What needs no testing or cooling water, no eminent domain, no fuel, and emits only clean electricity? Solar panels, like those built by SolAmerica Energy behind the Langboard plant in Brooks County, Georgia.
Behind Langboard OSB, on Langboard Lane, off US 84 just west of the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County, Georgia.
In agendas for the governmental group which supposedly has oversight of the landfill in Lowndes County, Georgia, there is no mention at all of coal or coal ash. Thanks to Julia Shewchuck of SGRC, those agendas for the Deep South Solid Waste Authority (DSSWA) are on the LAKE website.
![[April 18, 2007 Agenda]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/dsswa/agendas/small/2007-04-18--Agenda--4-18-07-Meeting-0001.jpg)
Back in 2006 the proposed
Brooks County Landfill
is on the
the proposed April 19, 2006 agenda,
and
the June 21, 2006 agenda
said there was
a public hearing June 29, 2006.
An update was on the
October 18, 2016 agenda.
2007 starts with one meeting with no mention of the landfill, but the April 18, 2007 meeting has “5. Discussion of Onyx/Langdale Proposed Land Swap”. I don’t see any further mention of the Brooks County landfill after that, and apparently it never happened.
Curiously, these mentions of the Brooks County Landfill on the DSSWA agenda are all months after these VDT stories: Continue reading
11AM this morning the County will plant three hardwood trees
where the Annex was at the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.
At the 9 April 2013 Regular Session, The Chairman announced that at 11AM on Earth Day, Monday 22 April 2013,
over at the historical Courthouse square, Lowndes County Board of Commissioners and Lowndes County Public Works Department will plant three trees that are native to south Georgia in celebrating a three-day free-to-the-public electronic recycling event. The public is welcome. And I’d like to also recognize at this time special thanks to Advanced Disposal and Yancey Caterpillar for helping with the funding of this event.What we’re doing is at the request of the Committee for the Preservation of the Courthouse. The scene around the Courthouse as you see it now the Annex has come off. There is sod down at this point. We’re going to add three more trees on that, which would be the north side of the Courthouse. It would be three different species of hardwood trees. And when that is completed, we should have a sample of each hardwood tree that is representative of south Georgia around the perimeter of the Courthouse.
So it’s going to be really nice, and it will still allow us to be able to use that green space and all right there for some events and such as that, for Farm Days and what have you. So if you do have it, put it on your calendar, take the opportunity to come out and enjoy the morning with us as we plant those three trees.
There’s no press release about this on the Lowndes County website. Buried in their calendar there is this blurb: Continue reading
While the Industrial Authority has been busily spiffing up its various Industrial Parks, everyone may have forgotten they have some competition west of town. Back in December 2010 Attorney Jack Langdale convinced the Commission in case REZ-2010-15 to rezone about 542 acres from R-1 to I-S, M-2, M-1, and P-D, which they did with fifteen conditions, which you can see in their minutes from 14 December 2010. As I recall it, one of the most convincing arguments was that the Langdales' own Kinderlou Subdivision is next door, so they wouldn't be doing anything to damage that, thus other neighbors could rest assured. Anyway, the next step was before the Commission at their Work Session this morning, for a vote tomorrow evening at their 5:30 PM Regular Session.
County Engineer Mike Fletcher presented agenda item 5.c., about Cameron Lane.
In December of 2010 the Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning case for the industrial park located off of highway 84, state route 38 west, near Wetherington Lane. The developers are beginning their master plan for the industrial park and will be utilitizng Cameron Lane as an entrance off of State Route 38 into the park. The developers are requesting to demolish Cameron Lane and rebuild a boulevard type entrance to serve the industrial park.
Attached are plats in front of you that show the existing and the proposed layout. The developer will be responsible for the acquisition of the the additional right of way that is required, as well as all engineering and construction costs for Cameron Lane. The new infrastructure will be built to county standards amd then will be brought back before the Commissioners for executive acceptance of infrastructure.
Commisioner Raines wanted to know if the county needed to deed the road over to the developer while all this was being done. Fletcher assured him the contractor would be responsible for everything.
Here's the video:
5.c. Cameron Lane widening for industrial park on US 84 W @ LCC 2012-07-23
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 July 2012.
-jsq
So whose solar parking lot is that in Atlanta?
