments that don't like us," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. |
