The same money would buy a lot more electricity through solar power than that fracked methane pipeline could generate.
Update 2 March 2017: Added tables; fixed some typos.
Ramez Naam, his blog, 21 September 2016,
New Record Low Solar Price in Abu Dhabi — Costs Plunging Faster Than Expected
Back again,
Wilmer Calles on behalf of Rosa Calle
still
wants to go “backwards” to agricultural zoning and the neighbors don’t like it,
on
the agenda for tonight’s
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission,
after
a split recommendation for tabling
by GLPC a month ago,
indication of many objections at
the County Commission Work Session two weeks ago,
and being tabled the next day
at the County Commission Regular Session.
Plus
another county rezoning and
two in Valdosta tonight.
Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Continue reading
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Monday, February 27, 2017 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Why do they bother having Work Sessions at all, if they’re not going
to discuss anything?
Chairman Bill Slaughter,
who at the recent planning session said,
“Lowndes County is as transparent as we could possibly be,”
was absent.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall, who argued at the planning session
for moving the Work Session to a time when citizens are not working,
also was not at the Work Session as usual, I hear because he works
during the day.
I don’t know why Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker was not there.
Other than Vice-Chair Joyce Evans, who didn’t read the agenda item numbers,
only Commissioners Scottie Orenstein and Clay Griner were there this morning.
They asked no questions,
as Griner had said at the planning meeting there was no need to,
because staff supplied them with everything they needed to know.
To her credit, Joyce Evans asked the only question, whether the Rural Transportation Drug and Alcohol Testing Program was new (It’s not new, answered County Engineer Mike Fletcher.)
The only two citizens there were Gretchen Quarterman and Jody Hall, each of whom had hour-long round-trips to attend this three-minute non-meeting.
The Valdosta Daily Times reporter arrived after the meeting was adjourned. He at least got the packet provided at each meeting to the “Legal Organ”. You, the citizens and taxpayers did not get that courtesy from the county.
You can see for yourself the lack of information in the links below to each of the LAKE videos, followed by a LAKE video playlist. I didn’t bother with notes on the items this time. See also the agenda, which I spent more time posting than they did holding the meeting. Continue reading
We learned why Lowndes County has gotten religion about Internet access and speed:
Moody AFB wants it.
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein made the case for board packets and agendas in electronic form instead of the paper packets they currently use. Maybe they’ll even reveal them to the public before their meetings, like real MSAs do. Meanwhile, Community Engagement means marketing, as in telling people what the county did, not listening to the citizens.
They talked about interconnecting (almost) all of the county’s water systems, about routes to get trucks out of downtown Valdosta. The water-sewer ordinance is in ten or twelve pieces, and the county is all for expanding water and sewer throughout the county as long as it doesn’t cost developers money.
There’s a regional T-SPLOST meeting in Waycross by SGRC Feb 28 2017, but Lowndes commissioners and staff said nothing Continue reading
Back on the agenda this morning,
the Old Quitman Road Bridge replacement over the CSX RR has been
discussed since at least 2011 when it was on the T-SPLOST list,
and in
September 2016 it came up for discussion again,
and the Commission approved surveying and engineering.
Last month they
discussed the plans, drawings, etc.,
and approved those.
See this
playlist of LAKE videos of this item in previous meetings.
This morning’s item for voting tomorrow evening is Continue reading
According to FERC’s own figures from 2012 and 2016,
my solar projections from 2013 (and former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff’s) were pretty good,
and more U.S. electricity will still come from solar power by 2023.
Since coal and nuclear are already crashing, and natural gas isn’t
increasing even as fast as formerly projected, solar could win even faster.
I constructed table below from the 2012 and 2016 summaries of total U.S. electric power generation from all sources, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Look at the 2012 column: only coal and natural gas generated more than 25% of total U.S. electricity.
But in 2016 it’s only natural gas, because coal’s growth rate actually turned negative: utilities are shutting down coal plants, not building them. Back in 2013 I did not predict that to happen so quickly.
Now look at
the growth rates,
both Continue reading
Two newly-elected officials spoke at the Thursday session:
new Tax Commissioner Rodney Cain
who was full of praise for his staff,
and
new-old Sheriff Ashley Paulk,
who said he had more important things to do than to go get undocumented
workers out of the fields.
“I tell ICE come show me a warrant.”
Here are LAKE videos of that day, and stay tuned for Day 2!
Total 2016 revenue was Continue reading
Solar passed both wind and natural gas in 2016 for most new U.S. electricity installed in a year. Yet Bloomberg still doesn’t quite get it: solar is growing exponentially, and is still on track to produce more U.S. electricity total than any other power source by 2023.
Chris Martin, Bloomberg Markets, 15 February 2017, U.S. Solar Surged 95% to Become Largest Source of New Energy,
- Solar installations surpassed gas and wind for first time
- Record 14.6 gigawatts of solar panels added in 2016, SEIA says
Solar developers installed a record 14.6 gigawatts in the U.S. last year, almost double the total from 2015 and enough to make photovoltaic panels the largest source of new electric capacity for the first time.
Continue reading
Tuesday Chairman Bill Slaughter did say
there will be a retreat Thursday and Friday this week, but he didn’t say where or what time of day.
Yesterday afternoon they finally put on their website that
it starts 8AM this morning at Quail Branch Lodge.
Here’s hoping Commissioner Joyce Evans is well enough to attend.
In a refreshing change of procedure, Continue reading
They vote 5:30 PM today. The longest item at yesterday morning’s Work Session was
6b. REZ-2017-02 Calles, Alexandria St, R-10 and CON to E-A, Well and Septic, 0213 acres,
which also got the longest discussion of any county case at the recent
Planning Commission meeting, where GLPC voted to recommend denial.
All parties want the other rezoning,
6a. REZ-2017-01 Cone/Malone, tabled.
The second longest item yesterday morning was 7c. Request for Relief for Tuscany Palms Utility Tax District, which had a long list of staff involved in it.
They did name the three three candidates for two VLMPO vacancies, but none of them were present. At least one wasn’t even aware he was actually a candidate.
Below are links to each Continue reading