Tag Archives: Economy

Return of water misinformation by Forrest H. Williams in the VDT

Seen today on the
WACE facebook page
is an image of an op-ed in the VDT, and alongside it I include here
Michael Noll’s initial comments, plus a few links.


There is good reason why Stephen Hawkins once said “the greatest
enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of
knowledge.” When entities like Fox News can claim that “solar won’t
work in America because it’s not as sunny as Germany”, we shouldn’t
be surprised by the results of such “educational” efforts. The fact
is that we have a number of clean and renewable forms of energy
(e.g. wind, solar, geothermal) that already work. Just go to

Spain
,

Germany
,

Denmark
, Iceland, or simply stay in the US and visit places
like from

New Jersey

and

New York

to

California

and

Arizona
. Combine
these pieces of a larger energy puzzle with meaningful initiatives
of

energy conservation and energy efficiency
, and we find a way out
of our current predicament (i.e. continuing dependence on finite and
dirty sources of energy), while saving money (see

solar vs. nuclear
),
preserving our natural resources (e.g. water, forests),
and providing clean, healthy and safe environments to live in (e.g.
wind and solar do not produce radioactive waste, pollute our air and
groundwater).

The guest columnist appearing above is the same individual who
thought

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Pilgrim nuke shut down in winter storm again this weekend



Entergy, the company that blacked out the Super Bowl,
now has taken down Massachusetts’ Pilgrim nuclear reactor
in a winter storm.
And that’s not the first time this year.
Plus, what will happen with sea level rise to that nuke on the coast?

Beth Daley wrote for Boston.com this morning,

Pilgrim nuclear plant shuts down in storm
,
Pilgrim Station nuclear plant automatically shut down in the thick of the storm Friday night after losing power, according to a statement by Entergy, the plant’s owner.

Authorities said there is no danger and backup diesel generators are
powering safety systems.

“The plant is in a safe, secure condition and will remain on backup
power supply until off-site power is restored,” the statement said.

But that’s hardly the whole story.
Pilgrim Station has been down about a week lately, and at 80%
still other days, according to the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
:

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HB 267 Financing costs; construction of nuclear generating plant






As promised,

a bipartisan bill was filed Thursday to stop Georgia Power from
charging for nuclear cost overruns on Plant Vogtle; this could free up some financing for Georgia to move ahead on solar and wind power.


2013-2014 Regular Session – HB 267
Financing costs; construction of nuclear generating plant; change calculation that utility can recover from customers
,

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 46-2-25 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the procedure for
changing any rate, charge, classification, or service and the
recovery of financing costs, so as to change the calculation used
under certain circumstances to determine the costs of financing
associated with the construction of a nuclear generating plant that
a utility may recover from its customers; to provide for related
matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.

The bill would add this text to Georgia Code:

…provided, however, that in the event the amounts recorded in the
utility’s construction work in progress accounts plus the amount of
all financing costs accrued on any construction work in progress
accounts exceeds the costs approved by the commission in the
original certificate of the nuclear generating plant granted under
Code Section 46-3A-5, the cost of equity portion of the financing
costs shall be calculated using a rate no higher than the utility’s
actual cost of debt.

Let’s see what Georgia Power does to fight this one.
So far, it’s

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About that flyer

Sent Wednesday. -jsq



Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:43:49 -0500

Dear Mr. Pritchard,

Thank you for

your message of 1 February
.

Yes, the binders of the documents for the closings of the various
bonds are the sort of financial instruments I requested in

my message of 28 January
, and that Chairman Slaughter listed in

his letter dated 18 January

(that I received 28 January). Monday 11 Feb
2013 after the Work Session will be a good time for me to inspect
and copy those binders. I will bring a camera and a photocopier. If
that time will not work, please advise me of times that would.

Yes, there are other documents I would like to inspect. Please provide

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Bill against Vogtle nuke overruns to be filed Thursday

It’s about time. -jsq

Jeanne Bonner wrote for GPB today

Vogtle Cost Overruns Targeted
,

A state
lawmaker wants to prevent Georgia Power from reaping profits on cost
overruns at Plant Vogtle. Rep. Jeff Chapman will file a bill
Thursday that would bar the utility from making money on anything
other than the certified cost of the nuclear power plant it’s
building in eastern Georgia.



Chapman said before writing the bill, he sent a letter to Georgia
Power, asking the company to forego the profits.

He said he hasn’t had a response.

Under a 2009 bill, the company can collect in advance the financing
costs for the two reactors it’s building near Augusta.

Chapman, a Brunswick Republican, says he supports the project. But

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Forest Bioenergy Conference —GFA

Seen Monday.
Seems to me that instead of burning trees
tree farmers should start growing solar farms
on some of their less useful land.


