North Branch city council says ënoí to Prairie Gen Corp.ís power plant

By Barbara Brown
The North Branch City Council decided Monday night not to grant a conditional use permit to a company that wants to build a 49-megawatt supplemental power generator in North Branch.

Prairie Gen Corp. applied for the permit months ago and had been trying to convince the council that the natural gas turbine generator would be acceptable for the agricultural area in which the company wanted to build.

Citing failure to prove that the company was a public utility, an acceptable use for the area according to the city code, city planner Al Cottingham recommended that the council deny the Prairie Gen request.

With little fanfare or discussion, the council agreed.

A super majority, or four votes, of the council was required to take action on the request because of the nature of the permit, according to Cottingham.
Mayor John Pinsonneault commended staff for completing an ìexcruciating amount of workî on the request.

He said he had asked Prairie Gen president Edward Benson for information on how the generator would prove to be a public use.
He said the council had received no such information.

According to a Feb. 11 letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to John Jaffray of Prairie Gen, the company was granted ìwholesale generator status,î but no proof was available that it is a public utility.

Benson blamed the councilís decision on misinformation given to the council in the form of letters submitted to the council from residents.
Some residents were concerned that the power generator would not benefit people in North Branch.

Benson told the council and residents throught the process that if a power generator were built next to the North Branch substation, companies like Xcel and East Central Energy could be in line to buy.

ìIt will never get built unless the public utilities buy (the power),î Benson said. ìAnd they would buy it.î
Benson said he was disappointed in the councilís decision, but he still believes the plant would benefit North Branch residents.

ìAll these people want electricity in their homes, but they donít want a power plant,î Benson said.
Benson said Prairie Gen would not continue to pursue locating a generator in North Branch.
However, Prairie Gen will try to build a plant in Lent Township. The company would deal mainly with Chisago Countyís planning department in that instance because Lent does not do its own planning.

ìYou donít go where youíre not wanted,î Benson said. ìWe want to make sure we are welcome in Lent.î

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