California can do it, and it turns out Brooks County can do it:
install solar hot water heaters on low-cost housing.
In Brooks County, they also installed solar electric panels.
Kevin Skeath explains the 2.03 kilowatt solar electric panels
on an apartment office, 9 solar thermal systems on the apartments,
and how you can reduce your power bill upwards of 30% just by heating
your regular hot water, and even more by using it for heating your rooms.
Continue reading
What is the Industrial Authority’s plan to bring in real clean jobs?
MAGE SOLAR is hiring for the first of 350 jobs in its photovoltaic (PV) solar manufacturing plant in Dublin, Georgia, with half the population of Valdosta, in Laurens County, with half the population of Lowndes County. They’ve parlayed their position between the Atlanta airport and the Savannah seaport for many new clean jobs.
Suniva of Norcross’s second PV plant with its 500 jobs went to Michigan. Saginaw Valley calls itself Solar Valley and collaborates with governments, academia, and industry, winning thousands of clean jobs in wind and solar manufacturing and generating plants.
While
Suniva’s new photovoltaic manufacturing plant went to Michigan,
some of Suniva’s customers are in Georgia,
such as
USFloors, which has commissioned a 365kW solar array
using 1,521 panels from Suniva.
That’s in Dalton, about 300 miles north of here.
It’s sunnier here.
-jsq
According to Sven Gustafson in mlive.com, 7 Oct 2009,
Georgia-based solar panel maker Suniva to create 500 jobs at new Michigan plant in Saginaw County
A Georgia-based maker of high-efficiency, low-cost solar panels plans to open a manufacturing facility in Saginaw County after state officials approved a new photovoltaic tax credit. The project, which is still subject to a federal loan, is expected to create 500 jobs.Suniva manufactures photovoltaic solar panels. It was getting so many orders it needed a new plant in addition to the one it has in Norcross, Georgia. Those 500 jobs and $250 million in investment could have come to Georgia. Maybe they could have come to Lowndes County. I haven’t been able to find any local government or appointed official who tried to get it to come here.The Michigan Economic Growth Authority in a special session Tuesday approved the credits for Norcross, Ga.-based Suniva Inc. The company will get a $15 million refundable credit against its Michigan Business Tax liability over five years in exchange for its planned $250 million investment.
Suniva is still ramping up production in Georgia. They may eventually need a third plant. Maybe somebody should talk to them.
-jsq
According to
a press release on their site:
Ravensburg (Germany), 27th September 2010 – MAGE SOLAR, part of the globally operating MAGE GROUP, in conjunction with Governor Sonny Perdue and the City of Dublin County of Laurens Development Authority, conducted its official ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. The highly anticipated event marked the company’s official move of its new North American headquarters to Dublin, Georgia. Dr. Markus Feil, CEO of MAGE INDUSTRIE HOLDING AG headquartered in Germany; its Chairman of the Board, Kurt Rauch, as well as CEO of MAGE SOLAR GMBH, Norbert Philipp, also from Germany and other US company officials and employees of MAGE SOLAR, along with key community, political and a multitude of local, regional and international business leaders attended the momentous event.That would be Dublin, with half the population of Valdosta, in Laurens County, with half the population of Lowndes County. Continue reading
John O. Blackburn and Sam Cunningham
write about
Solar and Nuclear Costs — The Historic Crossover:
Solar Energy is Now the Better Buy
Solar photovoltaic system costs have fallen steadily for decades. They are projected to fall even farther over the next 10 years. Meanwhile, projected costs for construction of new nuclear plants have risen steadily over the last decade, and they continue to rise. In the past year, the lines have crossed in North Carolina. Electricity from new solar installations is now cheaper than electricity from proposed new nuclear plants. This new development has profound implications for North Carolina’s energy and economic future. Each and every stakeholder in North Carolina’s energy sector — citizens, elected officials, solar power installers and manufacturers, and electric utilities — should recognize this watershed moment.And North Carolina is north of Georgia, so Georgia should have more sun.
-jsq
I found that map on Georgia Power’s web pages. Meanwhile, here are Georgia Power Solar Projects. Hm, “a rooftop solar demonstration program”, “plans to install solar panels at schools in each of the company’s regions”, “showcase its technology”. Where’s the actual rapid deployment?
Meanwhile, Texas almost doubled its renewable energy generation between 2004 and 2006 and hasn’t stopped since. Continue reading
Members were in agreement that while there are many students graduating from area colleges, they are moving to other cities to find higher paying jobs. Some board members agreed the local workforce needs improvement to enhance the work of current employees, improve the skills of unemployed individuals, and create more job openings.Can’t argue with that.
The controversial aspects of the Wiregrass Power, LLC biomass project are not discussed in the article. Instead, the tiny accompanying solar plant gets some press: Continue reading
.jpg)
Sea Island Co. had
a reputation for immunity to economic whims while over-borrowing and over-expansion?
Hm, they’re not the only ones.
As recently as 28 April 2008 the VDT published a story
“Analyst: Valdosta ‘recession-proof'”:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, business consultant and president of JobBait.com Mark Hovind ranked every metropolitan statistical area across the country, highlighting those he deemed to be “recession-proof.” The city of Valdosta was the only Georgia city to make the list.Continue reading
A press release by Southface promises:
Long-term jobs that cannot be exported will also come from developing workers skilled in the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, and solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems.How will that happen?
October 29, 2009 –Southface is based in Atlanta. This is supposed to be a regional program, so maybe we can get some of these jobs right here in Lowndes County. The DoE says:
Led by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida, six southern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will join together to create a “Southern Regional Resource and Training Program” to train a robust workforce in the installation of solar technologies for the burgeoning solar industry. Southface will deliver solar installation training through its new Green Jobs Training Center, and will serve on the program’s advisory board.
SoutheastUCF is the coordinator, but there’s no reason a training center couldn’t be in Valdosta. Who at VSU should be involved in this?
* University of Central Florida ($2,800,000)
This project will create the Southern Alternative Energy Training Network, which will develop industry-recognized and staff-alternative energy training centers throughout the southern U.S. The resulting programs will create a trained pipeline of workers to meet current and future employment demands needed by the solar industry.