Kern County considers developing big solar, wind energy projects
by Ilsa Setziol | Special to KPCC
July 30, 2010
There’s growing interest in California in developing large solar and wind energy projects. Utilities have to meet a state mandate to increase their use of renewable sources over the next several years. Some counties see alternative energy as a potential economic boon. One of them is Kern County.
If you drive about half an hour north of Palmdale, you’ll find yourself in the foothills of Kern County ’s Tehachapi Mountains. They’re studded with Joshua trees, that sparse icon of the Mojave. But a new symbol is also rising, reaching its limbs into the desert sky.
Planted amidst the Joshuas: more than 3,000 wind turbines, resembling large white pinwheels. The older models are about six-stories-high. The newest are taller than the statue of liberty. Standing next to the turbines, Kern County planner Lorelei Oviatt says, “You’re actually in the middle of a 223,000 acre wind area that Kern County has set aside, where we hope we can site enough wind for over 3 million households.”
The full post can be seen here.
Ilsa Setziol also posted an excerpt from her radio interview with V. John White for the KPCC story.
Wind farm 'mega-project' underway in Mojave Desert
The Alta Wind Energy Center — with plans for thousands of acres of turbines to generate electricity for 600,000 Southern California homes — officially breaks ground Tuesday.
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times
July 27, 2010
It's being called the largest wind power project in the country, with plans for thousands of acres of towering turbines in the Mojave Desert foothills generating electricity for 600,000 homes in Southern California.
And now it's finally kicking into gear.
Obama calls for $5 billion in clean-energy tax credits
July 9, 2010 | 10:22 am
--Michael Muskal, latimes.com
President Obama on Friday called on Congress to approve another $5 billion for clean-energy manufacturing tax credits as a way to stimulate job creation.
Speaking at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Obama praised the popularity of the previous tax credits and called on Congress to increase them. Congress had approved $2.3 billion in such credits as part of the $862-billion economic stimulus legislation last year.
Obama said more than 180 projects in 40 states have been approved.
“The problem is, there aren’t enough tax credits to go around,” Obama told the crowd at the university. “When we announced the program last year, it was such a success that we received 500 applications requesting over $8 billion in tax credits. But we only had $2.3 billion to invest. In other words, we had almost four times as many worthy requests as we had tax credits.”
Obama said he and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader who is in a tight reelection race, want to help companies that are seeking to grow.
“That’s why I’m urging Congress to invest $5 billion more in these kinds of clean energy manufacturing tax credits, more than doubling the amount we made available last year. This $5-billion investment would generate nearly 40,000 jobs and $12 billion or more in private sector investment," he said.
Read the rest of the story here.
Arizona solar plant gets big boost from feds
by Ryan Randazzo - Jul. 3, 2010 09:51 AM
The Arizona Republic
President Barack Obama announced Saturday that the federal government will provide a $1.45 billion loan guarantee through the stimulus act for the Solana Generating Station solar-power plant in Gila Bend.
The plant will be one of the largest solar projects in the country and the first to store heat on a large scale so that it can continue to make electricity after sunset. Its developers have struggled for two years to find a decent loan amid the recession.
Read the rest of the story on the Arizona Republic site.
PG&E measure requiring public-power votes loses
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
(06-09) 08:53 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A ballot initiative that would have limited the ability of local governments to enter the electricity business was narrowly defeated in a loss for the measure's main backer, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
The utility company, California's largest, sank more than $46 million into its campaign for Proposition 16, which would have forced cities and counties to win the approval of two-thirds of their voters before spending public money to start or join a public power agency.
Read the rest of this article on sfgate.com
May 29, 2010
‘Top Kill’ Fails to Plug Leak
BP, via MSNBC.com
The gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday.
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and LESLIE KAUFMAN
HOUSTON — BP said Saturday that its latest attempt to stop the gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was unsuccessful, and the effort, known as a “top kill”, was being scrapped in favor of yet another maneuver to stem the flow spreading into the waters.
The announcement marked the latest setback in the attempt to plug the spill that is polluting gulf waters at an estimated rate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day. This is already the largest spill in U.S. history.
Click here to read the rest of this story on nytimes.com
Governor's conference on renewable energy focuses on the Mojave Desert
03:29 PM PDT on Thursday, March 25, 2010
By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise
Harnessing Mojave Desert sunshine and wind is a vital part of a national strategy to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, several speakers said Wednesday during a governor's energy conference at UC Riverside.
Rainer Aringhoff, founding president of Solar Millennium, said ample sunshine makes the Mojave one of the best places in the world for solar plants.
Read the rest of the story here.
January 8, 2009
"Opinion: U.S. should tax oil instead of letting OPEC do it"
OpEd in San Jose Mercury News by CEERT's John Shahabian
(Click here for pdf version of article)
