Category Archives: Renewable Energy

Solar no money down in Oregon

Richard Read wrote in The Oregonian on 4 Jan 2011, Oregon homeowners can now go solar with no upfront costs:
Oregonians put off by the high price of renewable energy can now go solar on the cheap, installing panels for no money down.

Contractors in a handful of states are starting to offer solar to the masses with lease deals that eliminate upfront costs. Oregon is joining the trend, thanks to regulations that took effect Jan. 1.

The Portland branch of a national solar company unveiled a lease program Tuesday enabling homeowners to put up panels for low monthly payments, cutting their electricity bills and carbon footprints. At least one other contractor, a local company, is developing similar products.

Managers of SolarCity, a California-based company, say Oregon homeowners can go solar for as little as $20 a month with no up-front costs. The new financing option, which incorporates state and federal tax credits….

They’re talking $25/month with no money down. That’s a thousand miles north of here, in rainy Oregon. Maybe we should just invite SolarCity to operate here.

-jsq

‘Mr. Lofton has no proof whatsoever that biomass is “safe”.’ –Dr. Noll

Since Brad Lofton has once again wrapped himself in a self-imposed cloak of silence, Dr. Noll gets the last word, including two attachments, which you can find here. -jsq
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 03:10:58 +0000

Good evening everyone.

It is obvious by now that Mr. Lofton has no proof whatsoever that biomass is “safe”. He does not have one statement by a medical organization, not one scholarly publication he can share with us that backs up his claim. (Coincidentally, the same is true for other claims, as the event on January 13 will show.)

Members of WACE (and others in the community) have tried to receive proof

Continue reading →

Brad Lofton’s memory fails him again

On 28 Dec 2010 Brad Lofton wrote:
No one but WACE has made any claims about our efforts to substantiate this project.
Who are all these people, then, asking questions at the VLCIA’s 6 Dec 2010 event?

For example, this one, following up about the Environmental Impact Study he requested back at the EPD air quality hearing (see video of that event). He didn’t get an answer then, and at VLCIA’s 6 Dec event he still only got allusions to studies and standards that were not produced.

You can see Brad Lofton in that video, listening. Did he forget so quickly?

What about SAVE’s event at VSU at which Dr. Sammons spoke? What about the well-attended Biomass Town Hall that Pastor Angela Manning organized? And other events.

What about my question at the 6 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting? Continue reading →

“folks come into the community.” –Col. Ricketts responding to WACE in VLCIA board meeting

Previously I promised to post the rest of what Col. Ricketts and Brad Lofton said about biomass in the 21 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting.

In these two videos, Col. Ricketts responds to materials sent to VLCIA by WACE. He dismisses certain material as being from Massachusetts or being from “folks come into the community.” That’s rather rich, since as near as I can tell, all of VLCIA’s “expert” panelists at their 6 Dec 2010 event were from not from around here. Some were from states a thousand miles from here. Maybe somebody can transcribe Brad Lofton’s enumeration of those “experts” from the board meeting, since as near as I can tell VLCIA has provided no written list of them. And of course Sterling Planet is located in Atlanta, not Lowndes County.

In the first video, Col. Ricketts says he’s responding to WACE materials: Continue reading →

“their ‘assurances’ … remain empty words.” –Dr. Noll

Receiving no response from Brad Lofton to his previous message, Dr. Noll summarizes. Interestingly, attached to Dr. Noll’s message was a copy of Dr. Teaf’s slides which I didn’t notice until just now. See also Col. Ricketts’ re-presentation of those slides to the VLCIA board on 21 Dec 2010. Both are linked here. -jsq
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:19:00 +0000

Good morning everyone.

As a scientist and President of WACE it is my duty to point out that, more than three weeks after their latest panel, Mr. Lofton and the Industrial Authority have, yet again, not been able to share conclusive evidence with the community that biomass is safe. At the same time, WACE has time and again provided scientific studies and statements made by medical organizations that prove that biomass incineration bears significant health risks for our community.

Evidence provided by the pro-biomass panelists on December 6 (none of whom were medical professionals or represented a medical organization) was at best circumstantial, as can be expected from such a one-sided panel. Moreover, neither Dr. Teaf nor any of the other panelists have given us any evidence since then that biomass is safe, as their presentations lacked any sources or links to check the validity of their statements (see attached presentation from Dr. Teaf as an example). In other words, their “assurances” too that biomass is “safe”, like those repeatedly made by the Industrial Authority, remain empty words. The time for playing semantics and simply “assuring” our community that biomass is safe, without providing scientific studies to back up such claims, is over.

