Feds Take Another Crack at Big Solar Projects

Friday, July 27, 2012
Hoping to fare better at nurturing the development of solar energy without enraging environmentalists, antagonizing financial interests and otherwise giving solar a bad name, the Obama administration announced a change in strategy this week.
 
Instead of encouraging that projects be built in locations scattered around six Western states, including California, the government will offer incentives for developers to cluster their projects in large, designated areas. One of their hopes is less tromping through environmentally sensitive areas and the attendant steamrolling of concerned citizens. Another is fewer lawsuits. 
 
The plan drew the support of the solar industry and several national environmental groups—Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society and the national Audubon Society.
But not all environmentalists applauded.
 
The Mojave Desert Blog, which is generally skeptical of industrial-scale solar energy development on public desert lands, said the new policy “weakened environmental protections seen in earlier drafts, and crafted the policy to meet industry demands—essentially putting on paper what is already Interior's de facto policy of allowing solar companies to bulldoze wherever they please.”
 
The federal plan, which includes 17 solar zones, was developed over a two-year period with input from state and local levels. It specifically rules out certain areas for development based on cultural or environmental concerns. Among those on the exclusion list is the Ivanpah Valley in California, home to two large solar projects currently under development. One of them is BrightSource.
 
BrightSource Energy Inc., the recipient of $1.6 billion in taxpayer-funded loans, is currently building the world’s largest solar power facility in the Mojave Desert. It has not gone smoothly. The company has fought with environmentalists—over habitat issues and endangered species, including the desert tortoise pictured on its Web site—while dealing with entrenched political interests. It has also been whipsawed by a solar market that mostly veers between bad and worse.
 
BrightSource has also been politically embroiled. Its chairman of the board, John Bryson, left the company in 2010 to become President Barack Obama’s Commerce Department secretary. He resigned last month after suffering a “partial seizure” while driving. Before his accident, Bryson was accused by political conservatives of using “crony capitalism” to  advance the interests of the nascent renewable energy industry.
 
BrightSource, one of the survivors from the solar industry’s turbulent birth, canceled an eagerly anticipated IPO at the last minute in April. There haven’t been very many initial public offerings by a green company.
-Ken Broder
 
To Learn More:
Unions Fight Against Solar Energy Project in California Desert (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)

The Story Behind BrightSource’s Ditched IPO (by Katie Fehrenbacher, GigaOM) 

