Category Archives: Economy

Nuclear an economic boon despite high costs –Tim Echols

Some of the “stuff” that happened before and after GA PSC Tim Echols cheered nuclear Friday.

GA Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols wrote in the Athens Banner-Herald Friday Echols: Nuclear power can be economic boon to Southeast,

Just when we thought nuclear power might be on a comeback, well, stuff happened. Only time will tell if Georgia and South Carolina can “jump-start” a nuclear renaissance. Let’s hope we can, because low-cost base-load energy — the amount of electricity available 24 hours a day — is a key to economic growth.

Stuff like this happened:

EDF exits nuclear, focuses on solar and wind

EDF is moving to solar and wind, despite its excuse of shale gas for leaving the U.S. nuclear market. EDF already has almost twice as much solar and wind in the U.S., 2.3 gigawatts, as the 1.2 gigawatts Southern Company plans by 2016. Maybe this means Calvert Cliffs is finally dead maybe along with NRC’s attempt to change foreign ownership rules to accomodate EDF. EDF is the operator of France’s fleet of nuclear reactors, including caught-on-fire Cattenom and many others that drain over-hot water into French rivers in the summer.

Reuters in Climate Spectator 31 July 2013 EDF exits US nuclear, focuses on renewables,

French utility EDF, the world’s biggest operator of nuclear plants, is pulling out of nuclear energy in the United States, bowing to the realities of a market that has been transformed by cheap shale gas.

Several nuclear reactors in the US have been closed or are being shuttered as utilities baulk at the big investments needed to extend their lifetimes Continue reading →

Duke ends Levy County nuke

No nukes in Levy County, Florida, Duke Energy just announced, six months after it terminated Crystal River 3.

Terminating the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement for the Levy nuclear project.

Duke is also going to write off $295 million in investments in already-closed Crystal River 3 “and $65 million related to the wholesale allocation of investments in the Levy nuclear project, as well as accelerate the recovery of $135 million in cash flows related to CR3.” In other words, Duke still wants somebody else to pay for part of Crystal River 3’s debts. But Crystal River 3 and Levy County 1 and 2 will never be built.

Duke PR today, Duke Energy reaches revised multi-year settlement with Florida consumer advocates, Continue reading →

The Economist answers Paul Bowers about carbon tax

Back in May someone asked Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers what he thought about a carbon tax, and he answered, “Why would anyone want that?” The Economist answered his question, 29 June 2013, Tepid, timid: The world will one day adopt a carbon tax—but only after exhausting all the alternatives,

Winston Churchill famously said America would always do the right thing after exhausting the alternatives. The right thing in climate You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they ve tried everything else. --Winston Churchill policy for all the big countries is a carbon tax, which is simpler and less vulnerable to fluctuations in emissions than cap-and-trade schemes. For years, such a tax has been a non-starter politically. But as the alternatives are tested to destruction, it deserves to be looked at again. Current environmental policies will not keep the rise in global temperatures to below 2°C—the maximum that most climate scientists think safe. A carbon tax, if stiff enough, could. Big polluters should assume that such a tax will one day arrive, and start planning for it now.

Dear Paul Bowers,

Stop being tepid and timid. Go beyond Continue reading →

County setting parks legacy –April Huntley

LTE in the VDT today. -jsq

I would like to inform the community that the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners has announced their “Consideration of Proposed List” for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII on July 22-23, 2013. It can be viewed on LowndesCounty.com.

The part of the budget that is most impressive to me is the allocation to Parks & Recreation. Its allocation is 3.5 million dollars. We need good recreation for our families in Lowndes County and to me this number sounds like our county commissioners take it serious.

I would also like to send out a big thank you to the commissioners for putting a Community Center in Naylor and a boat ramp on the Alapaha River as part of the purpose for the Parks and Recreation allocation.

