Category Archives: Renewables and Energy

Solar Project Faces Problem

Posted on February 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

BLYTHE (AP) — A major Southern California solar energy project could be delayed or even canceled following a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement on the work site, according to a report Saturday.

The $1 billion Genesis Solar Energy Project near Blythe in the desert east of Los Angeles was on track to start producing power for some 187,500 homes starting in 2014.

But critics tell the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/wrtgOD ) the distemper outbreak and discovery of a possible Native American cremation site show that expedited procedures approved by state and federal regulators failed to protect wildlife and irreplaceable cultural resources. They say the problems could probably have been avoided by more rigorous research and planning.

The 250-megwatt plant was backed by an $825 million Department of Energy loan guarantee. Genesis had hoped to be among the first of a dozen approved solar farms to start operating in Southern California.

An official with Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources, the builder of Genesis, told the Times the problems threaten the entire project. If too many acres are deemed off-limits to construction, “the project could become uneconomical,” said Michael O’Sullivan, a NextEra senior vice president.

Native Americans, including the leaders of a nearby reservation, and environmentalists are trying to have Genesis delayed or even scuttled.

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Green Economy Resilient, Growing Quickly, Report Says

Posted on February 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

Since the mid-1990s, green jobs in San Diego County have grown more than twice as fast as the overall average and weathered the past two recessions better than most other industries, according to a report released Tuesday by Next10, a research organization focused on the environmental industry.

According to the report, there were 20,500 “green economy” workers in San Diego County at the beginning of 2010 — the most-recent year for comprehensive data — compared to just 12,400 in 1995.

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Those jobs — including solar-panel installers, wind-turbine manufacturers, biofuel developers, energy conservation consultants, recycling collectors, wastewater processors and “clean-building” designers — grew at an average pace of 4 percent per year, compared to 1.8 percent for the overall workforce.

Even at the depths of the Great Recession, green jobs held steady in San Diego County. Only 300 jobs were lost — a 1 percent drop in employment — that compared to a 4.5 percent drop in the county’s total workforce.

California Renewable Energy Costs Are Starting To Come Down

Posted on February 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

The price of renewable power contracts signed by California utilities more than doubled from 2003 through 2011 but has now started to plunge, according to a long-awaited state report issued Friday.

The report is the most detailed accounting yet of the costs of California’s push to use more solar, wind and geothermal power. Until now, most of those costs have remained hidden from the public. The California Public Utilities Commission, which issued Friday’s report, has for years published quarterly updates on the number of contracts signed but has never before included the costs.