Category Archives: Solar

Sustainable Spectra? Like healthy cigarettes?

July 5, 2014Colquitt County, Economy, Environment, Ethics, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, Lowndes County, Marion County, Solar, TreesAndrea Grover, Brian Fahrenthold, cigarettes, Colquitt County, Dunnellon, Economy, environment, Ethics, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Greg Ebel, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Lowndes County, Marion County, methane, Moultrie, Sabal Trail Transmission, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, sustainabile, Tobacco, Trees, Trenton, Valdosta, windJohn S. Quarterman

What company prints its sustainability report on wind-powered paper, yet pipes a greenhouse gas 20 times worse than CO₂? Yep, it’s Spectra Energy, also bragging about how respectful they are to Sabal Trail “stakeholders”. Selling fracked methane through a 36-inch pipe in a hundred-foot gash through forests and wetlands with a thousand-foot explosive radius is like selling cigarettes and claiming you’re for good health. Tobacco companies can’t get away with that any more, and why should fossil fuel companies?

On the very last page of a 16-page report, 2013 Sustainability Highlights Report, Spectra Energy says:

This paper is manufactured using clean, renewable wind-power energy and carbon offsets for additional savings.

That’s the only mention of wind or renewable energy in the document, while solar power is not mentioned even once.

And look at Spectra’s Purpose on page 2: Continue reading Sustainable Spectra? Like healthy cigarettes? →

Norman Bay new FERC Chair?

June 29, 2014FERC, Solarattorney, chair, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, FERC, John Barrasso, John S. Quarterman, Jon Wellinghoff, New Mexico, Norman Bay, Senate, solar, SpectraBusters, WyomingJohn S. Quarterman

The fossil fuel industries that fund FERC also control enough Senate seats to make approving a non-fracking FERC chair very difficult. Did they just do so?

Michael Coleman wrote for the Albequerque Journal 18 June 2014, Senate committee approves NM’s Norman Bay to lead FERC,

Norman Bay, a former U.S. Attorney in New Mexico and University of New Mexico School of Law professor, won support from a key Senate panel today in his bid to become head the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but not without some significant objections from committee members.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13-9 to approve President Obama’s nomination of Bay to the powerful regulatory post.

That article has various verbiage about how well Bay knows energy. But why did it take so long to find a replacement after former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff resigned last November? Wellinghoff resigned after allegations Continue reading Norman Bay new FERC Chair? →

20 MW Solar at Hazlehurst, GA by Silicon Ranch for Green Power EMC

June 23, 2014Georgia, Jeff Davis, SolarGeorgia, Green Power EMC, Hazlehurst, Jeff Davis County, John S. Quarterman, Silicon Ranch Corporation, solar, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

After the 30+ MW solar farm in Social Circle, Walton County, GA for Georgia Power, another 20 MW one near Hazelhurst, Jeff Davis County, GA for Green Power EMC. Do this every month and Georgia will start to catch up with other states such as New Jersey. Somebody tell FERC solar is faster, cheaper, and far far cleaner than a dirty, dangerous, land-grabbing fracked methane pipeline.

PR 20 June 2014, Green Power EMC Project Boosts GA’s Supply of Solar Energy,

Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), has reached an agreement to purchase the full output of a new 20 megawatt (MW) solar project planned for construction in southeast Georgia.

The ground-mounted solar project will be constructed near Hazlehurst, Ga., in Jeff Davis County. It will be one of the largest solar generating facilities in Georgia. The solar array will occupy approximately 135 acres and will incorporate over 87,000 solar modules. Once completed, the solar array will generate more than 43,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable electricity annually.

Under an agreement with owner-operator Silicon Ranch Corporation, Continue reading 20 MW Solar at Hazlehurst, GA by Silicon Ranch for Green Power EMC →

LNG exports worse than coal –U.S DoE

June 12, 2014Environment, FE, Law, Leak, LNG, Solar, WaterChina, environment, FE, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, LNG, LNG export, Office of Fossil Energy, Sabal Trail Transmission, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

The same Office of Fossil Energy (FE) that authorizes LNG exports now reports that methane leaks from fracking wells and pipelines are at least as bad for the climate as CO2 from coal. Add to that the destruction of private property rights, wetlands and forests, and overuse and contamination of groundwater, and fracked methane is a disaster. Plus it diverts resources that could be used to go straight to solar and wind power.

