KBIC Moves Toward Warden Purchase

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Council has approved a 10-million dollar offer to purchase the L’Anse Warden Power Plant. The offer is non-binding. It is contingent on the results of inspections and other due diligence that will be performed by the tribe, if the offer is accepted. A Facebook posting by the KBIC says that a tribal referendum on the purchase will be scheduled if the council believes the purchase is worth pursuing.

The L’Anse Warden plant is owned by the Carlyle Group, through its recent purchase of Traxys Energy. Traxys Energy’s other assets, the White Pine power plant and Upper Peninsula Power Marketing, are in the process of being purchased by Prairie Plant Systems of Saskatchewan. Prairie Plant owns the SubTerra Company, which uses space in the old White Pine mine to grow plants used in biomedical research and production. The L’Anse Warden plant originally burned coal. It was later converted to natural gas, before being shut down. In 2009, it was converted to biofuel. Along with electricity, it produces steam that is used at the adjacent CertainTeed manufacturing plant. An employee at the Warden plant referred us to Traxys management at the White Pine plant, who were not available for comment.