buckaroo bonzai
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Upper Michigan to retire White Pine Coal Plant
10.16.2014
WHITE PINE -- White Pine Electric Power has committed to cease burning coal at its 60-megawatt power plant in Upper Michigan.
The Environmental Protection Agency took enforcement action on air quality violations at the plant, which led to this decision. The two power-producing units at the plant will be converted to natural gas. The facility will also have to retire by 2023, or install best-in-class air pollution control equipment to reduce pollution from natural gas.
The plant originally was built to power a copper mine, which has since closed.
>> A Canadian medical marijuana company >>now<<>>plans to grow cannabis in the old copper mine shafts.<<
"We applaud EPA for pushing companies like White Pine Electric to clean up their air pollution," said Nachy Kanfer, senior official covering Michigan at the Sierra Club. "Upper Peninsula residents can look forward to clearer air. At the same time, natural gas is still a dangerous fossil fuel, and simply switching from coal to gas is not the solution to climate change."
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=1110641
Prairie Plant Systems Finalizes Purchase of Power Plant and Refinery in White Pine, Michigan
Unique asset acquisition ensures power supply for plant-based pharmaceutical manufacturing.
SASKATOON, MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 - Prairie Plant Systems Inc. (PPS) announced today it has completed its purchase of Traxys Power Group Inc. (TPG), which will be renamed P.M. Power Group Inc., owner of the following assets in White Pine, Michigan:
- White Pine Electric Power LLC –a 40 megawatt natural gas generating power plant
- White Pine Copper Refinery Inc. - offering refining capacity to produce 85,000 short tonnes per year of anode quality copper
- Upper Peninsula Power Marketing LLC – an electrical supply broker company that buys and sells onto the power grid
set to expire in 2015 just as new regulations from the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) will be requiring states to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants,we wanted to ensure that the highly specialized work we do in creating plant-based pharmaceuticals would not be in jeopardy as a result of power outages,” said Brent Zettl, President and CEO of Prairie Plant Systems.
“This strategic acquisition to maintain our own supply of consistent power will ensure that there will be no delay in the development of the drugs in our pipeline.”
This unique asset acquisition by Prairie Plant Systems will position this Biotech company as the first to wholly control their own source of energy, primarily to be used in the growth chambers for the U.S. subsidiary, SubTerra LLC, located in White Pine, Michigan. Using biosecure underground growth chambers to cultivate and process biopharmaceutical plant species allows for the efficient use of research and development funds by reducing the costs associated with regulatory approvals for genetic containment in the early stages of biopharmaceutical development.
In addition, the SubTerra advantage includes the highest level of quality control (GMP, GAP, GLP), Level 2 containment meaning there is no risk of unintended generic release, accelerated growth and improved crop production.
Steve Walsh, President of TPG Power Holdings LLC, the former owner of TPG, said “The Traxys Group has been at the White Pine site for over 10 years and recently completed the conversion of the White Pine Power Station from coal fired to natural gas fired which makes it a cleaner, more economical power station. This permanent conversion was done in accordance with EPA guidelines. As Traxys looks to focus its time and resources on its core business of metals and minerals trading, divestiture of the power group was seen as a logical strategic move.”
About Prairie Plant Systems
Prairie Plant Systems is a biotechnology company with Canadian and U.S. facilities
dedicated to the principle of manufacturing pharmaceuticals derived from harvested plants grown in biosecure Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production facilities.
The core business activity includes growing and processing of medically valuable whole plant components for controlled substances,
biosecure production of transgenic plants for development of unique genetic lines for commercialization and genetic transformation for tissue specific expression of pharmaceutical biologicals, requiring possible eukaryotic post-translation modification.
Prairie Plant Systems has a rich 20+year history in research, development, project management and commercialization of products.
http://www.prairieplant.com/news.html
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