Tag Archives: Valdosta

Solar SAVE goes to SGA about fossil fuels @ VSU

SAVE‘s fossil fuel divestment request made the front page of The Spectator at VSU, and Danielle Jordan of SAVE was pullquote about fossil fuels in another front page story, about solar panels on the Odum Library. The student government didn’t vote to support SAVE’s request, but many senators said they didn’t understand the subject and the student government asked to get educated about fossil fuels and divestment.

Jordan Barela and Von Kennedy wrote for The Spectator 24 October 2013, Solar panels bring green energy to Odum,

VSU is moving in a greener direction.

A solar canopy was recently built behind Odum Library.

“We cannot address climate change without decreasing our dependency on fossil fuels and solar is one way we could change that.”
—Danielle Jordan

The canopy is a 10 kilowatt solar array. The canopy produces energy that goes directly to Odum Library, and does not go to the Georgia Power grid.

Construction of the solar canopy began in September, and was finished earlier this month.

“It is exciting,” Danielle Jordan, president of Students Against Violating the Environment, said. “We cannot address climate change without decreasing our dependency on fossil fuels and solar is one way we could change that.”

The solar panels were manufactured by Continue reading →

Columbus against Georgia Power solar tariff

Getting an earful across the state about that proposed solar rate hike: Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission, first in Savannah, then in Columbus.

Mike Owen wrote for the Ledger-Enquirer 21 October 2013, Georgia Public Service Commission: Public decries Georgia Power rate hike, solar power fee,

A crowd of about 50 people gave Georgia Public Service Commission Chairman Chuck Eaton an earful Monday night concerning a proposed Georgia Power rate hike and controversial proposal to charge solar power users a new fee.

At a public hearing in the auditorium of the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, Eaton heard several audience members call the rate hike “bad business practice” and “unconscionable,” while calling the solar proposal “a step backward” and a “disincentive” for modern, clean technology.

At issue is a two-pronged proposal before the PSC. Georgia Power is asking the commissioners to approve a $482 million rate hike that would add almost $100 a year to average residential electric bills, said Seth Gunning, an organizer for the Sierra Club of Georgia, one of the meeting’s sponsors. It [Georgia Power] is also asking the PSC to allow it to levy a fee on those who install solar panels on their homes or businesses.

The story continues with Continue reading →

Sabal Trail pipeline preliminary filing with FERC

Look at the other company names in this filing: Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco), Florida Southeast Connection, LLC (FSC), and Merjent, Inc. And another one, since filer Lisa A. Connolly is listed by Spectra as with Gulfstream Natural Gas System, LLC. Oh, and she’s also General Manager, Spectra Energy Transmission, according to Center for Houston’s Future. United Way of Houston says she’s General Manager, Rates & Certificates for the Spectral puppet master, Spectra Energy.

All three shells, Sabal Trail, Transco, and FSC, are hoping to get a common environmental rubberstamp with Merjent ghost-writing their Spectral document:

Transco- and FSC-sponsored projects are requesting separate pre-filing reviews. However, you have indicated that these three projects are connected actions and, as such, my staff will perform a single environmental review of these projects and will prepare one environmental impact statement that addresses all three projects….
My staff has reviewed the proposals submitted for the selection of one third-party contractor to assist us in preparing the National Environmental Policy Act documentation required for the Sabal Trail, Transco, and FSC Projects. We have selected Merjent, Inc. (Merjent) as the third-party contractor to work under the direct supervision and control of the Commission staff for all three projects. I request that you, Transco and FSC proceed with executing a contract with Merjent so work may begin as soon as possible.

FERC file list for PF14-1 and text of the letter: Continue reading →

Solar tariff damaging to solar growth in Georgia –GSEA

GSEA PR of yesterday about Georgia Power’s attempt to tax rooftop solar generators. Proposed Solar Tariff Unfair and Damaging to Solar Growth in Georgia,

Atlanta, GA — The Georgia Solar Energy Association Chairman Mark Bell said today that the tariff on solar installations proposed in the Georgia Power rate request now under consideration by the Public Service Commission is unfair to solar customers.

The tariff, which will add roughly $22 a month to residential solar customers’ bills beginning in 2014, will have a significant “chilling effect” on the robust growth of solar development now under way in Georgia. Solar investment currently is providing jobs and new infrastructure throughout the state, including its rural areas where economic investment is badly needed. Solar energy is making Georgia farms more cost-effective and productive, and high-demand manufacturing more efficient.

