Today is the first
Hahira Southern Village Market Day,
Vendors, food, and live music, 5-8PM!
This happens every Third Thursday in downtown Hahira.
If you come in from I-75 or Valdosta, you’ll see these signs:
Continue readingCategory Archives: Economy
Videos of GA PSC on Georgia Power coal plant closings @ GA PSC 2013-06-18
Videos of the morning part of the 18 June 2013 Georgia Public Service Commission
Administrative Session,
which was mostly about two Georgia Power dockets
on closing coal plants
and future energy,
plus a
telecommunications rules docket.
First they had a lengthy
devotional on Joseph sold into slavery to the Egyptians (Georgia Power
probably didn’t like being referred to in that manner).
There was a sign posted outside the door:
do not enter; devotional in progress.
Chairman Eaton finally started the meeting with Continue reading
Rep. Rusty Kidd urged GA PSC to ask GA Power for solar to replace coal Plant Branch @ GA PSC 2013-06-18
First public witness about the GA Power 2013 IRP at the
the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013.
GA Rep. Rusty Kidd district 145, who argued for more solar power.
Rep. Kidd noted
coal Blant Branch closing
would have substantial economic effect on Putnam County.
He said one of his friends was selling his house on Lake Sinclair
because he knew Putnam County taxes would be going up.
Rep. Kidd urged the Commission to have Georgia Power use
the land of Plant Branch for solar energy.
He also noted that the more coal plants that closed,
the more natural gas would have a monopoly,
and then he expected the price of natural gas to go up.
So he concluded by urging GA PSC to have Georgia Power
put solar power on the Plant Branch property in the near future.
Here’s the video: Continue reading
Telecommunications rules and rates @ GA PSC 2013-06-18
Telecommunications rules and rates were deferred and scheduled at the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013.
First item on the regular agenda was
Docket # 35537
Title: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Promulgate Rules Governing Eligible Telecommunications Carriers 515-12-1-.35
There was lengthy discussion about the database provision and the
$5 minimum charge in those rules.
Commissioner Wise didn’t like the database as proposed and asked
for an indefinite hold until they had a database that was verifiable.
Commissioner Echols asked whether the current proposal would be like
a hold anyway, since it would involve another hearing. Staff said yes.
Commissioner Everett asked Continue reading
GA PSC to require twice as much solar from Georgia Power? @ GA PSC 2013-06-18
Commissioner McDonald wants twice as much solar power from Georgia Power,
while Commissioner Stan Wise asked questions leading to Georgia Power
maybe saying that would cost more, yesterday at the Georgia Public
Service Commission in Atlanta.
Doubling from 271 megawatts planned to more than 500 MW would be good;
at least that’s a start on
catching up to New Jersey’s already-installed 1,000 MW.
Jacksonville.com reported today, Georgia Power tells regulators adding solar generation will cost consumers more: PSC Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald wants Georgia Power to double solar generation, Continue reading
Nine projects in the pipeline @ VLCIA 2013-06-18
Content two months running
in VLCIA agendas!
And the potential project list is up from six to nine.
Here’s the agenda:
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial AuthorityContinue reading
Agenda, Tuesday June 18, 2013 5:30 p.m.
Industrial Authority Conference Room
2110 N. Patterson Street
How to make a rural economy desirable: beyond retirees
Basing a local economy on attracting retirees may not work so well anymore. Fortunately, there are plenty of things we can do here to provide jobs for our graduates and to attract non-retirees.
Jim Galloway wrote for the AJC Saturday, Rural areas a less populated place as Baby Boomers shy away,
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau issued 2012 population estimates showing that, for the first time ever, the rural population of America has suffered a measureable drop.
“First time ever”? I guess Galloway has never heard of Continue reading
Solar power in Japan to equal 7 nukes by end of this year
A Japanese feed-in tariff apparently provoked an explosion of solar power, making Japan head up towards China and Germany in installed solar power. Where is the U.S.? Where is Georgia, with much more sun than Japan? Maybe there is something more to learn from Fukushima after all, SO CEO Tom Fanning.
Michael Fitzpatrick wrote for Fortune 13 June 2013, Japan: The world’s new star in solar power; China and Germany have new competition at the top,
According to a report by energy analyst IHS on Japan’s energy mix, Japan’s solar installations jumped by “a stunning 270% (in gigawatts) in the first quarter of 2013.” That means by the end of 2013 there will be enough new solar panels equal to the capacity of seven nuclear reactors. Such massive growth will allow Japan to surpass Germany and become the world’s largest photovoltaics (PV) market in terms of revenue this year.
PV cell production and shipment (GWp) in Japan: Total (orange), Export (green), and Domestic (blue)
しばとも
How did this happen? Continue reading
More new nukes to stop: Vogtle, Summer, and 15 more
Although TVA’s Bellefonte nuke will never come up, others are still being built, including TVA’s own Watts Bar, plus 19 more.
Document-forging Doosan-supplied Vogtle 2 and 3 in Georgia and Summer 2 and 3 in South Carolina are the only four actually already issued combined licences (COL) to build and operate.
But 15 other proposed new reactors are “Under Review”, and all the ones in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are within 500 miles of here: Continue reading
TVA Bellefonte nuke won’t be built
Economics stopped another reactor, this time in Alabama, less than a week after San Onofre. But more are still in the works.
Brian Wingfield wrote for Bloomberg Businessweek yesterday,
TVA Shelves Work at Alabama Nuclear Plant Amid Industry Struggle,
“Over the past few months, TVA has been looking across the company, including at our nuclear construction projects, to determine the work that is most important to perform,” Mike Skaggs, the TVA senior vice president for nuclear construction, said in the statement. “Hard decisions are necessary.”
The U.S. nuclear industry is wrestling with competition from a glut of natural gas, which has lowered its price and made the fuel more attractive for electric utilities. At the same time, U.S. regulators are writing safety rules following a triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in 2011.
The fracking backlash is building against natural gas. And guess what’s even cheaper? Continue reading