Will the recent increase in solar requirements by GA PSC on Georgia Power produce any more solar projects in Valdosta? And what’s in the VLCIA annual report? Maybe a list of jobs created?
Here’s
the agenda.
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial AuthorityContinue reading
Agenda, Tuesday July 16, 2013 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
“In order to respect the popular will, the government of” the city of Heshan refused to proceed with a $9 billion uranium processing plant. That happened after this, yesterday:
The cancellation, unusually fast, demonstrates the increasingly important attention given by the authorities to environmental concerns that are often expressed at the local level. Several projects of petrochemical plants and metal processing have recently been postponed or relocated.
Yes, I know the plant may just be relocated somewhere else. But with enough such demonstrations it won’t be built. How about some of this respect for the popular will about, for example, the natural gas pipeline through Georgia from Alabama to Florida, or the new nukes at Plant Vogtle?
Le Monde, today, Continue reading
It’s too bad nobody came to Valdosta’s two public budget hearings,
because the city prepared
183 slides with details for each
department, including goals and accomplishments.
On
the LAKE website is that presentation sent on request by City Clerk Teresa Bolden,
and
converted to HTML by LAKE.
Plus the actual budget.
No open records requests were required.
Oh, and Valdosta runs garbage collection on a balanced budget
without any exclusive franchises.
Valdosta News PR 20 June 2013, City Delivers a Balanced Budget: No property tax increase proposed for citizens,
The Valdosta City Council approved the fiscal year 2014 budget for the City of Valdosta at the June 20 City Council meeting, after having the opportunity to hear the proposed budget at the hearings on June 11 and 12. City staff presented the council with a balanced budget, as required by the City Charter, possibly one of the most challenging and difficult budgets prepared in years.
City leaders decreased the overall city budget from $86.2 million to $77.3 million, a result of Continue reading
It’s a win for jobs and clean air and plenty of water in Georgia! Doubled requirements on solar power, and a dozen coal plants shut down.
2, 4, 6, 8, solar power can’t wait!
The astroturf resistance fizzled, while the pro-solar grassroots coalition won. (Pictures of the two demonstrations by Ted Terry.)
525 megawatts more solar power required, on top of last year’s 210 megawatts, for more than 735 MW total. That’s still trailing New Jersey’s already-installed 1,000 MW, but it’s a big step forward.
The vote was either 4 to 1 ( Ray Henry of AP) or 3 to 2 (Georgia Sierra Club tweeting from the Commission chamber). As Ray Henry tweeted:
“All opposed, say aye.” Wait, what? #gapsc
I’m guessing at least one nay vote was Stan Wise, judging by these
@gasierraclub tweets: Continue reading
There’s still time to call in and make your voice heard, (800) 282-5813. The swing vote is the Commissioner for south Georgia, H. Doug Everett. Solar power may win over Georgia Power today.
Greg Bluestein and Kristi E. Swartz wrote for the AJC yesterday,
Solar supporters see rare loss on horizon for Georgia Power,
If Georgia Power says it needs something, it usually gets it. Over the years, state regulators have cleared the way for the utility to land new power plants, more transmission lines and rate increases, often without much heated debate.
Walter C. Jones wrote for jacksonville.com yesterday, PSC likely to require Georgia Power to double its reliance on solar power Thursday Continue reading
More solar for Georgia must be a good thing if AFP is organizing astroturf against it. GA PSC decides Thursday. Like another speaker at GA PSC last month, I don’t think even Bubba McDonald’s proposal to double solar requirements on Georgia Power goes nearly far enough, but at least it’s a start, which is more than Georgia Power will do unless nudged by GA PSC.
Ray Henry wrote for AP yesterday,
Critics’ numbers misleading in Georgia solar fight:
Georgia panel will vote soon on power plan,
A political group founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch wants Georgia’s utility regulators to reject a plan requiring Southern Co. to buy more solar energy, but an Associated Press review finds it has used misleading figures to build its case.
The Georgia chapter of Americans For Prosperity, founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, wants Georgia’s utility regulators to reject a solar energy plan in Georgia. But an Associated Press review ahead of a vote on the issue finds that it has used misleading figures to build its case.
The Georgia chapter of Americans For Prosperity has said in mass e-mails that Continue reading
SO CEO Tom Fanning didn’t budge from nuclear and coal, but he did announce a tiger team to get on top of distributed solar and wind through a smart grid, headed by SO’s COO, at the 22 May 2013 Southern Company Stockholder Meeting.
Mr. John S. Quarterman from Lowndes County, Georgia, and he holds 220 shares of Southern Company.
TF: Hello, John. Good to see you again this year.
jsq: Hi. I’ve come to compliment Tom Fanning and Paul Bowers. Last year, Tom Fanning was so persuasive I ran out and bought $10,000 worth of stock.
TF: Bless you. [Applause]
However,
apparently because of
SO’s admission a few minutes before in that same meeting
that it was going to have to eat Kemper Coal cost overruns,
SO stock tanked that same day,
causing my stock to stop out,
and Standard & Poor’s downgraded SO the following day
because of Kemper Coal, noting that if the same thing happened
with SO’s nuclear project at Plant Vogtle, S&P’s would probably Continue reading
Re-evaluate Plant Vogtle, especially its water use,
and move to efficiency, wind, and solar power instead,
said
Courtney Hanson of
Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (GA WAND)
at
the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013.
She reminded GA PSC Plant Vogtle 3 and 4 are late and over budget, and then:
I want to add my voice to the chorus of folks here who are concerned about water issues.We know that Vogtle 3 and 4 will require an additional withdrawal of as much as 74 million gallons a day from the Savannah River and most of that water will not be returned. We know that the central Savannah River area where Vogtle is located is already very prone to droughts and the plant has been close to shutting down several times due to drought conditions.
Georgia is also already struggling to supply enough water for our homes, businesses, industries, and farms.
In addition, the Savannah River is Continue reading
A German national residing in Georgia asked for a serious effort on energy efficiency and conservation while switching to real renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels and nuclear, at the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013.
She said increasing fires and floods were part of climate change, and we need to do something about it.
I always hear this phrase “growing energy demand” as if it’s something, some matter of fact. A growing economy means growing energy demand, and that means consequently growing waste, growing pollution, growing inequity, and so on. Any thinking person should notice that we need to find a way out. For anyone concerned about our future, business as usual is no longer acceptable. We need drastic changes in our energy supply. We need to use less.
Only a month earlier, Tom Fanning, CEO of Georgia Power’s
parent company Southern Company
reemphasized yet again that
To us, growing the economy is how we’re going to make profit.
Yet GA PSC could do something about that antique attitude, as this speaker pointed out: Continue reading
Glenn Carroll of Nuclear Watch South asked GA PSC to raise the 2 MW solar cap and to get Georgia Power to build solar in Georgia rather than in distant states, plus efficiency and conservation, at the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013.
She said they’d gotten a lot of national attention on Plant Vogtle, which was having a legendary bad year, in procurement, costs, etc. She praised Sierra Club, Georgia Watch, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) for intervening in Georgia Power’s IRP.
The world has changed really really fast and Georgia Power is being isolated. It is protected financially of course because of the small business and residential customers that are covering all of the risks that they are taking. We want solar power here, not Arizona and New Mexico.
She recommended conservation and efficiency programs at Port Angeles, presumably the one in Washington State.
Here’s the video:
Continue reading