Steven Mufson wrote for the Washington Post 9 June 2014, Exporting U.S. natural gas isn’t as “clean” as you think,

The report is titled “Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on Exporting Liquefied Natural Gas from the United States.”

It says the benefits of cleaner, more efficient combustion of natural gas are largely offset by methane leakage in U.S. production and pipelines and by methane leaks and energy used in the process of liquefying and transporting the LNG. In the case of shipping LNG from the U.S. gulf coast to Shanghai, the greenhouse gas benefits could in some cases be completely offset by those factors when measured over a 20-year period, the report says.

The Energy Department report was released Continue reading LNG exports worse than coal –U.S DoE →

Sabal Trail and FSC want FERC to avoid considering fracking

June 8, 2014Environment, FERC, FL PSC, Fracking, Law, SolarAudubon Florida, Audubon Society, environment, FERC, FL PSC, Florida Southeast Connection, FPL, Fracking, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, NextEra Energy, Palm Beach Post, Sabal Trail Transmission, Sierra Club, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Susan Salisbury, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

Of course FPL and Spectra don’t want FERC to look at fracking, but nothing in FERC’s own rules says it can’t, and a recent court case might be a precedent to get it to do so. Maybe Audubon Florida is discovering trying to tinker with pipeline routes is like signing up for the 1885 Berlin Conference that divided Africa by drawing lines on a map. Sierra Club Florida, Georgia, and Alabama already understand the only appropriate route for that fracked methane boondoggle is no route, with new power from the sun.

I’ve added a few links to these quotes from what Susan Salisbury wrote for the Palm Beach Post 5 May 2014, Fracking not an issue with pipeline for FPL’s plants, firms say, Continue reading Sabal Trail and FSC want FERC to avoid considering fracking →

FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects

June 7, 2014Alabama, Environment, FERC, Florida, Fracking, Georgia, Law, LNG, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, SolarAlabama, court, cumulative, Delaware Riverkeeper, environment, FERC, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, Fracking, Georgia, Hillabee Expansion Project, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Sabal Trail Transmission, Sierra Club, solar, SONAT, Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Transco, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

Would this U.S. Court of Appeals ruling mean FERC needs to consider the cumulative effects of the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline on the same properties as the existing SONAT pipeline? And what about those LNG export authorizations FERC has repeatedly claimed it knows nothing about? And how can FERC justify that project at all, given that solar power is faster, cheaper, and far less environmentally damaging?

Katie Colaneri wrote for NPR 6 June 2014, Court rules federal regulators must consider cumulative impacts of pipeline project,

Regulators violated federal law by not considering the cumulative environmental impacts of multiple upgrades to a natural gas pipeline that runs from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, a federal appeals court said on Friday.

Three environmental groups argued the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have been allowed to conduct an environmental review for one expansion project on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline without considering three other proposed upgrades on the same line.

The U.S. Court of Appeals agreed.

The judges ruled that FERC failed “to include any meaningful analysis of the cumulative impacts of the upgrade projects.” The judges also found Continue reading FERC has to consider cumulative pipeline effects →

Pipeline accident risk in Florida springs heartland: go solar instead

May 13, 2014Alachua County, Columbia County, Explosion, FERC, FL PSC, Florida, Gilchrist County, Hazards, Leak, Solar, Suwannee County, Waterexplosion, FERC, FL PSC, Floridan Aquifer, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, karst, leak, limestone, OSFR, Our Santa Fe River, Sabal Trail Transmission, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, springs, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

Springs before pipelines, say board members of Our Santa Fe River in central Florida, and let’s get on with clean solar power.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and Jim Tatum wrote for the Gainesville Sun 25 April 2014, Pipeline in springs heartland would be at risk for accidents,

Is another gas highway pipeline inevitable in our Florida springs heartland?

They quote FPL and note the unanimous October 2013 Florida Public Service Commission (FL PSC) approval of the Sabal Trail Transmission pipeline project, including FL PSC Commissioner Julie Brown saying, “The need for this project is indisputable at this time.” Then they dispute that need. Continue reading Pipeline accident risk in Florida springs heartland: go solar instead →

The Koch Attack on Solar Energy

May 4, 2014Alabama, Economy, Environment, Florida, Georgia, SolarAgenda 21, Alabama, Economy, environment, Florida, Georgia, incentives, John S. Quarterman, Koch Brothers, New York Times, solar, SpectraBusters, surtax, SustainableJohn S. Quarterman

Fossil fuel companies are already feeling the sting of the exponential growth of solar power, doubling every couple of years, up 400% since 2010. Some of them are counter-attacking by trying to impose a surtax on solar power.

