sed Fluor Corporation for the government of South Africa TH AFRICA HPLATEAU } tions in the United States. Equitable is the top stockholder in Southern California Edison, and the number four stockholder in CONOCO and ARCO. Equitable also has a very direct connection to both the federal and Indian energy regions. Equitable was recently named to the Carter Administration's 7-member board of the Energy Security Corporation-the federal authority which supervises both purchases and subsidies from the federal level. In addition, Equitable does feasibility studies for CERT (see box), and has been directly involved in advising CERT and several other organizations. In one "advisory" Indian organization, Americans for Indian Opportunity, Coy G. Ecklund, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Equitable, sits on the board of directors. Another common denominator in reservation-based energy projects is a construction firm. The Fluor Corporation (another partowner of the Peabody Coal Company) was the contractor involved in the SASOL complex in South Africa. Fluor is also involved in the December 1980 RAIN Page 13 both the Crow and Navajo coal gasification projects. The prototype of synfuels, Fluor's model in South Africa provides some insight into what not only the tribes but other communities might expect from the final product of Fluor's work. Feeding the SASOL complex is a mining operation consuming some 27 million tons of coal annually-the largest mine system in the world. As the coal is processed into liquids and gases, 20,000 tons of "ash" per day is discharged into the environment. Employment is high, though mostly in the construction stages. Job opportunities dwindle from 22-25,000 in the building process down to 500-1,000 for actual operation of the facility. In operation, the SASOL complex requires 1200 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to a large coal-fired power plant, or enough to supply the needs of Oakland and San Jose (CA) combined. The price tag for these facilities is not a minor factor. An estimated $4 billion for one facility might easily be doubled by "accessory costs"-coal-fired power plants, mine systems, etc., with an added sum to be paid for any repairs or "mistakes" during the 35year "life expectancy" of the facility. As Ben C. Ball of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported, should one of these facilities end by virtue of a series of human errors, "corporate failures, What the states can't be forced into, the tribes may be "advised" into. if and when they occur, will be enormous by any standards. The failure of a single synfuels plant producing 50,000 barrels per day would be equivalent in size to the bankruptcy of the 100th largest U.S. corporation.'' Meanwhile, from South Africa to Washington, the U.S. government continues to bolster the industry. While the failure of the Energy Mobilization Board-a board which would have given federally designated "priority projects" virtual eminent domain-has caused a collective sigh of relief in many communities, the pressure has increased on the reservations. What the states can't be forced into, the tribes may be "advised" into. For the oil companies who control more coal reserves than they know what to do with, the synfuels industry is a bonanza in the "alternative market." However, the Indians, farmers and ranchers have quite a few questions which, as yet, remain unanswered. What effect, for example, would $88 billion in taxpayer expenditures on small-scale alternative energy projects have on the rural economy? That question, and a number of others, could provide some alternative advice and answers before any more "technological testing" occurs in the name of "Energy Independence." OD The Energy Think Tanks of the West It seems like everyone these days has an advisor. And on the pressing issues of energy development who gives the advice, and what they say, is becoming increasingly important. In the western United States, two governmental bodies have a significant influence on both federal.policy and on the economy of the nation-the western governors and the Indian tribes. In the age of the "Sagebrush Rebellion," individuality is making its mark on the Westand the "think tank" which has been perhaps most influential on this major move by the western governors is the Western Interstate Energy Board. The Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) actually began as the Western Interstate Nuclear Board. Situated in the same Denver office building as the Western Governors Policy Office (WESTPO), communication between the two is enhanced. The WIEB queries corporations on their plans for the West, then turns this information over to WESTPO. One of the WIEB's first projects was a study on "Nuclear Energy Centers" in the West. Completed in 1977, these nuclear energy centers or "nuclear parks" were comprised of 25-40 nuclear reactors situated in "low population zones." After ..
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