Throughout the desert west, millions of acres are slated to go under big solar projects, while millions of rooftops sit empty. The San Luis Valley is facing an enormous project near Center called SolarReserve, which would involve 3,000 acres of mirrors and two 656-foot towers with the Sun focused on the top – directly west of the Great Sand Dunes and near Center. If we do not stop this and the Tessera Solar project, there will be more, and more, and more.
Tessera Solar’s Marfa, Texas plant has been unable to obtain financing and was cancelled, possibly due to reliability concerns. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/cps_loses_a_solar_provider_102017078.html
In 1999 in Daggett, CA, a concentrated solar power plant using molten salt storage exploded and caught fire, burning 900,000 gallons of flammable oil. http://www.digitalstoryteller.com/BTV99/hartley/0303.shtml
It’s important that we get as many people as possible to voice their concerns. The public comment deadline for SolarReserve is Friday, September 17 at 4PM, in person or in writing to Saguache County Land Use, P.O. Box 326, Saguache, CO 81149.
Two public meetings are scheduled – on Monday September 13 from 6-8 PM at the Saguache Town hall is a chance for people to ask questions and learn about the proposed project. On Tuesday September 14 from 6-8 PM at the Center High School Auditorium (500 S. Broadway) is a chance to offer input to the commissioners.
Community Solar Gardens
What’s the alternative? Everyone can own their own solar panels and get their electricity from the Sun, even if their roof is shaded (important in Tree Town USA!). The new Community Solar Gardens Act, signed by Governor Ritter on June 5. Similar laws are already in place in Washington, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
The Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org has been working to establish this kind of law around the country – particularly in Oregon, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. This has been keeping me on the road quite a bit!
In Colorado, we’ve been meeting with members of the Public Utilities Commission, XCEL energy, and state and local officials to help create rules that support grassroots community groups and small rural counties. We are actively promoting three solar garden projects within the San Luis Valley and one each in Huerfano and Las Animas counties.
On Friday September 17 at 10 AM the Saguache Alliance for Green Energy (SAGE) will be meeting at the Saguache BLM office. I’ll be talking about our specific proposal to establish a 0.2 Megawatt (1/1000 the size of Tessera) plant made of ordinary solar panels to supply the municipal buildings, low income housing, and homes with big, beautiful trees. Please attend and learn more!
Sincerely,
Joy Hughes
Founder, Solar Gardens Institute
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment