Tag Archives: Sterling Planet

Who’s for What at the VLCIA

I don’t like to publish hearsay, but since the Industrial Authority won’t talk, that’s what I’ve got. According to Leigh Touchton, Ashley Paulk told her Tuesday night:
He said that Jerry Jennett took the biomass vote off the agenda at last Industrial Authority meeting (April 19) even though Mary Gooding and Roy Copeland wanted the vote to be taken ( a vote that was to oppose an extension of the biomass contract since the biomass incinerator had not met timeline benchmarks like having a buyer, etc). He said that Allan Ricketts, Industrial Authority attorney Steve Gupton, and Jerry Jennett went up to Atlanta to meet with Wiregrass officials and that’s when he (Chairman Paulk) got a call telling him all this and he said he wouldn’t keep quiet about it. He said the three men asked Wiregrass LLC officials to rescind their letter asking VLCIA for an extension on their contract and to substitute a new letter saying they were withdrawing their request for extension (or not going forward to ask for extension).
This is in addition to what you can see him on video saying during the meeting. More after this picture of the cast of characters: Continue reading →

Just say no to biomass –VDT to VLCIA

VDT reported on Biomass plant misses deadlines, but what do they really think? The title is my paraphrase of Sunday’s editorial title, It’s all up to the Industrial Authority:
In two months, less than 60 days away, Wiregrass Power LLC is supposed to break ground on the biomass facility in Lowndes County. By now, they are supposed to have contracts with power companies to sell the electricity to and with suppliers to purchase the wood waste. They have neither, nor does the company have an agreement with the city of Valdosta to purchase the wastewater from the sewage treatment plant.
Well, the City of Valdosta could refuse to sell the wastewater. And maybe the Lowndes County Commission could exercise its fiduciary responsibility. But, sure, the Industrial Authority could just say no.
And yet the folks at the Industrial Authority appear to be rather nonchalant about the fact that this company has yet again broken its agreement. They have the power to renogiate the terms of the agreement and they also have the power to cancel it, but neither is happening. Instead, they are giving the company all the leeway they need to continue dragging this project along that the community doesn’t want.
Folks? Like Col. Ricketts? But remember, he and Lame-Duck Lofton are only Continue reading →

Biomass plant misses deadlines –VDT

David Rodock writes on the front page of the Sunday VDT today (the highest profile news source for the region) that Biomass plant misses deadlines: Will the plant move forward?
The Wiregrass Power LLC biomass facility was supposed to have met a number of project goals established by the Economic Development Agreement (EDA) between the company and the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority by April 1, 2011. According to Allen Ricketts, Industrial Authority project manager, those goals still have yet to be met.

The specific goals in the agreement were that a “finalized engineering procurement construction contract” would be ready by March 31. By April 1, the company was supposed to have finalized both a power purchase/transmission agreement along with a wastewater/biosolids agreement.

They’ve been slipping deadlines for quite some time. According to page 4 of that EDA (which you can see for yourself on the LAKE web site): Continue reading →

Offshore wind energy cheaper than nuclear –EU climate chief

Inland south Georgia doesn’t have much wind, probably not enough to generate significant electricity, but wind farms off the Georgia coast could. Now we hear fromm Zachary Shahan in Clean Technica that Offshore Wind Energy Cheaper than Nuclear Energy, EU Climate Chief Says:
EU climate chief Connie Hedegaard has added that offshore wind energy is cheaper than nuclear.

…

“Some people tend to believe that nuclear is very, very cheap, but offshore wind is cheaper than nuclear,”

He’s picking up the story from the Guardian, in which Fiona Harvey and Terry Macalister wrote 17 March 2011: Continue reading →

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

Georgia Power at Wiregrass Solar groundbreaking, 21 Feb 2011

It was good to see Georgia Power assisting at the groundbreaking of the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant, instead of just studying and demonstrating. The speaker equated solar, biomass, and nuclear. Hm, what’s that over their heads? Why, biomass doesn’t seem to be as popular as solar! I didn’t catch the speaker’s name, but he also recognized Robbie Hastings, detail manager in Valdosta. 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.

Georgia Power had several pages in the business section of the Valdosta Daily Times (VDT) the previous Sunday, written up on Monday as Harnessing the sun’s rays: Georgia Power kicks off 18-month solar power study, by Karah-Leigh Hancock, about what Gapower is doing instead of actually deploying solar: Continue reading →