Author Archives: admin

WCTV on biomass site VLCIA v. Sterling Planet


Greg Gullberg
WCTV does what VDT dares not:
Greg Gullberg mentioned last year’s biomass protests in the first sentence of this
story about the Industrial Authority threatening to sue Sterling Planet

to get clear title to the former proposed biomass plant site.

Greg Gullberg reported for WCTV yesterday,

Dispute Over Land For Proposed Biomass Plant,


Gullberg and Ricketts

The vocal protests in Valdosta are long gone, but the controversy
over the proposed Biomass plant lingers. This time not for concerns
of health safety, but over the land.

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority plans to sue
Wiregrass Power LLC to end its contract.


Protesters at City Hall

Ban the Burn Go 100% Solar

Ban the Burn Go 100% Solar.

The proposed Biomass Plant was supposed to be a low-cost source of
efficient energy. Supporters say it would have created hundreds of
jobs. But opponents say the health risks include cancer, lung
disease and respiratory disease.


750,000 gallons of water each day

Biomass site plan

750,000 gallons of water each day

Tell me, Col. Ricketts, doesn’t it feel better to be visibly on the side
of the people, instead of having to defend a bad business deal?

Continue reading →

1.5MW solar field near Philadelphia

Far to the north of here, a botanical garden installed
more than a megawatt of solar power a year ago.
Maybe Georgia Power should ask them how it’s done.

PR of 16 June 2011,

LONGWOOD GARDENS COMMISSIONS 10-ACRE SOLAR FIELD:
Installation first step of goal to achieve 3 MW of solar energy by 2018



June 16, 2011, Kennett Square, PA — Longwood Gardens today
commissioned a new, ground-mounted solar field spanning more than 10
acres at the horticultural showplace in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania.

One of the largest examples of clean emission-free energy in the
region, the solar field produces 1.2 MW (megawatts) of power and
will produce 1.5 MW when the final panels are installed in the
coming weeks. The fixed-tilt, 1.5 MW solar installation will produce
enough electricity to offset the usage of approximately 138 average
Pennsylvania homes and reduce Longwood’s annual carbon dioxide
emissions by 1,367 tons.

“We are always looking for ways to advance our sustainable
practices,” said Paul Redman, Longwood Gardens Director.
“It is integral to Longwood’s mission to decrease our
dependence on fossil fuels.” We want to establish best
practices and lead the way in showing communities how to live
responsibly,” said Redman.

Imagine if Georgia Power and Southern Company acted responsibly
and led the way in solar power!

Continue reading →

Changes to Lowndes County’s Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) @ GLPC 2012-08-27

Did you know
last night’s Planning Commission meeting included


a public hearing about changes to the county’s
Unified Land Development Code (ULDC)
related to land disturbances and water quality?
You wouldn’t have found out about that in the agenda,
because

it wasn’t posted anywhere you’d be likely to see it.
(Where does GLPC post the one physical copy of the agenda required by law,
anyway?)


Supposedly it was advertised in the Valdosta Daily Times,
but a search

of Public Notices in Statewide Database of Public Notices from Georgia’s Legal Organ Newspapers
for 1 June 2012 through 27 August 2012 finds nothing.



Here’s what

the agenda item for the 27 August 2012 GLPC meeting
(that we only know about because Gretchen went to that GLPC meeting
and asked County Planner Jason Davenport)
says:

From a procedural standpoint the amendment has been advertised in
the Valdosta Daily Times to fulfill legal requirements. Beyond
legal requirements staff has plans to post this agenda
item and draft ULDC on the Lowndes County Website at
http://www.lowndescounty.com/content.asp?pid=23&id=224. Regarding
staff review of the amendments, the TRC recommended for their approval
at their 08/16 regular meeting.

