I agree, it's not perfect but we truly need this expansion in so many ways.

I've always thought of myself as an environmentalist, but hopefully a practical one.

Like it or not energy is necessary for modern life and it must be generated. The viable choices for generation are limited. No matter what is selected it will have an environmental impact. The objective should be to get the highest ratio of energy to impact.

It seems that coal has the edge here, although nuclear might be better. Regardless of the amount of wind, I wonder how many windmills are needed to match the new coal plant. And Solar? How many acres of solar panels would that take.

If the plant is not built here it will have to go somewhere else because the energy is needed. Rather than fighting against the plant, environmentalist should promote it but ask for the best technology available.