“This proposal penalizes solar at the exclusion of other energy saving methods, which Georgia Power supports. Georgia Power has traditionally Continue reading →

Dominion buying up solar projects

A Virginia electric utility bought a solar project near Georgia Power’s nuclear plant Vogtle, and has been busily buying up four more, in Indiana and Connecticut. The Georgia electric customer is recent coal-to-solar convert Cobb EMC, not Georgia Power. This is the same Dominion Power that got Virginia to legalize its “standby charge” of a monthly fee for individuals to connect solar to its grid. Is Dominion trying to beat Edison Electric’s warning of the disruptive challenge of rooftop solar by building large solar plants? If so, it’s a start, with quite a few construction jobs. And all of this new solar power is expected to be online this year, a lot faster than nuclear….

Dominion says of its Azalea Solar Power Facility:

Dominion announced on March 1, 2013, that it has acquired a solar energy development project in Georgia from Smart Energy Capital and Jacoby Development. The expected start of commercial operations is Dec. 1, 2013. (> View our news release for complete details.)

Dominion’s Azalea Solar Power Facility is planned to produce approximately 7.7 megawatts (AC) using photovoltaic technology. Dominion will select a contractor and oversee the construction of the project. The 40-acre project is located on Continue reading →

Pipeline complaints heard at Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2013-10-22

You don’t see this every day. After several citizens spoke in the Commission meeting against the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline and asked for the Lowndes County Commission to help them, four Commissioners stayed afterwards to listen to citizens:

L-R: Tim Bland, a citizen who spoke in the meeting, Joyce Evans (District 1), Matthew Woody (VDT), John Page (District 4), Bill Slaughter (Chairman), Carol Singletary, Demarcus Marshall (District 5), and other citizens.
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2013.

Richard Raines (District 2) left quickly, saying he didn’t feel well.

Crawford Powell (District 3) spent the same time talking to County Engineer Mike Fletcher (who was at the Spectra meeting a week ago) about what could be done. There are things the county can ask for, and maybe get, that individual citizens cannot so easily accomplish.

Video of the Commission meeting will follow, including the citizens speaking.

-jsq

Spectra Energy fined $15 million for PCB spills at 89 pipeline sites –EPA

Those PHMSA fines weren’t the half of Spectra Energy’s leaks and environmental violations. Do we want a record-EPA-fined pipeline company running PCBs through our counties? Don’t we have enough PCBs in the ADS landfill in Lowndes County that’s in a recharge zone for the aquifer we all drink out of? Haven’t we already imported enough hazardous wastes from the Seven Out Superfund site in Waycross? Maybe the Lowndes County Commission should hear about these things tonight.

L.A. Times, 21 October 1989, Pipeline Firm to Pay Record EPA Fine, Continue reading →

Spectra pipeline property damage and safety record

Sabal Trail Transmission reps promise us their pipeline will be safe, but their parent company Spectra Energy has had twenty one incidents since 2006 for $8,564,246 in property damage, according to PHMSA, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

That Final Order of 21 December 2012 to Spectra CEO Gregory L. Ebel for $134,500 for violating both federal regulations and Spectra’s own internal company policies was only a in the flaming bucket. Another, marked in red as MAT’L/WELD/EQUIP FAILURE, PUMP/COMPRESSOR-RELATED EQUIPMENT for $251,170 in property damage on 13 March 2012 in Marietta, York County, Pennsylvania, could be related to that compressor incident Spectra first said was nothing. Most of the others are about “internal corrosion” such as a Spectra employee says they never bothered to check for.

Here’s the current list of incidents from PHMSA, no doubt each with its own sordid story:

Serious Incidents are denoted in red.
Continue reading →

Videos: Health, insurance, library, and alcohol @ LCC 2013-10-21

Vice Chair Richard Raines ran the work session, calling the meeting to order and moving briskly through the first item (minutes for approval). Commissioners asked questions on most of the other items. -gretchen

In the Library item Commissioners discovered even they didn’t get the whole board packet. After the meeting, Gretchen filed an open records request for the agenda packet, but if the county runs true to form she won’t get it until after they vote in the Regular Session tomorrow evening at 5:30 PM. Insurance plan and health plan took more than 20 minutes, with many questions from Commissioners.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2^nd Floor

Continue reading →

Striping and citing @ LCC 2013-10-08

Catching up with the Regular Session of 8 October 2013, why is the county going to pay $150/month for a traffic signal and $2200/month for offramp lighting (both at Exit 22, North Valdosta Road) when they could install solar panels and batteries once and pay nothing ongoing?

They tabled Nottinghill like the Planning Commission did. They voted to let Barrington subdivision sprawl into the county with no conditions, taking staff’s recommendation instead of one about a fence by the Planning Commission.. They voted to rotate the mostly ceremonial Vice Chairman position every eight months. They decided on a price for tentants in the Leila Ellis Building and will get around to drawing up a lease agreement. Commissioners finally did get that list of roads for striping. Fiddling changes to percentages evidence for juvenile justice and hardware and software for fining people coming off of I-75.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes. See also videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2^nd Floor