Comparing the Vogtle initial $913 million cost overrun to the capital costs of gas, wind, and solar plants show just how big these cost overruns can be. The Vogtle $913 million cost overrun by itself could have paid for approximately 1,000 megawatts of natural gas generation; 450 megawatts of wind power; and 330 megawatts of solar power.
Don’t forget that’s just the first cost overruns on those nukes. When the current Plant Vogtle nukes were built, there were supposed to be four at a cost of $660 million; only two were built, at a cost of $8.87 billion. That’s a cost overrun of 1300%. How much solar and wind could $8 billion buy?
Moreover, gas, wind, and solar generation could be up and running in 3-years or less from the first day to the last day of development, as opposed to the 10 years or more needed to build a nuclear plant.
A group of nine national environmental groups says that the two new nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle (near Waynesboro in eastern Georgia) are over budget by up to $1 billion dollars. The opponents say Georgia Power’s share of the cost overruns is currently $400 million and that may cost ratepayers as well as taxpayers who are guranteeing loans in the billions of dollars.
The nine environmental groups, Friends of the Earth, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, NC WARN, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Nuclear Watch South, are also suing:
On May 8th, 2012; at 6:00 PM, I (GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES)
was denied the right to address the Quitman-Brooks County School Board of Education. Please not that this was at a public meeting in the State of Georgia under our form of government.
May 14, 2012
George Boston Rhynes (229-251-8645) 5004 Oak Drive Valdsota, Georgia 31605
TO: Brooks County School Board of Education
 (229-263-7532) President Brad Shealy School Superintendent Debra H. Folsom Board Member Robert Lawrence Cunningham III Board Member Mr. Wayne Carroll Jr., Board Member Mr. Gerald Golden Board Member Mr. Joseph Luke Mitchell Board Member Ms. Dennis Monroe Board Member Mr. Frank Thomas PO Box 511 1081 Barwick Road Quitman, Georgia 31643
Moreover, my request was to speak before all members of the school board, parents, local press and others that attends such meetings. However, after three e-mails and several phone calls I was denied this right in the State of Georgia; as a Brooks County Family tax paying property owner.
I served my country for over 20 years and have been involved in civil and human righs since 1975 but have never seen such ill treatment of a United States Citizen wherein it is so diffuculy to address ELECTED and/ SELECTED officials within a state. I did not have this much trouble addressing a military school in Ramstein, Germany.
Again my family owns property in Brooks County (43 acreamust) as you will hear on the video below. However this did not matter to the Brooks County President Brad Shealy and those that get requests to address the school board in Quitman and Brooks County Georgia.
Who voted for that
Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery Rider
that appears on your Georgia Power bill,
charging you for electricity you won't get from the new plant Vogtle
nukes for years?
Compliments to all who voted Nay to this stealth tax
that is slowing down deploying renewable energy in Georgia,
delaying the solar and wind clear path to jobs and energy independence.
Georgia Power customers can also
vote against CWIP with their bill payments.
First let's look at our local delegation:
District
Who
Party
Voted
8
Sen. Tim Golden
Turncoat
Yea
174
Rep. Ellis Black
Turncoat
Yea
175
Rep. Amy Carter
Turncoat
Yea
176
Rep. Jay Shaw
Democratic
Yea
Every one of our local delegation voted for the CWIP rate hike.
Here "Turncoat" as a party indicates they were Democrats at the time,
but since got re-elected as a Democrat in 2010 and then became Republicans
after the election.
Democrat Jay Shaw did not run again.
His son Jason Shaw ran as a Republican and won.
Project Vote Smart is a bit confused by that, and by the party switching,
so I've corrected those points in these lists.
Why do the Yeaers want to let Georgia Power charge its customers for
electricity they won't get for years, if ever?
Also, notice every Democratic and one Republican co-sponsor of SB-31
is out of office.
Don Balfour (GA – R)
J.B. Powell (GA – D) (Out Of Office)
Chip Rogers (GA – R)
Mitchell W. 'Mitch' Seabaugh (GA – R) (Out Of Office)
Ed Tarver (GA – D) (Out Of Office)
Thorborn 'Ross' Tolleson Jr. (GA – R)
Hm, maybe voting for that nuke boondoggle wasn't good politics….
Cook county schools have a budget shortfall problem, and they think they can solve it only by furloughing teachers. Remind me again why we're wasting $1 billion a year on prisons, including private prisons for the profit of private prison shareholders and executives (like CCA CEO Damon Hininger's $3 million a year) and we're furloughing teachers instead?
The Cook County School System is facing a $472,352 deficit. Superintendent Lance Heard tells Eyewitness News reporter Greg Gullberg that the only way out may be to initiate system-wide furlough days and cutting jobs.
"We've done everything we can to maintain the level of education for the students that we've always had and we think we've been able to do that," said Superintendent Heard.
