![](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/5724944062_5265ac309c_m.jpg)
Col. Allan Ricketts introduced Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar.
Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading
Col. Allan Ricketts introduced Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar.
Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading
Yogi said, and I quote:A very good point.In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.…I thought about that quote because solar power at one time was a theory, and now it’s in practice.
(This is also where Sonny Murphy got the idea to quote Yogi Berra.)
Sen. Golden mentioned that he and Sonny Murphy grew up with Gov. Nathan Deal.
He said he met Pete Marte of Hannah Solar at the governor’s office
the previous day, at the signing of HB 346, which includes solar tax credits.
That’s the bill that
Wes Hudson said
“extends the renewable energy tax credit to the year ending Dec. 31,
2014, and for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 it newly expands the total
statewide credit amount from $2.5 million to $5 million in each of the
years 2012-2014.”
Sen. Golden once again said we’d gone from theory to practice.
He lauded Jimmy Carter for putting solar panels on the White House Continue reading
Note “one of the largest solar arrays in Georgia” instead of Mayor Fretti’s “the largest array in the state of Georgia”. This is because Pete Marte of Hannah Solar had to correct what the mayor said. But the mayor promised to make this one bigger if somebody else leapfrogged it, so time to get cracking!
Back to the WCTV article:
The $1.4 million Wiregrass Solar project was built on two acres of land, which will produce 350-thousand kilowatts per hour of electricity annually for the next 30 years.Indeed!On average that will come out to about nine cents per kilowatt hour.
The city says solar is the future and on Thursday it lit the way.
There are 1,100 solar panels here, but organizers say the most surprising part is it took 18 months to find financing, but it only took five days to build.Funny how the biomass plant has taken even longer to not find financing, and still is nowhere near even starting building, if it ever gets there. Expanding the solar array as the mayor said we would sounds a lot more practical.If you’re wondering what made Valdosta such a popular spot to build the solar arrays, the company, Hannah Solar says it was the attraction of the Wiregrass Biomass plant and…
“The second is the sun. We get some incredible sun down here in Valdosta and it’s a longer solar day because we’re farther south,” said Hannah Solar CEO Pete Marte.
-jsq
After lauding his class of Leadership Lowndes over others, Mayor Fretti complimented various local organizations and said:
…not only that it has a good quality of life, it has the infrastructure that is needed for industrial recruitment, but that you will be successful when you locate in Valdosta-Lowndes County, and I think Hannah Solar is evidence of that.All true, and note which comes first: “a good quality of life.”
Mayor Fretti quoted the first law of thermodynamics (conservation and conservation of energy) and remarked:
But now we have some energy sources in our area that we can take advantage of. Unfortunately we don’t have an ocean for tidal power. Unfortunately we don’t have geothermal as much as other areas of the country.That’s all good stuff, except this wasn’t the biggest solar array in the state even the last time Mayor Fretti stood on the same spot and said the same thing.We do have sunlight. Certainly not as much as some areas of the country, but we have an abundance enough that we could put out what is currently the largest array in the state of Georgia.
Maybe he (and everyone) should double-check what VLCIA tells him.
Brad Lofton knew Continue reading
Continue readingI asked VLCIA Board member Roy Copeland afterwards whether this means the biomass incinerator is STILL going to be built? He shrugged and walked away.
Karen Noll asked Allan Ricketts what does this mean, since we all
heard Lowndes County Commission Chairman Paulk give us a very different scenario at the last LCC meeting, and his remarks were covered in the Valdosta Daily Times. Mr. Ricketts said he was not aware of Chairman Paulk’s remarks.
About solar, he praised Hannah Solar for perseverance: Continue reading
When: 11:30 AM Thursday 12 May 2011This is according to Donna Holland, Clerical Assistant, who answered the telephone at VLCIA just now when I called to inquire.
Where: 1626 New Statenville Road/GA 94
adjacent to Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
Where is that? Well, here’s where the Mud Creek plant is. 1626 New Statenville Highway appears to be the postal address for the same plant. Here’s a map: Continue reading
Let me see if I got this right:Continue readingWhat sense would it make
- The week before the last meeting of the Industrial Authority (IA) Wiregrass Biomass LLC sent a letter to the IA asking for an extension of the agreement to build the biomass incinerator. (June 1, 2011, is the current deadline.)
- Based on comments made by Chairman Paulk and others, all indications were that the IA may have been ready to vote down such an application for an extension of the agreement.
- However, the vote on biomass never came up at the IA meeting, and as a matter of fact, biomass wasn’t even discussed, as it was not even on the agenda. Apparently a few hours before the IA meeting, “biomass” (or a vote on the extension of the agreement with Wiregrass Biomass LLC) was removed from the agenda.
- This change of events (i.e. the removal of a vote on biomass) was based on an initiative by Mr. Jennett (Chair of the IA board), Mr. Ricketts (Project Manager of the IA) and Mr. Gupton (the IA lawyer) who went to Atlanta to have a little chat with Wiregrass Biomass LLC (or Sterling Planet).
- As a result of that talk, Wiregrass Biomass LLC withdrew their application for an extension of the agreement. Thus, there was no contract (or an extension of a contract) to vote on at the last IA meeting.
Mike Ward wrote 30 April in the Austin American-Statesman, Lawmakers chafe as push continues to privatize prison health care
![]()
“There is a push on to change the system we have, a system that is cost-effective and is a national model, even before we know whether there will be any real savings,” said House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, R-Richardson .
“I think it’s something we should look at, to see what the real facts are, but I don’t think we should be rushing to a decision right now about this,” Madden said. “Most of the Legislature, I believe, think(s) that a decision this big — whether the system should be privatized — is one that we should make, not some board or agency.”
The American-Statesman first reported the privatization efforts in March and that top aides to Gov. Rick Perry have been involved in some of the meetings with vendors and lobbyists.
More from the article: Continue reading
Continue readingI was at the last LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING when Chairman Ashley Paulk shared information about the Biomass Project extension being denied and the alleged secrecy surrounding keeping the general public ignorant.
“Because certain people won’t share with you and I think it’s unfair. We were approached about three weeks ago, Mr. (Joe) Pritchard (County Manager) was, by the Industrial Authority, and we were tentatively asked to make a move to ask that they not extend the contract.” (Chairman Paulk!)Chairman Paulk words prove that there is an apparent pattern and practice