Comments

Paul Felix Schott 11 years ago
renewable energy solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and others should be on the front cover of every science book kindergarten through high school. leaders and schools in all nations need to teach more on solar and renewable energy. when this old world starts getting you down. from pollution the cost of oil, heating fuel,the fuel you put in your vehicles, you electric bills from cooling air conditioners and lights not to speak of the evil. the tax that all governments federal, state, county and city put on everything they can think of. they are supposed to serve us. not put a burden on its people. that they are elected to serve all the people you, not their own pocket books. the wicked keep putting higher taxes on everything. making it a heavy burden on many that are already struggling just to put food on the table. too many americans and people of all nations have lost their home to the tax collector or to foreclosures from the unjust bankers greed and their government leaders. more are out of work and lost their homes then in the great depression, in the last ten years. all americans and many nations need good jobs and more of them. not more taxes and wars. there is a industry that will employ workers and is growing by more than 50% every year. there is a clear way for all up on the roof the sun light is free fuel from god. some wicked in government have been backing coal, oil, gas and the nuclear industries for too many years. these kickbacks to them were called subsidizing industry technology and high paid scientist. most all wise men and smart economist, environmentalists and good at heart scientist call this padding their pockets and subsidizing back to the stone age. this might even been funny in the 1960′s. if it were a fred flintstones and barny rubble movie. about how to aggressively systematically work with the rich to pollute ground water quality to the point it is unsafe to drink or use. so to they make a law you can only buy water from their pipe line. and to make the air we breathe full of toxic gases, sulfur dioxide and more radioactive and acid rain. injuring all living things on earth. with fred flintstones to the rescue. to help create a healthier environment. for all future generations. by spotlighting renewable energy and free energy like wind and solar. on his and his neighbor barny rubble’s roof. even though the greedy wicked would do everything to stop or slow them down. just imagine a dream that a 100 years ago one of the smartest man to ever live had. a dream after working with sun light. that all on earth would use free energy solar energy. that dream also shared by a man that dreamed this over 2,250 years ago. both these men showed the world in their days. that this dream of free energy solar energy worldwide was very possible. both of these two wise men had first hand worked and researched their experiments for not just days, weeks put for many years. one of these men used chalk on black board the others board was a black stone table or floor covered with white sand and used a stick. one of these two brilliant men had kings from all most every kingdom on earth come to him for advice. the other went to almost every nation on earth. freely on his own dime teaching all that had ears to hear. he would win the nobel prize for doing so. for his work on solar energy. only after years of doing research and when most scientist on earth would not take the nomination for the nobel prize in 1921 and knew it clearly belonged to this brilliant scientist, this brilliant scientist was then awarded it in 1922 for the 1921 year. now if this was just a pretend tv show or a movie from a dream. this would be a great sci fi story line. in the 1960′s or even better today. sci fi story movie or dream no. all that i have told you did actually really happen. albert einstein won the nobel prize for what? when government leaders asked him to go on stage. to address the scientific community and the world. about what he was given the nobel prize for. when albert einstein had done so. he addressed them with his other accomplishments. for years most governments did not have a ear for einstein’s dream. archimedes around 250 b.c. was know most of the world over as a great mathematician. one of the first scientist and inventor of many things. even the first laser ray from the sun’s energy. science fiction is what you would have though you were seeing if you could go back in time, it was real.to day we call it the laser, light amplification by stimulated emission. back then it was just called amplification of the sun, archimedes death ray. thousand of years later it would be a laser. that albert einstein help make possible. that would unlock one of the first books on earth. the method written by archimedes. then over more than 250 years later. when well faded was cut from a scroll and put into a book form, to be easier to hide from the romans by st. paul. this book sold for over 2 million dollars. in new york at christie’s auction house. these two are at the top of the list of the world’s greatest scientists, viewed by scientist around the world. sad that for the last 25 years or so of every teacher asked no matter what grade k through 16. at least 80% of them did not know archimedes. even sadder 90% of them could not tell you what one of the most brilliant scientist to ever live on earth. won the nobel prize for. it was for the work albert einstein did to show the world it could get free energy, electric from the sun. (the photovoltaic effect). you ask this question to any military general 95% of them will get it right. even more surprising 99% of them will know more about archimedes then most teachers on earth. generals know energy is the key to winning. at almost one thousand to one archimedes always won against what all knew was impossible odds. archimedes home town city of syracuse was victorious against the greatest kingdoms armies on earth many times. syracuse once was one of the most powerful cities in the world. i can only ask you to please look into solar energy, solar power, solar panels and solar array on the internet under images. to see and explore for your self then you be the jury. more then 10 years ago the internet became most of the world’s universities learning platform. a modern day archimedes resource center. the solar energy industry in the year 2010 and 2011 has leaped ahead farther and faster then any other industry on earth. the solar industry in the united states of america alone, has grown by more than 50% in 2010 and that number has gone up even higher for the 2011 year. the strong benefits of solar energy is clear clean air viewed in major cities as improving air quality. clean cities. by all that use their brain for good . view it as protecting the environment and freedom from oil , coal and other dirty energy. while many governments has eased the taxes on renewable energy . some cities in the states that these legislators come from have worked against these tax credits. by doing so they are showing their true objectives. that they have stock in some power plants and do not want to lose all that money they have been taking out of your pocket books for too many years. by taxing you on your energy bills. they want to control power and tax everything they can. not let people be free to get their own power from the top of their own roofs. by adding their own taxes to them. these wicked leaders think that this will take away the incentives to harvest the free energy from the sun. the public ability and awareness for all on earth to use the natural solar energy, is contributing to production of solar energy products. making the solar energy industry the fastest growing on earth. a wealth of free energy from the sun. the more the wicked try to slow the solar energy industry down, it only enhances involvement and the efforts of the good at heart. through out history many have tried to wipe the good from our history books. read the bible jesus will bless you more then i can. solarworld has been presenting a einstein award to personalities who have advanced the use of solar energy – and helped our planet earth. we all need to tell all our teachers and leaders to use our nation’s energy more wisely and efficient. start to teach all our young about renewable energy solar, wind, and so on. not to forget flintstones, fred well there are many the one that is in front of all others started back in the 1970′s and started a small catalog that has turned into a wealth of knowledge into renewable energy a book called real goods solar living source book. by mr. john schaeffer. the world is going more with solar, wind and geothermal powered energy. speaking of geothermal curt lubben is just one of many sales representatives that has sold over a million dollars of renewable energy in less than 365 days in the year 2011. the day of the need for dirty oil, coal and dangerous nuclear power are coming to a end fast. the freedom element living with hydrogen that dr. addison bain has showed the world will free most all of the need for the power grid and oil ceo's. very soon most of the world will not need oil or dangerous and disastrous nuclear power. renewable energy like solar, wind, hydro and geothermal are now replacing dirty energy like oil and nuclear. solar energy is growing world wide at a record pace. hybrid cars are being sold all over the earth. soon hybrid vehicles that run on electric / hydrogen, the freedom element. will free the world from oil and unsafe power. thanks to a great scientist dr. addison bain’s years of work for our nation and with the space program on hydrogen. the day is coming very soon when most all on earth will see solar panels on most everything. solar energy will very soon be powering all are needs on earth and more. the lord's little helper paul felix schott ps photo of monica d. key lindbergh award wining solar energy solar do work monica has been promoting solar energy most of her life.

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