According to Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, Luckie Street Solar Project (New Development)
157 Luckie St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
CATEGORY: Institutional Development
Developer: Turner Enterprises
Solar panels added to a surface parking lot that will produce nearly 200 kilowatt hours of energy, making this the largest solar project installed in Downtown Atlanta
$1 million
Completed 2011
That’s 20 cents per kilowatt hour. Which won’t take many years to pay for itself.
Why did Ted Turner do this? According to Maria Saporta for the Atlanta Business Chronicle, 10 December 1010, Ted Turner builds solar project on parking lot next to his building,
Continue reading
To get an idea of why big timber growers might find biomass attractive,
here’s an article by Terry Dickson in the Florida Times-Union from 20 June 2005,
State’s forestry industry in an ‘alarming decline’
People have long debated whether there is a sound if a tree falls in a forest but nobody is there to hear it.Continue readingThe fall of revenue from Georgia’s forestry industry, however, has attracted a lot of attention — but $10 billion is hard to ignore.
Wesley Langdale, left, President of The Langdale Company, and Reed Wills, right, President of ADAGE, pose at the ADAGE press announcement. |
When Adage announced their proposed Hamilton County, Florida biomass site in May 2009, they already had something Wiregrass Power LLC has never achieved:
“…and The Langdale Company for the supply of waste wood to the project.Hamilton County, Florida is of course just across the state line from Lowndes County, Georgia, home of The Langdale Company. What will removing the nearby competition do for Wiregrass Power LLC’s proposed biomass plant in Lowndes County, Georgia, which still has no suppliers of wood? Will Adage’s failure to build any biomass plants ever serve as a model? Or will something else happen?“Renewable energy is the next frontier for the working forest, which has been creating jobs and cleaning our air and water for generations,” said Wesley Langdale, President of The Langdale Company. “Working with partners such as AREVA and Duke Energy gives our 115-year-old company confidence in the viability and sustainability of the project.” Langdale and ADAGE made this announcement during the Forest Landowners Association annual conference in Amelia Island.
-jsq
A University of Georgia researcher has found that Georgia’s forestlands provide essential ecosystem services to the state worth an estimated $37 billion annually.That’s substantially more than the $28 billion annually from the conventional wood-products industry.This is in addition to the value of timber, forest products and recreation. This is the first time these indirect benefits of Georgia’s private forests have been estimated.
What are these ecosystem services? Continue reading
Following up on his previous correspondence. -jsq
Continue readingFrom: Russ Anderson
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:20:24 -0500
Subject: Re: Attn: Clarifications on my comments
To: blofton@industrialauthority.com, info@sterlingplanet.com, bmaddox@sterlingplanet.comBrad,
I’m not saying the project is good, responsible, that it will actually happen, and def. not that you are in any way right in your opinions of “green” and “renewable”.
Furthermore, I really wish you could get beyond the talking point of “the agencies and groups endorsing similar projects”, because again that is a highly contestable and skewed figure as many local, regional, and national agencies, groups, and networks still voice heavy opposition to this issue and biomass incineration.
Using words like green, renewable, etc. does not magically make it so. I know all about framing language and tactics of those wishing to line their pockets and exploit subsidy and tax loopholes. The simple fact that you are so set in your opinion and mentality is quite alarming..
For example, I am more than willing to embrace control technologies and
Some people seem to be forming opinions of that letter without ever having read it. LAKE has published links to a PDF of it from four previous posts: “Far from Over”, “What is Fiery Roots”, Russell Anderson Responds, and “We got off on the wrong foot”. Formerly LAKE only had a PDF of a scan of a paper copy of the email of 3 Jan 2011. Per request, Russell Anderson has sent plain text, which appears below. -jsq
Continue readingAll,
My name is Russell Anderson. I am the Co-Director of Collectiveprogression.org and graduate of Valdosta State. I am writing to inform you of my intent to publish the below piece on our website and to our readership as well as produce a full length documentary about the community struggle against the proposed Wiregrass LLC biomass incinerator. I have you all on this email {Sterling Assets, Langdale’s, Council, Commissioners, Authority, Attorneys} and ALL of you have continued to pass the blame and buck on the building of this plant. Rather than doing the more responsible thing (pending EIS),