Category Archives: Sterling Planet

Shell companies: Adage and Wiregrass Power LLC



Look through the shell companies like Adage to the real backers.
Why is the source of

the recent news about Adage biomass
plants

being cancelled
the Charlotte Business Journal?
Adage is “An Areva/Duke Energy advanced biopower company.”
And Charlotte is where Duke Energy is based.

John Downey concludes

his article in the Charlotte Business Journal of 16 March 2011:

The joint venture has yet to build a biomass plant anywhere. DePonty
says it is clear that Adage will not achieve the goal announced when
Duke and Areva formed it to build 10 to 12 biomass plants around the
country by 2013.

Seems like the biomass gold rush is fizzling.



Meanwhile, back in Valdosta, Wiregrass Power LLC,
the shell company for the biomass plant, is owned by
Sterling Planet, whose founder and chairman

Sonny Murphy
spoke at the groundbreaking for

the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant, another Sterling Planet subsidiary.
I’m sure Chairman Murphy is aware that

his solar plant is already completed
while his biomass plant

still has no suppliers of raw materials, goods, or services nor buyers for its electricity.
Also, the biomass plant site preparation start date is now 1 June 2011,
when, if I’m not mistaken, it used to be January 2011.
And at the most recent VLCIA board meeting, the only mention I heard
of biomass was by a citizen
who spoke against it
while the VLCIA’s project manager
spoke at some length about the completion of the solar plant.
Seems to me building out the solar plant in two directions,
like VLCIA discussed at a previous board meeting, would make the
most sense at this point.
I guess we’ll see what Chairman Murphy does.

-jsq

Still no suppliers or buyers for Wiregrass Power LLC –VLCIA



According to an open records request of 17 February 2011,
the Industrial Authority says Wiregrass Power LLC still

“has not yet identified or completed a comprehensive list
of potential suppliers of raw materials,
goods and services required to construct and operate
the biomass electric generating plant.”

This is on a sheet entitled
“Owners/Investors/Suppliers/Contracts”, which also says:

“Site preparation and construction is not scheduled
to begin until June 1, 2011.”

Hm, what happened to breaking ground in January 2011?
The document also said a “Project Critical Path time-line is attached”
but it wasn’t.

Regarding buyers for the plant’s power:

Continue reading →

“We welcome solar power to the City of Valdosta and Lowndes County”



After all the

protesters, police, and press,
representatives of

VLCIA,

Sterling Planet,

Hannah Solar,

Georgia Power,
and the

City of Valdosta
did finally break ground for

the Wiregrass Solar power plant.
I asked Col. Ricketts for a shovel, but he just snorted.
Here’s the

groundbreaking video:





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Continue reading →

Biomass no, solar yes –Kathryn Grant




Kathryn Grant at the
groundbreaking for the

Wiregrass Solar LLC plant:

We’re here to oppose the biomass plant….
We want people to know we support solar energy
in hopes that that could be incorporated throughout the state.

Here’s

the video:





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

“Go solar! But no to biomass” –Dr. Michael Noll




Dr. Michael Noll at the
groundbreaking for the

Wiregrass Solar LLC plant:

We’re all for solar, go solar!
But no to biomass.

Here’s

the video:





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

More
Noll here.

-jsq

“Olive branch or smokescreen?” –Patrick Davis

Patrick Davis

wonders from Macon:



Is this Brad Lofton-led ‘solar’ groundbreaking event by the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority an olive branch or
a smokescreen.for the community Or an example of ‘compassionate
consevratism’?

The solar plant has been part of the plan from the beginning,
which of course doesn’t quite answer Patrick Davis’ question.
VLCIA knows it can increase the size of the solar plant,
and they seem to think that could be a good idea.
They could also choose to forget the biomass plant,
but they refuse to do that.
Much more about Wiregrass Solar Power LLC.

Also please note that this blog is

On the LAKE Front,
where
LAKE is an acronym for the


Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange,
which is about

citizen dialog for transparent process
for all of Lowndes County and the general area, not just Valdosta.

-jsq

Sonny Murphy talks at Solar Groundbreaking



The biggest dignitary among the bunch at the

Wiregrass Solar groundbreaking
was

Therrell “Sonny” Murphy,
Chairman of the Board, Sterling Planet, the parent company
of Wiregrass Solar LLC.
Nice fellow; I talked to him at length before most people showed up.
To his credit, he didn’t shy away from directly talking about
the proposed neighboring biomass plant (Sterling Planet owns
Wiregrass Power LLC, too).
He also mentioned geothermal and “efficiency itself”,
which shows he has a broader grasp of the potential energy sources
than some participants.





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.





I congratulate Chairman Murpny and Sterling Planet on the solar groundbreaking.
I offered to introduce him to the biomass protesters.
He said he didn’t want to get into a debate.
Hm, that
reminds me of something.

-jsq

Mayor Fretti at Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking




Valdosta Mayor John Fretti remarked
at the Wiregrass Solar groundbreaking 21 Feb 2011:

“…solar is an important component of our electricity needs
and our power energy needs, and that it will continue to be.
We need to take into consideration all renewable energy resources
such as solar, and wind, and bio, and bring those together
to eventually make them more efficient and effective to supply
our grid with energy sources.”

He also talked about eventual lower rates to the customers.
And he bragged about how big it is:

“I think currently the largest array… in Georgia”

Um, no,

Dalton, Georgia already has a 365kW solar array installed and in use,
although

that information never seems to get through the VLCIA filter.





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Still, it’s a start, and I congratulate VLCIA on doing it.

-jsq

VLCIA Speeches at Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking



I’m in favor of solar plants, and it was good to see the participants
helping out at the groundbreaking for the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant

at the Valdosta Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant yesterday.


But wait! What’s that behind them?
Seems like even solar supporters aren’t all in favor of the
proposed neighboring biomass plant.

In this post are videos of the speeches by VLCIA personnel;
speeches by other dignitaries will follow.

Brad Lofton,
Executive Director of the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
said they’ll have a commissioning reception in a few months
(currently scheduled for
Wednesday 16th April 2011)


to which they’ll invite “the entire City Council
and the County Commission.”
Interestingly, there was nobody from the County Commission
at this groundbreaking ceremony.
They’ve said they’re in favor of biomass;
are they not in favor of solar?
Lofton says they’ll also invite

“…the governor of Georgia who has about half a million
dollars invested in this project.”





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Lofton also said:

“We’ll go around and if anybody has any comments,
I’d like you to make them.”

Hm, they never seemed to get around to me.


Brad Lofton explained that the property for the solar plant
is owned by the City of Valdosta and leased to VLCIA and
then subleased

Continue reading →

Protesters, police, and press at Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking



All these protesters were in favor of the groundbreaking today for the

Wiregrass Solar LLC plant, but they wanted to object to the
related biomass plant proposed for next door.

Here you can see Valdosta police saying they’re going have to
issue a summons to some protesters because they didn’t have a permit,
Valdosta Mayor Fretti saying the permit process is simple,
and Dr. Michael Noll president of Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy (WACE)
explaining that they only heard of the event recently,
and besides he’d be happy to pick up a shovel and help with the
groundbreaking for the solar plant:





Wiregrass Solar LLC groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.


Enter the police chief.

Continue reading →