{"id":2554,"date":"2010-12-23T09:42:22","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T14:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2010\/12\/col-ricketts-on-wiregrass-power-llc.html"},"modified":"2010-12-23T09:42:22","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T14:42:22","slug":"col-ricketts-on-wiregrass-power-llc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2010\/12\/col-ricketts-on-wiregrass-power-llc.html","title":{"rendered":"Col. Ricketts on Wiregrass Power, LLC"},"content":{"rendered":"I received the appended message from Col. Ricketts, Project Manager\nfor the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA).\nMy response will follow. -jsq\n
\nFrom: “Allan Ricketts” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>\n
\nTo: “‘John S. Quarterman'”\n
\nCc: “‘Michael Noll'”, “‘Susan Wehling'”, “‘Brad Lofton'” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>\n
\nSubject: Wiregrass Power, LLC\n
\nDate: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:48:28 -0500\n

\n
\n\n<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr>
\nNorman Bennett, Gary Minchew,\n
\nMary Gooding, Jerry Jennett (Chair),\n
J. Stephen Gupton (Attorney),\n
\nBrad Lofton (Executive Director)<\/small>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/table>\nHello John,\n

\nIt was good to see you at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority\nBoard Meeting on Tuesday evening. I encourage you to attend more often.\n

\nI’ve attached copies of several recent press releases that we discussed\nduring the meeting. I look forward to seeing these posted on your\ninformation exchange for folks to read.\n

\nPlease let me know if you would like a copy of Dr. Christopher Teaf’s .ppt\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n
\n\n<\/a>\n<\/td><\/tr>
\nCol. Allan Ricketts, Project Manager<\/small>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/table>\npresentation and Bio\/Curriculum Vitae that we also reviewed during the\nmeeting. Since this presentation addresses in specific detail the public\nhealth concerns that you and WACE have raised, I suggest you also consider\nposting these on your information exchange for folks to read\n

\nBest Regards. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!\n

\nAllan\n

\nAllan Ricketts\n

\nProject Manager\n
\nValdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority\n
\n2110 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA\n
\n229-259-9972 local\n
\n877-259-9972 toll free\n
\n229-300-9570 cell\n
\nVisit us online @\nwww.IndustrialAuthority.com<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

Statement from\nSecretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on EPA Guidance on Energy from Biomass\nWhich Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions <\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON,\nNovember 10, 2010- Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today issued the following\nstatement regarding the EPA greenhouse gas tailoring rule:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

"EPA’s\nrelease today of guidance to the states on greenhouse gas permitting takes a\nmeaningful step forward in recognizing the potential role that energy from\nbiomass can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Under the\nguidance, EPA signals that states may be able to consider the use of biomass\nenergy as a ‘best available control technology for GHG.’  Further, EPA\nnotes that, in early January, it will provide further guidance to states\nregarding biomass and will determine this spring whether additional rulemaking\nrelated to biomass energy is necessary.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

"Energy\nproduced from wood, switchgrass or other agricultural products can both benefit\nrural economies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

"Markets\nfor woody biomass could also prove to be vitally important in allowing the US\nForest Service and others to restore forests to mitigate the impacts of the\nbark beetle epidemic in the West and to reduce the potential for catastrophic\nfire in our forests. <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

"EPA’s\nstep today acknowledges both the potential role of biomass in reducing greenhouse\ngas emissions and the need to ensure that energy policy properly accounts for\nboth the sequestration and emissions associated with bioenergy.  USDA will\ncontinue to work with EPA to ensure that the greenhouse gas benefits of biomass\nenergy are properly accounted for under this Administration’s energy and\nclimate policies."<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Gainesville\nbiomass project clears regulatory hurdles<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

By Gainesville Renewable Energy\nCenter | December 08, 2010<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

·        \n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

·        \n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A 100-megawatt biomass power plant\nproject in Florida nears construction as it receives approvals from\nstate’s siting board and an administrative law judge.
\n
\n<\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Two\nrulings announced on Dec. 7 moved the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center\ncloser to a construction start.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The\nFlorida Power Plant Siting Board, composed of the Florida governor and the\nindependently elected members of the Cabinet, unanimously approved the site\napplication for the proposed biomass power plant in Gainesville, Fla. This\nsiting board approval is the culmination of the permitting and regulatory\nactivities designed to ensure that the project is in the best interests of the\ncitizens of Florida. In announcing the approval, Gov. Charlie Crist said,\n“I think this can be a great breakthrough and I think it is the right\nthing to do. The groups that have supported this, I have great trust and\nconfidence in them.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Also\non Dec. 7, a Florida administrative law judge issued his second ruling in favor\nof the proposed biomass plant. Judge Robert E. Meale’s recommended orders\nfor the plant’s air construction permit rejected claims made by\npetitioners who oppose the plant. He found instead that the facility will comply\nwith all applicable environmental regulations and will not cause adverse air\nemissions impacts or adverse impacts to wildlife species or their habitat. The\nair construction permit is expected to be finalized by the Florida Department\nof Environmental Protection in the next few weeks.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