Lowndes County needs public access to the beautiful Alapaha River as residents have enjoyed the river for generations. I hope the community will come together over this project and create a legacy for generations to come. Please send thank yous, ideas and comments to the commission about the Naylor project:

Continue reading →

2013 Southern Hospitality Workcamp was a huge success –Tim Carroll

Received today. -jsq

All,

I want to share some good news from our recent Mayor Council public hearing —

The 2013 Southern Hospitality Workcamp was a huge success. This program, now in its’ 8th year brought 212 young “campers” from around the country into our community.

They made badly needed repairs to 18 owner occupied homes. This brings the total number of homes repaired to 275. Lowes RDC once again stepped up and provided all the materials for which we are truly grateful.

The value of the labor and materials now is in excess of $1.5M. I also want to say thank you to the Valdosta City School system for once again opening up Valdosta Middle to house the campers during their stay.

The joy I witnessed in these home owners faces was especially touching. The hard work of Continue reading →

Flooding again at Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant

Third major spill this year, after March by Valdosta and April by Lowndes County. Or did I forget some? Lookout, Florida!

Eames Yates wrote for WCTV today, Nearly Eight Million Gallons Of Raw Sewage… Straight Into Area River,

Almost eight million gallons of raw sewage flooded here at the plant and made it’s way directly into the Withlacoochee River. Which is about a half mile away. Which makes the city’s plans to relocate this plant all the more relevant.

Since the beginning of this year more than Continue reading →

Planning Commission considers huge subdivision near Moody AFB @ GLPC 2013-07-29

Remember last year when the Chamber helped mobilize opposition to a subdivision outside Moody’s front gate and won? Well, here’s another, and it’s not 23.49 acres this time, it’s 123.45 acres even closer to the runways, and from MAZ-I to P-D. Plus a proposed 64.92 acre development on (apparently 4958) Val Del Road for “Moody Family”. That’s always the excuse, isn’t it? More houses for Moody, nevermind whether Moody wants or needs them. With all the vacant houses already in the county, we don’t need them.

Here’s the agenda:

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission


Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING

AGENDA

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Tuesday, July 29, 2013* 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing
Continue reading →

Community Assessment Group and Internet access @ LCC 2013-07-22

Valdosta Mayor Gayle was standing next to the video ghetto after the county’s rather rudimentary SPLOST VII presentation Monday morning, so I asked him why I hadn’t seen anything about Internet access either Valdosta’s or Lowndes County’s SPLOST lists? He said that was because it was being handled by the Community Assessment Group (CAG). What’s that?

Mayor Gayle said CAG is a group of representatives from the county and all the local cities, the two school districts (Valdosta and Lowndes County), VSU, Wiregrass Tech, the Industrial Authority, the Chamber, and he may have said others. It’s an attempt at better local cooperation, specifically about issues that cross all the various local governmental and non-governmental groups. So far they’ve had two meetings, Continue reading →

SPLOST VII county list @ LCC 2013-07-22

Not quite most of the money for roads, streets, and bridges (none of them named to the public), plus everything from animals to public safety, in the county’s SPLOST VII list. But don’t be alarmed: it contains no new library and no new auditorium, and the Chairman referred to it as a “back to basics” list. It also contains nothing about Internet access; more on that in a separate post. You can be told about this list tomorrow night or at a forthcoming joint county-cities public telling: no town hall meetings have yet been scheduled. These videos and slides are from this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

5. Special Presentation & Consideration — Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII

There was something new in what Joe Pritchard said:

Commissioners each had an opportunity for independent review and evaluation.

That’s better than the county tradition of the staff write down the list and Commissioners rubber-stamp it. However, where are those town hall meetings Commissioner Joyce Evans promised? She reminded me afterwards that she had said “hopefully”. Mayor Gayle told me afterwards the problem was they were too close to the deadline for turning in the lists for the election. He indicated that was because the county was late. Remember Valdosta already presented its list 9 July 2013. Rumor has it the delay was in some Commissioners insisting on actually having input. That’s a good thing, but if the county planned ahead, there still would have been time for the rest of us to provide input before the lists were finalized.

The slides presented say they’re also available on the county’s website, but I don’t see them there, so I’m posting stills from the LAKE video here.

Continue reading →