There are many issues at hand with this project that many people have studied in great detail. I am an advocate for clean energy and renewable energy. That is a beautiful area now, and not much of what I have read convinces me that this project will be any kind of improvement for that area.
There are a great many risks in trying to reutilize old structures. This one is quite old, has been buried for many years. It was abandoned for a reason. Running water thru it at the volumes and velocity necessary to generate enough electricity to make this financially feasible will cause major erosions. The net result of these erosions over time is really a giant guessing game. My own opinion is the risk far outweigh the gains for anyone, except Xcel. Anyone who thinks otherwise should be reminded that Xcel is a company, with profit as its goal. They are not about to attempts a project that will lose them money. The contracts will be written to benefit them. If it benefits others at the same time, bonus. There are other water based energy concepts that could be utilized. One of my favorites is turbines. These have been proposed for down river between Franklin and Lake Streets. Its cheaper, easier, and less intrusive than trying to restore the Crown Hydro facility. Wind is probably the greatest energy source that we have and it is very under tapped. We area already one of the leaders in the US for this type of energy production. Its very unobtrusive to the environment. Its also getting cheaper to produce every year. The infrastructure necessary exists, but needs much upgrading. Infrastructure is the big problem with the energy companies. Think back to the New York blackout. Poorly maintained infrastructure, not a lack of production. California had its problems because of politics and corporate greed, not a lack of supply. What Minneapolis Parks has to gain from this project is peanuts compared to the potential losses. Will the falls collapse? Some day. Will the Stone Arch bridge collapse? Some day. Is this buried structure worth revitalizing? Maybe, but we wont know until much of the work to dig it out has been done. Enough of my ramblings. While I think this idea is kinda neat, I am not really for it. Ron Leurquin Nokomis East REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