If you’d happened to look several levels deep on the Lowndes County website
you would have found

that undated announcement:

Continue reading →

Nuclear plant shut for two weeks in Connecticut due to heat

Ever heard of solar panels or windmills shutting down due to heat?
Me, neither.
Nuclear plants, yes, such as Millstone unit 2 in Connecticut,
closed for two weeks.

AP wrote today,

Conn. nuclear plant unit reopens with cooler water

Connecticut's nuclear power plant has returned to full service


nearly two weeks after one of its two units was forced to shut down
because seawater used to cool it down was too warm.


Millstone Power Station spokesman Ken Holt said Monday that Unit 2
returned to 100 percent power Saturday. It shuttered Aug. 12 after
record heat in July contributed to overheated water from Long Island
Sound.

Water is used to cool key components of the plant and is discharged
back into the sound. The water's temperature was averaging 1.7
degrees above the 75-degree limit.

The temperature has since dropped to 72 degrees, Holt said.

"The water temperature cooled sufficiently to support operations and
that, combined with the weather forecast, has given us the
confidence to restart," he said.

Wait, wasn't the whole point of big distributed baseload power plants
supposed to be reliable dependable power?

Millstone provides half of all power in Connecticut and 12 percent
in New England.

Some scientists believe the partial Millstone shutdown was the first
involving a nuclear plant pulling water from an open body of water.
A few nuclear plants that draw water from inland sources have
powered down because of excessively warm water.

Time to think again!
Distributed solar and wind power doesn't have this problem,
and a smart grid can get their power where it's needed.

-jsq

Cleaner energy creates jobs in Iowa

In Iowa they didn’t

whine about cleaner power regulations like Southern Company did,
they went ahead and
got on with it without

dragging their feet for months or years.
Simply complying with the new EPA regulations has created jobs for Iowans.

Matt Kasper wrote for ThinkProgress today,

Pollution Control Retrofit Creates 400 Jobs In Iowa: Project Is
A ‘Win-Win For Iowa’s Economy And Environment’



Alliant Energy in Iowa is celebrating an emission-reduction
technology that will help a power plant meet new standards —
creating 400 jobs in the process. One recent study found that
“EPA’s two new air quality rules create 1.5 million
jobs.”….

The

Ottumwa Courier reported:



“The OGS [Ottumwa Generating Station] project is a win-win for
Iowa’s economy and environment,” said Pat Kampling, president
and CEO of Alliant Energy. “The project at OGS will create
approximately 400 good-paying construction jobs for Iowa’s working
families and foster future economic growth while making Iowa’s air
cleaner.”

Better for public health, better for less climate change,
and better the economy: more jobs for Iowans.

-jsq

Planning Commission meets tonight: no agenda @ GLPC 2012-08-27

This month LAKE didn’t get an agenda from GLPC, but they are meeting
tonight at 5:30 PM.
According to

the City of Valdosta’s calendar,

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Date: 7/30/2012 5:30 PM



Location:

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office

325 W. Savannah Avenue

Valdosta, Georgia 31601



The

Lowndes County Commission’s calendar
does not list this meeting;
it doesn’t list any Planning Commission meetings.
The county website also has no description of GLPC that I can find.
It does get a mention three levels deep, under

Planning.

Valdosta’s

description page for GLPC has the information appended below.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission

Purpose:
The mission of the Greater Lowndes
Planning Commission (GLPC) is to look beyond short-term solutions in
planning for the future of the Greater Lowndes community; to improve the
public health, safety, convenience and welfare; and to provide for the
social, economic and physical development of communities on a sound and
orderly basis, within a governmental framework and economic environment
which fosters constructive growth and efficient administration.

Members:

Continue reading →

VLCIA to sue Sterling Power about biomass site?

I’d heard a rumor that some sort of lawsuit about the biomass site
was the subject of some of the Industrial Authority executive
sessions for real estate discussions.
VLCIA has finally said in public what their position is.