Forest Bioenergy Conference —GFA



Deadline for early registration is Sunday, February 10…
register
today to save money!

It’s 21 February 2013 in Forsyth.

Interest in forest biomass as a potential feedstock for renewable
energy facilities has been especially keen for the past several
years and much of the activity has been centered in Georgia. GFA and
UGA are excited about hosting our fourth biennial conference to
examine where we are with forest bioenergy development in Georgia
and where we may be going in the near future. While many issues are
becoming clearer, much uncertainty remains with regard to government
policy and market prices for fossil fuels. This conference is an
excellent opportunity to hear from some of the players on the front
lines of developing markets, influencing government policies, and
conducting research on how these changes may impact our wood supply
system.

These are some of the topics that will be addressed during this
conference by many of the people directly involved with these
changes that are taking place in our state. Join us and stay abreast
of these significant changes taking place in our forest industry.

The talk I think they should pay attention to is:

What does Low-Cost Natural Gas Mean for Future Biomass Use?

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Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer —Sierra Club



Sierra Club, one of the oldest, largest, and most influential
grassroots environmental activist groups in the U.S.,
has been

tentatively anti-nuke since 1974
,
observing now that none of its conditions of
energy conservation, reactor safety, nuclear fuel disposal,
weapons proliferation,
or adequate regulation have ever been met,
has come out unequivocably against nuclear power.


Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer

The Sierra Club remains unequivocally opposed to nuclear energy.
Although nuclear plants have been in operation for less than 60
years, we now have seen three serious disasters.


Tragically, it took a horrific disaster in Japan to remind the world
that none of the fundamental problems with nuclear power have ever
been addressed.

Besides reactor safety, both nuclear proliferation and the required
long-term storage of nuclear waste (which remains lethal for more
than 100,000 years) make nuclear power a uniquely dangerous energy
technology for humanity.

Plenty of links in

that Sierra Club page.

Sierra Club is one of the first two of the 99 sponsors of

the Forward on Climate rally
,
high noon Sunday 17 February 2013 on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
I’ll be there.
How about you?

-jsq

Duke Energy is closing Crystal River nuclear reactor



Finally!
The reactor
only 160 miles from here

that

nobody wanted to pay to fix

is closing for good: Duke is closing Crystal River.
After Kewaunee and Crystal River closing, which one is next?
San Onofre?
The never-opened Vogtle 3 and 4?

Ivan Penn wrote for Tampa Bay Times today,

Duke Energy announces closing of Crystal River nuclear power plant
,

Duke Energy announced early Tuesday it will permanently close the
Crystal River nuclear plant that has been shut down since late 2009.



The company said it is reviewing alternatives, including building a
new natural gas plant, to replace the power produced by the nuclear
facility.

Duke's four coal-fired plants will remain in service at the same
Citrus County complex where the nuclear plant, known as CR3, is
located.



How about they build
offshore wind farms
and solar farms
instead, like

TEPCO is doing near Fukushima
?
Those can be built on time and on budget, use no fuel, and cause no pollution.
And how about

rooftop solar for jobs
and energy independence?

There's more in

the article,

including this:

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Petition the Commission: Provide solid waste and recycling collection centers

Seen today; I’ve added some links.
Yesterday I also saw (and signed) a paper version. -jsq


Lowndes County Commission: Provide solid waste and recycling collection centers.



Petition by

April Huntley

Naylor, GA

The County

is responsible for protecting the health and safety of the public.

They

have made decisions
to

close all the county dump sites

and license

one out of state waste collection company
with

little, if any public input.

There is

concern among citizens
of
more

trash being on roadways
,
more

expense on their part
, being forced to

pay for a service the county should provide
and

not having choice

in collection companies which

may put small business owners out of business

while backing a large out of state company.

To:

Joyce Evans, District # 1 Commissioner

Richard Raines, District # 2 Commissioner

Crawford Powell, District # 3 Commissioner

Demarcus Marshall, District # 4 Commissioner

John Page, District # 5 Commissioner

Bill Slaughter, County Commission Chairman

Provide solid waste and recycling collection centers.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Denmark beats Georgia Power’s 20 year plan



As

anticipated,

Georgia Power released
that

20-year energy plan Thursday,

because they have file one every three years with the PSC.
It includes far less solar power than tiny little far-north-of-here
Denmark is busily deploying.



The good news:
Georgia Power is closing a bunch of coal plants.
And this plan makes a nod towards
"demand response programs, energy efficiency programs, pricing
tariffs and other activities".

The bad news:
they're replacing those coal plants with natural gas, and of course
"two new state-of-the-art nuclear facilities at Plant Vogtle";
you know, the two

Georgia Power has been charging customers for since 2009
while they deliver no electricity.

Georgia Power
can't even seem to deliver the reactor containment vessels.

But what about renewable energy?

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