As a Commissioner said,
“It don’t pass the smell test”
that Sabal Trail already bought land for a compressor station
before they even filed for a formal permit.
A Commissioner said
“We have to be more aggressive.”
Well, then, time to
pass a land-user ordinance against pipelines!
Thanks to Jennifer Maloney, you can see for yourself Albany and
Dougherty County citizens and Commissioners
opposing the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
in
a community effort
at a Dougherty County Commission meeting 15 September 2014. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Georgia
Solar or wind investment will produce more energy than oil or natural gas
We already knew solar and wind are better investments than nuclear or natural gas, and now we find they’re already better than oil.
In Impact Lab 18 September 2014, $100B invested in wind or solar will produce more energy than oil,
Kepler Chevreux, a French investment bank, has produced a fascinating analysis that has dramatic implications for the global oil industry. The investment bank estimates that $100 billion invested in either wind energy or solar energy — and deployed as energy for light and commercial vehicles — will produce significantly more energy than that same $100 billion invested in oil.
The implications, needless to say, are dramatic. It would signal the end of Big Oil, and the demise of an industry that has dominated the global economy and geo-politics, for the last few decades. And the need for it to reshape its business model around renewables, as we discuss here.
“If we are right, the implications would be momentous,” writes Kepler Chevreux analyst Mark Lewis.
“It would mean Continue reading
Alapaha River Water Trail @ VLCIA 2014-08-19
I talked about the Water Trail that WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.
is developing on the Alapaha River with a tiny grant from the
Georgia River Network, and how that was a plus for local economic
development that wouldn’t cost VLCDA a dime.
They seemed to like that, at the
19 August 2014 Regular Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority.
Here’s the video, followed by some pictures, links, and notes:
Continue readingVideos: Georgia Power, Rotary, Tires @ VLCIA 2014-08-19
They (maybe) finally settled on their new name:
Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority; see
Minutes.
Interesting discussion about
Express Scripts,
and some details about presenters at the next day’s
Community Economic Development meeting.
I talked about the Alapaha River Water Trail.
And they are talking about spec[ulative] building, such as they liked when they saw it in Douglas and Valdosta Mayor Gayle liked in Vidalia.
Here’s the agenda, with a few notes, and links to the videos.
Continue readingValdosta-Lowndes Development Authority
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Lula Smart acquitted on all counts: Quitman 10 vindicated
Lula Smart cleared by a jury in third trial.
Third strike by the prosecutors: they’re out!
Will they stop wasting our taxpayer dollars now?
Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Daily Report, 17 September 2014, Acquittal in Trial Over Absentee Ballots,
Lula Mary Smart was acquitted on 19 felony charges of voting irregularities Wednesday following a month-long trial in Brooks County Superior Court in South Georgia.
Continue reading
Demanding the state PUC get a friendly judge: a best practice for utilities?
A utility didn’t stop at blowing up a Calfornia neighborhood,
it also demanded the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) get a favorable judge
for that 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipe explosion.
The CPUC president’s chief of staff just last year wrote slides
praising his Legacy as Best Practices.
Does that legacy include suborning justice?
He’s still there, although she was fired, and three PG&E executives
“ended their employment”.
How many other PG&E and other utility executives and CPUC and other
state regulators follow those same Best Practices?
Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press, 15 September 2014, PG&E Officials Removed for Improper Communications,
Four senior officials with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the state commission regulating it were removed or resigned over emails released Monday showing the utility and state regulators appeared to negotiate which judge would be assigned to hear one of the utility’s rate cases.
The emails show the commission ultimately assigned to the case a judge for whom PG&E had expressed a preference, rather than another judge who PG&E said “has a history of being very hard on us.”
Also Monday, California Public Utilities Commission president Michael Peevey, who was included Continue reading
Update on Economic Development meeting @ VLCIA 2014-09-16
The big item tonight is the update on their local economic development meeting
last month, plus election of officers and the usual project and
marketing updates.
Here’s the agenda, with a couple of formatting typos fixed (not sure I got it right, either).