Jason Schaefer wrote for the VDT today,

Authority weighs suit for biomass land:
Slow progress leads to default, contract argument



The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority plans to send a
petition to Lowndes County Superior Court to sue Wiregrass Power,
LLC, for a clear title on the land purchased for the development of
a biomass energy plant.

The Authority believes Wiregrass defaulted on a lease agreement to
build the plant, placing ownership of the 22.22-acre tract back in
their hands, but Wiregrass denies the allegations. This denial casts
“a cloud” of suspicion on the Authority that may prevent
it from re-marketing the property, according to the petition,
leading to the suit.

Sounds like they’re publicizing their intent
to try to scare Sterling off without having to sue.
I’m for that.

This may explain

a flurry of special called meetings they had in May and June 2011.

Continue reading →

LAKE videoing George videoing Gretchen canvassing @ GretchenForLowndes.com 2012-08-25



Gretchen Quarterman

canvassed on Summerlin Street in Valdosta Saturday:

The number one thing we need to do is to make the government
accessible and transparent, so that the business of the people
goes on in public.

Here’s

a video playlist:


LAKE videoing George videoing Gretchen canvassing on Summerlin Street in Valdosta,

Canvassing, Lowndes County Commission (GretchenForLowndes.com),

Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

and by George Boston Rhynes for bostongbr on YouTube,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2012.

Gretchen mentioned she’d been going to County Commission meetings
for about four years now, and thought it was her turn to serve.
George asked why she was canvassing on the west side of Valdosta,
and she answered:



The thing that is important for people to know is that every
single citizen in the county gets to vote,
Whether you live in Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Dasher, Remerton,
or the unincorporated areas.
Every single person who lives in Lowndes County
who is a registered voter gets to vote.



You have until October 8th to register
to vote for the November 6th election.
You can register at the Board of Elections at 2808 North Oak Street,
or there are people going around with forms you can fill in and mail
in or they will hand carry down there.



Participatory media!
Doing what traditional media could do, George Boston Rhynes
interviewed Gretchen Quarterman as she canvassed on
Summerlin Street in Valdosta Saturday.
Doing what traditional media can’t do, I videoed
George videoing Gretchen, and he later videoed me
helping Gretchen canvass.

-jsq

Lowndes County Commission meetings cancelled @ LCC 2012-08-27

Where and when did the preliminary information or discussion happen?
And among whom?
According to
the county's website:

Lowndes County Work & Regular Session Meetings Cancelled (8/28/2012)



Due to lack of agenda items requiring additional information or
discussion, the Lowndes County Work and Regular Session meetings for
August 27-28, 2012, have been cancelled. For more information please
call County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400.



According to

Georgia's new sunshine law modifications,
as explained

by VLCIA's attorney in an open meeting,
open meetings now include any time a quorum discusses business,
even if there was no scheduled meeting.

And if you wanted to address the Commission about a matter
of interest to the public?
Not this week.

The scheduled next meetings on
their calendar are
a Work Session on Monday 10 September 2012
and a Regular Session on Tuesday 11 September 2012.

-jsq

 

Clean streams to attract business —Al Browning



Al Browning of

WWALS
made a point yesterday that I haven’t heard mentioned
by local Chambers of Commerce or economic development agencies:

Suppose there’s a business looking to south Georgia, to move into an area.
They can go to the

Adopt-A-Stream website for that particular area,
and get an idea of where the best water is.
And they may choose… that Berrien County has terrible water;
I’m going to go to Cook County, or Lowndes!

Here’s

the video:

That’s

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream,
which currently doesn’t show any water quality testing sites
for any of those counties, but that could change soon.
Maybe economic development organizations should help it change,
because that lack could be steering businesses elsewhere.

A prominent local economic development appointee asked me last year,

Why would you want absolutely clean ear or water?

Well, businesses considering moving here might want those things
because their employees do.
And their employees might want those things because they
don’t want to get sick.
And besides, who doesn’t like clean air and water?

-jsq