Is this Brad Lofton-led ‘solar’ groundbreaking event by the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority an olive branch or
a smokescreen.for the community Or an example of ‘compassionate
consevratism’?
The solar plant has been part of the plan from the beginning,
which of course doesn’t quite answer Patrick Davis’ question.
VLCIA knows it can increase the size of the solar plant,
and they seem to think that could be a good idea.
They could also choose to forget the biomass plant,
but they refuse to do that.
Much more about Wiregrass Solar Power LLC.
Also please note that this blog is
On the LAKE Front,
where
LAKE is an acronym for the
Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange,
which is about
citizen dialog for transparent process
for all of Lowndes County and the general area, not just Valdosta.
Actually installing the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant is
Hannah Solar.
Speaking
here is
Patrick T. O’Donnell, Managing Partner,
who talks about two other Hannah Solar people standing there,
Project Manager Dave Fisher,
and CEO Pete Marte.
Here’s the video.
Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
“Solar energy is definitely part of the solution for water issues
in Georgia, and it’s not being talked about. When the president of
Georgia Power is the chairman of the water commission and 52 percent of
water is being used for power generation, you’ve got the fox in the
henhouse,” said Pete Marte, chief executive officer of Hannah Solar.
The man who knows more about doubling rates than anyone else in the world
(he accurately predicted computers winning at chess and the Internet,
including the correct dates),
Ray Kurzweil, interviewed by Lauren Feeney on PBS:
One of my primary theses is that information technologies grow
exponentially in capability and power and bandwidth and so on. If you
buy an iPhone today, it’s twice as good as two years ago for half that
cost. That is happening with solar energy — it is doubling every two
years. And it didn’t start two years ago, it started 20 years ago. Every
two years we have twice as much solar energy in the world.
Think about how fast the Internet has grown in the 21st century.
That’s what he’s talking about: from unknown to TV news anchors
to facilitating multiple revolutions in weeks. He continues:
Continue reading →
The biggest dignitary among the bunch at the
Wiregrass Solar groundbreaking
was
Therrell “Sonny” Murphy,
Chairman of the Board, Sterling Planet, the parent company
of Wiregrass Solar LLC.
Nice fellow; I talked to him at length before most people showed up.
To his credit, he didn’t shy away from directly talking about
the proposed neighboring biomass plant (Sterling Planet owns
Wiregrass Power LLC, too).
He also mentioned geothermal and “efficiency itself”,
which shows he has a broader grasp of the potential energy sources
than some participants.
Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
I congratulate Chairman Murpny and Sterling Planet on the solar groundbreaking.
I offered to introduce him to the biomass protesters.
He said he didn’t want to get into a debate.
Hm, that
reminds me of something.
“…solar is an important component of our electricity needs
and our power energy needs, and that it will continue to be.
We need to take into consideration all renewable energy resources
such as solar, and wind, and bio, and bring those together
to eventually make them more efficient and effective to supply
our grid with energy sources.”
He also talked about eventual lower rates to the customers.
And he bragged about how big it is:
Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Still, it’s a start, and I congratulate VLCIA on doing it.
I’m in favor of solar plants, and it was good to see the participants
helping out at the groundbreaking for the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant
at the Valdosta Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant yesterday.
But wait! What’s that behind them?
Seems like even solar supporters aren’t all in favor of the
proposed neighboring biomass plant.
In this post are videos of the speeches by VLCIA personnel;
speeches by other dignitaries will follow.
Brad Lofton,
Executive Director of the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
said they’ll have a commissioning reception in a few months
(currently scheduled for
Wednesday 16th April 2011)
to which they’ll invite “the entire City Council
and the County Commission.”
Interestingly, there was nobody from the County Commission
at this groundbreaking ceremony.
They’ve said they’re in favor of biomass;
are they not in favor of solar?
Lofton says they’ll also invite
“…the governor of Georgia who has about half a million
dollars invested in this project.”
Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Lofton also said:
“We’ll go around and if anybody has any comments,
I’d like you to make them.”
All these protesters were in favor of the groundbreaking today for the
Wiregrass Solar LLC plant, but they wanted to object to the
related biomass plant proposed for next door.
Here you can see Valdosta police saying they’re going have to
issue a summons to some protesters because they didn’t have a permit,
Valdosta Mayor Fretti saying the permit process is simple,
and Dr. Michael Noll president of Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE)
explaining that they only heard of the event recently,
and besides he’d be happy to pick up a shovel and help with the
groundbreaking for the solar plant:
Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Update 21 Feb 2011: Col. Ricketts confirms the groundbreaking is at 11:30 AM today on Water Plant Road; follow the signs from there to the construction site.
The groundbreaking for the Wiregrass Solar plant is
Monday 21 February, rumor has it at 11:30AM, but where?
My understanding is that the site
is at the back of the City of Valdosta’s Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment property,
which is
However, VLCIA’s land proposed for the Wiregrass Power LLC biomass plant
is around the corner off of Inner Perimeter Road east of Deloach Road:
It’s conceivable that VLCIA might hold the ceremony on its own property.
See their map below:
Continue reading →
Local resident Nolen Cox says government grants are more addictive than drugs,
and “all the federal money is my tax money.”
He mentions federal debt, and lists only social programs.
Regarding grants, he’s specifically referring to a proposal to
accept a grant for NOAA weather radios, which we’ll come back to later.
His other topic is that he thinks we need more oil, more nuclear, and
biomass.
His recommendation:
“I would stop discusssing it.”
He thinks it’s like global warming, which he thinks is a lie.
He sums up:
Build the plant, employ people, get on with the program.
It’s interesting that these are about the best arguments biomass proponents have.
Perhaps he’s not aware that shutting off the debate was tried recently
and doesn’t seem to be working too well.
Here’s
the video.
Regular meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, 8 February 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Is this Brad Lofton-led ‘solar’ groundbreaking event by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority an olive branch or a smokescreen.for the community Or an example of ‘compassionate consevratism’?
Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange,
which is about
citizen dialog for transparent process
for all of Lowndes County and the general area, not just Valdosta.