Valdosta-Lowndes Development AuthorityContinue reading
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Development Authority Conference Room
103 Roosevelt Drive
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Duke Energy and Sabal Trail at Suwannee County Commission 2014-09-02
Duke Energy reps couldn’t answer any questions beyond their canned
presentation, not about water use, not about their permit application to FL-PSC
for a new site, and not about Sabal Trail pipeline routing.
But the Suwannee County Commission passed their requested resolution
anyway for a pair of new natural gas turbines.
Update 16 September 2014: Here’s video of Debra Johnson’s find:
Mr, Oxendine (chairman) announced at the end of the meeting that “they are not ignoring the Sabal Trail Pipeline and its threat to Suwannee County. Mr. Oxendine also stated “he has instructed Mr. Harris and Mr. Prevatt (County Attorney) to evaluate the situation and consider doing something similar to the other counties that have passed resolutions and ordinances against The ST pipeline in their counties.” Next meeting tomorrow night Tuesday 09-16-2014 at 6pm.
Someone (apparently county staff) introduced
the Duke item in the agenda below:
for the construction of two new simple-cycle combustion turbines and associated equipment as well as a 40 by 100 administrative building. The turbines will be fueled by natural gas….
It’s Duke’s existing land plus a bit more they’ve bought.
Local resident Debra Johnson
asked Duke to withdraw their plans.
Alternative 4: Richland, Preston, Americus, Cordele, Ashburn and I-75 FERC to Sabal Trail
Richland in Stewart County,
Preston in Webster County, Americus in Sumter County, Cordele in Crisp County,
Ashburn in Turner County,
if you thought you were off the Sabal Trail path, think again!
You’re in FERC’s eye for a 36-inch fracked methane pipeline
just like Tifton, Adel, Hahira, and Valdosta in Tift, Cook, and Lowndes
Counties Georgia, and in Florida Jennings in Hamilton County, Lake City in Columbia County, Alachua and Gainesville in Alachua County, Ocala in Marion County, Wildwood in Sumter County, and Ferndale in Lake County, and probably some other cities and counties you can find on the map.
And Alternative 4 would cross the Withlacoochee River in Lowndes County
just before passing right next to Lowndes High School and an exploding
pipeline segment’s throw from Valdosta Mall.
Alternative 4 in
FERC’s recent instructions for Sabal Trail to “include analyses” would start
even farther north on I-75 than
Alternative 1.
Alternative 4 beginning from Alternate 2 near Richland, Georgia and following Highway 280 to near Americus, Georgia; then following a high voltage transmission line (along Sabal Trail’s Hillabee Alternative route); then following Alternate 1 starting near Tifton, Georgia and extending to the proposed endpoint.
Alternative 3: Albany, Camilla, Thomasville, Monticello, Capps FERC to Sabal Trail
Watch out Dougherty, Mitchell, and Thomas Counties Georgia, and Jefferson, Taylor, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Columbia Counties, Florida, and the Flint, Ochlockonee, Aucilla, Ecofina, Suwannee, and Santa Fe Rivers: Alternative 3 is for you! County Commissions and city councils in the county seats of Camilla, Thomasville, Monticello, Perry, Mayo, Live Oak, and Lake City may want to take action like Jefferson County already did to stop water bottling, as may Alachua, Gainesville, Ocala, Wildwood, The Villages, and Ferndale in Alachua, Marion, Sumter, and Lake Counties, Florida.
Alternative 3 in
FERC’s recent instructions for Sabal Trail to “include analyses” begins
like
Alternative 2 near Armena, GA and goes through Albany,
then veers due south.
Alternative 3 beginning at approximately MP 141 (near Albany, Georgia) and following Highway 82 to Highway 19 (Slappy Boulevard) in Albany, Georgia; then following Highway 19 through Albany, Camilla, and Thomasville, Georgia to the FGT pipeline corridor south of Capps, Florida; then following the FGT pipeline corridor to I-75 and the Alternate 1 and 2 routes to the proposed endpoint.
Here’s a very rough map of the whole route of Alternative 3, including the FGT pipeline part: Continue reading