Chairman Jerry Jennett reported that VLCIA was generally operating
at a slower pace due to the economy.
Roy Copeland asked for the board to come back to the operating budget
later in the meeting when they could ask their CPA a few questions.
He was out of town, so they agreed to try to get him on the telephone later.
Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading
Why? Because leading medical associations have identified woody biomass incineration as increasing risks of “a variety of illnesses, some life-threatening”, because biomass incineration produces more CO2, NOX, and fine particulates than existing coal plants, and because it “may lead to unsustainable forestry practices and a net increase in global greenhouse gas emissions”.
Who proposed this? Continue reading
After he talked about
expanding the Wiregrass Solar plant by another megawatt,
Alden Hathaway of Sterling Planet said this:
Solar power is the peoples power.And to development in south Georgia, for that matter. So we can leapfrog that barrier with solar.Whether you’re talking about grid tied power here in America tied to the wire, or solar in the rural countryside of Uganda, it’s immediately available and accessible in all sizes. So I can use it to power a cell phone, charge a laptop, put light in a school, or pump water in a hospital. Solar is immediately available to do that, without massive which is a barrier to development in much of the developing world.
Here’s the video:
Solar power is the peoples power –Alden Hathaway
Commissioning Ceremony,
Wiregrass Solar, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 May 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
Continue readingNot sure what started this particular post, but as Stephen Hawking put it: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” –
We are where we are as a community in relationship to the biomass issue because of our holistic approach, and with “we” I do not mean WACE exclusively. There have been countless
Industrial Authority board meetings have turned into sidewalk cultural events. This was outside the 17 May 2011 meeting.
A couple of different signs:
Susan Wehling with her traffic signal stop biomass sign,
and a Honk for Clean Air sign.
-jsq
Danny Carter wrote in the Albany Herald 14 May 2011, Solar power meeting set: A solar power conference is scheduled for Tuesday in Albany.
We already did a smaller version of this, but what have we done since? Continue readingMAGE SOLAR, looking for both customers and installers, is hosting a program at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Albany Civic Center.
Susanne Fischer Quinn, communications manager for MAGE SOLAR, said there are just 13 certified installers of solar panels in Georgia.
The opportunity for growth in this area is tremendous, she said. Tuesday’s program will open with remarks by Jeff Sinyard, chairman of the Dougherty County Commission, and Albany City Commissioner Roger Marietta
Then, a panel of representatives from MAGE, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Georgia will present information about solar power in Georgia.
Continue readingGreat article John. Thanks for turning me onto the research presented here, I’ll be looking into and using it. I’d also suggest a book called “Breakthrough: from the death of environmentalism to the politics of possibility”. I think you will love it.
Beyond changing the messaging on signs, which I think is a great idea, I think what the research reflects is a fundamental change in the approach to the work.
A key to community organizing work, as opposed to activism,
Alden Hathaway of Sterling Planet said he hopes to expand the Wiregrass
Solar array in Valdosta to an additional megawatt, taking it from being
one of the largest in Georgia to one of the largest in the southeast.
This is the man
Sterling Planet Chairman Sonny Murphy singled out for praise.
This is the expansion project
Sonny Murphy promoted in the Sterling Planet press release.
Alden Hathaway knows what needs to be done, and
Pete Marte and Hannah Solar stand ready to do it.
Alden Hathaway also talked about how solar helps load distribution on the electric grid, lowering electric rates for everybody. He remarked that once power companies realized that, they’d be for solar. More on that later.
But meanwhile, let’s ask Mayor Fretti and Commissioner Crawford Powell when they’re going to do this: Continue reading
It is unfortunate that such a wonderful event ; the commissioning of the large solar facility in our community, was sullied by Mr. Sonny Murphy’s comments about the viability of biomass. I was then compelled to ask the players in attendance the very pressing question, so where is the biomass issue. Mr Murphy & Mr Ricketts spoke of milestones to be met. The mystery continues.
THE BIOMASS MYSTERY: We all love a good murder mystery. The sleuth that finds the murderer of the dead biomass plant. Oh, that would be fun, but for the plot to work we need a dead biomass plant.
If they want to quietly disappear Mr. Murphy is sending the wrong messages. A disappearance has been the favored outcome from the officials I’ve spoken with. If they want to walk away quietly- fine. I can handle that. Just give us the proper clues that this monster is simply going to wander into the woods to die…, we’ll all look away politely, and then take a peek before celebrating. The mixed messages make for a very poor mystery novel.
-Karen Noll
Allan Ricketts (Acting Executive Director, VLCIA),
Georgia Power rep.,
Roy Copeland (VLCIA Board member),
Crawford Powell (Lowndes County Commissioner),
John J. Fretti (Mayor of Valdosta),
Therrell “Sonny” Murphy (Chairman of Sterling Planet),
Tim Golden (Georgia State Senator),
Pete Marte (CEO of Hannah Solar).