The Editorial Board of the New York Times wrote 26 April 2014, The Koch Attack on Solar Energy,

David Horsey, Los Angeles Times, 23 April 2014
At long last, the Koch brothers and their conservative allies in state government have found a new tax they can support. Naturally it’s a tax on something the country needs: solar energy panels.

For the last few months, the Kochs and other big polluters have been spending heavily to fight incentives for renewable energy, which have been adopted by most states. They particularly dislike state laws that allow homeowners with solar panels to sell power they don’t need back to electric utilities. So they’ve been pushing legislatures to impose a surtax on this increasingly popular practice, hoping to make installing solar panels on houses less attractive.

Oklahoma lawmakers recently Continue reading The Koch Attack on Solar Energy →

Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens Southwest Georgia Communities –in Georgia Sierran

April 28, 2014Alabama, Colquitt County, Dougherty County, Economy, Environment, FE, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, LNG, Lowndes County, Safety, Solar, WaterAlabama, aquifer, China, Colquitt County, Dougherty County, Economy, environment, FE, FERC, Florida, Floridan Aquifer, FPL, FTA, Georgia, Gilchrist County, gopher tortoise, Hazards, Houston, John S. Quarterman, Juno Beach, LNG, LNG export, Lowndes County, Port Dolphin, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, TPP, TTIP, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

In the April-May-June ~~2004~~ 2014 issue of Georgia Sierran Georgia Sierra Club‘s Chapter newsletter. The same issue has an excellent article on Georgia’s aquifers, including the Floridan Aquifer that is a drinking water source for all of Florida, through which the Sabal Trail pipeline proposes to bulldoze.

Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens
Southwest Georgia Communities

By John Quarterman
Why should a shell corporation owned by two companies in Houston, Texas and Juno Beach, Florida get to take Georgians’ property to pipe fracked methane to Florida through our fragile karst limestone drinking water aquifer?

Yet that’s what Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC, proposes to do, Continue reading Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens Southwest Georgia Communities –in Georgia Sierran →

FPL supports solar power without spending money on it –FPL to FERC

April 25, 2014FE, FERC, Law, LNG, Martin County, Okeechobee County, SolarCape Canaveral, Carib Energy, coal, Crowley Maritime, EPA, export, FE, FERC, FL PSC, Florida Southeast Connection, Floridian LNG, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Martin County, oil, Okeechobee County, Pam Rauch, Sabal Trail Transmission, SMP, solar, Southeast Market Pipelines, SpectraBusters, Transco, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

FPL doubled down on a need because it claims fracked methane is “clean”, in its FERC filing of 21 April 2014. FPL says it is “a strong supporter of solar power” even though it didn’t increase its solar capacity from 2010 to 2013 because of the lame baseload capacity excuse. FPL says it knows nothing about Export of Gas, even though Floridian LNG, located next to FPL’s Martin County “Clean Energy” Center right at the end of the Transco-Sabal-FSC pipeline, was approved for LNG export by the U.S. DoE Office Fossil Energy (FE) 14 November 2013, and Crowley Maritime’s Carib Energy was approved for export from Florida by FE 27 July 2011. And FPL says its ratepayers are not paying the costs of the pipeline, even though FPL VP of development and external affairs Pam Rauch argued in pring 29 July 2012 for a “Clean Energy” (fracked methane) Center at Cape Canaveral that was one of several mentioned by the Tampa Times 24 October 2014 as a reason for a new pipeline, and that same Pam Rauch filed PF14-2 with FERC for the Florida Southeast Connection (FSC) pipeline that connects from Sabal Trail to FPL’s “Clean Energy” Center in Martin County, next to Floridian LNG. FPL doesn’t seem to know what’s going on next to it, and maybe not what its own employees are doing. I hope EPA doesn’t consider the questions it filed with FERC the same day answered by this weak tea from FPL.

April 21, 2014
Ms. Kimberly D. Bose
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20426
Subject: Southeast Market Pipelines Project
Docket Nos. PF14-1-000, PF14-2-000, and PF14-6-000
Dear Ms. Bose:
Florida Power & Light Company (“FPL”) hereby submits these comments in response Continue reading FPL supports solar power without spending money on it –FPL to FERC →