(The same pattern of mis-information can be observed in regard to claims that the biomass project is supported by groups like the Sierra Club, that biomass incineration is carbon neutral, or that biomass is economically speaking a safe investment. WACE will address these too on January 13.)

With best regards and wishes for a Healthy New Year,
Michael G. Noll, President
Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy

“no way shape or form” –Brad Lofton on Dr. Teaf

A week after Brad Lofton failed to produce evidence and offered to file Dr. Noll’s correspondence “in the appropriate file”, VLCIA has still not published the videos or slides from their 6 Dec 2010 event at the Rainwater Conference Center.

However, Brad Lofton and Col. Ricketts summarized that event for the VLCIA board at their recent board meeting, and they never presented any actual evidence there, either.

Brad Lofton said his toxicologist says the biomass plant in “no way shape or form” will cause health problems. Then he rattled off a long list of supporters of a Gainesville biomass plant. The rest of this post has videos of what he and Col. Ricketts said, plus screenshots of each of Dr. Teaf’s slides: see if you can find the details. Continue reading →

“nothing short of irresponsible” –Dr. Noll to Mr. Lofton

Dr. Noll responding to Mr. Lofton’s latest. -jsq
From: “Michael G. Noll”
To: “blofton@industrialauthority.com”, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan”, <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 17:55:18 +0000

Mr. Lofton.

Moving forward with a project like yours

  1. after it has been established that biomass is dirtier than coal (see the data we shared from the Georgia EPD)
  2. after it has been established by medical associations throughout the country that the hundreds of tons of pollutants your proposed plant would spewout (as identified in your own application) would result in significant health issues (increase and/or worsening of COPD, asthma, cancer, heart disease)
is nothing short of irresponsible and speaks of the lack of respect you have for the health of our community.

The fact remains that you have not been able to provide quantitative data or scientific studies that prove that biomass is “clean” or

Continue reading →

“It is your responsibility to prove us wrong” –Dr. Noll to Mr. Lofton

Dr. Noll responds to Mr. Lofton’s email of 24 Dec 2010. -jsq
From: “Michael G. Noll”
To: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 21:19:15 +0000

Hello Mr. Lofton.

You might remember that WACE handed out a “Myth vs. Fact” info sheet at the meeting. On it were clearly outlined major issues we have with your biomass project. I will only entertain the first three to refresh your memory, since they are the most important facts for our community:

Continue reading →

A “center of innovation excellence for renewable and sustainable energy in Georgia”?

In a recent message, Brad Lofton wrote “we plan to move on now and focus our attention on new job and tax revenue creating projects.” OK, what are those projects?

Back in September Brad Lofton told me that VLCIA had (beyond whatever Wiregrass LLC is doing) “other renewable green energy projects”, which he then refused to describe.

When I asked about these projects at the 21 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting, board member Gary Minchew responded that VLCIA couldn’t talk about sensitive negotiations, but they didn’t want to be secretive. Earlier I had been talking to the fellow sitting to my left about his green energy project and whether VLCIA was going to move forward on it. He pointed out to the board that he and I were facebook friends and linked on LinkedIn. He’s sending me some information; more on that when I get it. Meanwhile, I wonder why the board wouldn’t talk about his project, and I remain dubious that VLCIA has any other “renewable green energy projects”.

In that same meeting, Col. Ricketts and Brad Lofton went on for some time about solar energy, saying they were answering citizen concerns.

As one of the people who has asked them most frequently about solar energy, I have to say Continue reading →

“Your memory doesn’t serve you correctly” –Lofton to Noll

When can we see these actual studies? And if we could see those VLCIA videos, nobody would have to depend on memory. -jsq
From: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>
To: Michael Noll, “Mary B. Gooding”, Allan Ricketts <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, Roy Copeland, “John S. Quarterman, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:51:53 -0500
Subject: Re: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Good morning Dr. Noll-

Thanks for your e-mail. With all due respect, however, your memory doesn’t serve you correctly, and I would ask you to please review your notes again. The environmental consultant from Golder referred extensively to a seven month environmental analysis performed by the EPD in our state. I’m confused why a seven month study performed by the impartial environmental and regulatory group empowered to provide governance and decisions related to this project isn’t a sufficient enough environmental study for you. During the forum, Golder and Associates, a world renown environmental engineering firm, also went on to provide results of their extensive air modeling study. The fuel supply expert presented the results of a detailed study his firm had just completed that showed 13 times the required regional wood waste fuel needed for this plant. This was his firm’s 20th study across the country, and they are considered experts. The Ph.D economist cited an extensive study his firm had just completed successfully defending a similar biomass facility before the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. The Toxicologist has over 27 years of experience and is a leading expert at a major U.S. University. If you would read his CV,

Continue reading →