Nothing is set in stone yet, but 488 teachers, staff and administrators, may be facing furlough days next school year. Superintendent Heard hopes to limit them to three to five per employee.
"I would like to say also that when we do take furlough days, they are always none instructional days. The students do not miss any school," said Superintendent Heard.
Yet. Keep on in this direction and the students will be missing school. As it is, they just get less-prepared teachers, for less-effective teaching. But this is not Supt. Heard's fault.
Do we in Georgia want to prepare students for jail, or to succeed in life? Prisons cost we the taxpayers lots of money. Successful young people help pay for everything. Maybe we should choose successful young people, starting with education.
Here are videos of the entire 11:11 minute 24 April 2012 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission. They time at 0:57 (before call to order; doesn’t count), 0:42 (mostly dead air), 0:33 (invocation and pledge: not business), 0:29, 0:37, 0:40, 0:10, 0:46, 1:09, 0:46, 0:53, 1:22, 2:08, 1:30, and 0:08: eleven minutes and eleven seconds total. And that’s including the invocation and pledge and the two citizens who spoke (3:38 for those last two). It would seem a good guess that the Commissioners and staff discussed more in the previous morning’s work session, but not really; you can see for yourself.
A Commissioner asked a question! Before they accepted a bid for mowing Bemiss Road, Joyce Evans wanted an explanation of the timeframe of the cutting of the grass. Public Works Director Robin English wanted to know work time or response time? County Manager Joe Pritchard and somebody else simultaneously said “response time”. Hm, how did they know that? In what open meeting was that question previously raised? Also, Pritchard demonstrated he could speak into the microphone and be heard when he wanted to. English clarified the response times quoted by the bidders, and Evans moved to go with the low bidder, which the Commissioners approved, unanimously as usual.
Videos, Regular Session Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 April 2012. Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
Here are videos of the entire ten and a half minute 23 April 2012 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission. As you can see, these videos time at 1:01, 0:33, 0:44, 1:07, 1:45, 1:40, 0:33, 2:59, and 0:10, and that’s with a camera that stops and starts almost instantaneously. Those times add up to 10 minutes and 32 seconds. Is that adequate discussion for the county’s business?
Finance Director Stephanie Black said the county sent out an RFP for banking services to local banks. Three responded, and one was incomplete. The two complete bids were Regions Bank and SunTrust. Regions will waive charges with $6M balance; SunTrust will waive charges $2.8M balance.
On the FDIC charge, Regions will charge .135 per thousand dollars; SunTrust is waiving that.
She said that was currently about $3500 or $4500 per month. Commissioner Powell asked who they were currently using. Answer: Regions. There’s more in the video, and there was a written report the Commissioners were looking at.
Apparently the county’s own water isn’t good enough for Commissioners and staff,
Continue reading →
Instead of arbitrating a fixed-size LOST pie, what if Lowndes County and the local cities worked on increasing the size of the pie through broadband? It’s not just Chattanooga, 100 other municipalities have done it.
Chattanooga is not alone; more than 100 cities and towns have built their own broadband networks. The city of Lafayette, Louisiana offers probably the best deal for broadband in the nation: ten megabits symmetrical for less than $30/month. For non-geek readers, it is actually faster than my home Comcast connection at less than half the price. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has just released a new report detailing how Chattanooga and Lafayette built their networks.
Hm, Valdosta and Lowndes County don’t seem to be on that map. Yet. We don’t have to wait for VLCIA to organize this; there are other ways.
Here are videos of the entire 30 January 2012 Regular Session of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC). You’ll have to figure out what they’d doing, because they don’t post agendas or minutes.
Videos Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 30 January 2012. Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
Whatever happened to the agendas and minutes of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) that used to be on the SGRC website? Gretchen asked at the January GLPC meeting whether they would be posted again. The chair said he didn't know. County Planner Jason Davenport added:
The regional commission used to do the minutes on the website for us. We have the minutes. Ms Gretchen, if you'll email us, we have the ability to email those minutes back to you, but we don't have plans right now to put those minutes back on the web.
The chair suggested "Maybe at some point in the future would be good." Jason Davenport reiterated that they had no plans to do that.
Minutes on website? Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 30 January 2012. Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).
That's similar to what he told me by email back on 28 November 2011:
Last year the agreement between the SGRC and the various local governments regarding the GLPC responsibilities changed. This website is a result of those changes. I have your request and will plan on getting direction and clarification about how to deal with these types of requests.
Comparing the Vogtle initial $913 million cost overrun to the capital costs of gas, wind, and solar plants show just how big these cost overruns can be. The Vogtle $913 million cost overrun by itself could have paid for approximately 1,000 megawatts of natural gas generation; 450 megawatts of wind power; and 330 megawatts of solar power.
Austin Energy’s new 30 MW solar farm, for example, approved beginning of 2009, opened end of 2011, and cost less than originally projected.