On\nNov. 1, in a separate but related process for the site certification\napplication, Judge Meale issued an order recommending that a site certification\nbe granted for the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center despite the claims of\none intervenor. In that order, Judge Meale stated, “Instead of\nundermining sound silvicultural practices, the new market for biomass materials\nwill enhance the viability of forestry resources and thus serve regional\nenvironmental needs.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The\n100-megawatt biomass project will be owned and operated by American Renewables,<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

LLC.\nGainesville Regional Utilities, the municipally-owned utility that serves the\nGainesville community, has a 30-year power purchase agreement to buy all power\ngenerated. GRU chose to move forward with GREC after undergoing a seven-year\nprocess to review options to responsibly and cost-effectively meet its future\ngeneration needs while helping Gainesville achieve its carbon reduction goals.\nGREC, which will be fueled by wood waste, will meet GRU’s need for\nimproved reliability, increased fuel diversity and long-term cost savings for\ncustomers.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Almost\ntwo-thirds of the energy GRU currently produces is fueled by coal, and 25\npercent comes from natural gas.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The\nthree national bond rating agencies that recently awarded the utility\n“Double A” ratings cited a lack of fuel diversity as one of the\nchallenges facing GRU. Adding biomass to the fuel supply will help the utility\nmaintain its high bond ratings, which in the past six years have saved\ncustomers more than $67 million.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“The\nsiting board’s decision and the Judge’s order confirm that GREC\nwill be designed and operated in an environmentally responsible manner,”\nsaid Josh Levine, project manager for American Renewables. “We look\nforward to quickly beginning construction.” Levine added. “It is\ncritical that the project move forward without delay so the citizens of\nGainesville and the region can reap the significant economic benefits the plant\nwill bring, including more than 700 direct and indirect permanent jobs\nthroughout the region, as well as the benefit of nearly $200 million in reduced\nrates over 30 years if the project remains on schedule and is eligible for\nfederal stimulus dollars.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The\nplant has been approved and endorsed by a wide variety of government agencies,\nnonprofits and other organizations from the environmental, business, forestry\nand other communities, including: the Florida Wildlife Federation, Southern\nAlliance for Clean Energy, Florida Forestry Association, Florida Farm Bureau\nFederation, Florida Municipal Electric Association, Gainesville Area Chamber of\nCommerce, FloridaWorks, Forest Landowners Association, Alachua County\nLegislative Delegation, Gainesville City Commissioners, North Central Florida\nRenewable Resource Conservation & Development Council, Florida Department\nof Agriculture & Consumer Services, Florida Public Service Commission,\nFlorida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Health,\nFlorida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Department of State, Florida\nDepartment of Transportation, North Central Florida Regional Planning Council,\nSuwannee River Water Management District, City of Gainesville, Alachua County\nand the U.S. Corps of Engineers.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/o:p><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I received the appended message from Col. Ricketts, Project Manager for the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA). My response will follow. -jsq From: “Allan Ricketts” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com> To: “‘John S. Quarterman’” Cc: “‘Michael Noll’”, “‘Susan Wehling’”, “‘Brad Lofton’” <blofton@industrialauthority.com> Subject: Wiregrass Power, LLC Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:48:28 -0500 Norman Bennett, Gary Minchew, Mary Gooding, […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,556,120,14,41,21,32,23,178,700,55],"tags":[4923,193,8738,1747,5016,300,969,4894,1246,793,189,186,847,548,8702,12,1169,185,181,8714,180,8749],"class_list":["post-2554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-air","category-biomass","category-economy","category-health-care","category-planning","category-pollution","category-renewable-energy","category-vlcia","category-wace","category-water","tag-21-dec-2010","tag-allan-ricketts","tag-biomass","tag-brad-lofton","tag-christopher-teaf","tag-development","tag-economics","tag-exports","tag-gary-minchew","tag-industry","tag-j-stephen-gupton","tag-jerry-jennett","tag-jobs","tag-john-s-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-marketing","tag-mary-gooding","tag-norman-bennett","tag-solar","tag-valdosta-lowndes-county-industrial-authority","tag-vlcia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-Fc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}