In a wonderful affirmation of my oft spoke argument in favor of community owned and locally produced energy, Boulder Colorado has a plan that recognizes the potential of distributed energy production.
The city of Boulder is on the way to creating a new, clean energy future in a process that may mean breaking away from Xcel Energy and creating its own municipal utility. Conversely, Boulder could consider partnership with Xcel in a plan created by the utility to help the city meet its energy goals. Those goals are to democratize, decentralize and decarbonize the energy supply for the city.
Acknowledging recent studies proving that natural gas is not a clean green energy source the city realizes using natural gas as a base load to bridge the transition to distributed renewable energy is a sidestep not a forward step. Adding more solar, now much more affordable and wind to the mix over time will reduce the reliance on dirty natural gas.
For three years I have been promoting local power generation as a means to create more abundant long term family wage jobs and the City of Boulder agrees with me.
There are more known economic benefits of local power. Boulder’s pals at National Renewable Energy Labs put out a study in 2009 showing a tendency for locally-owned wind power generation to proffer nearly three times as many jobs as absentee-owned resources, with a total economic boost up to three times better than absentee-owned. [emphasis mine]
More on jobs: the installation of new solar PV yields up to 14 times more jobs for coal’s and natural gas’ one job produced on new projects, and wind offering up to four times as many jobs also. The renewables also yield better permanent jobs, too, as reported in 2009 study from UC Berkeley.
Coos County, the Port of Coos Bay and the local municipalities could all be doing this right here only we would already have a leg up on the decarbonization because our base load is covered primarily by hydro. What are we waiting for?
Instead our local leaders linger in the 19th century and label those of us, like the planners in Boulder, who recognize this potential as jobs killers and anti-development activists. The truth is they are anti-development activists opposing anything that looks remotely like something in the future.
While I support the resurrection of a local railroad I don’t believe using public money to expedite the export of raw materials on behalf of a private company that just laid off hundreds of workers creates long term jobs in Coos County. In fact, by shipping our unprocessed raw materials out of the area we are helping to create jobs somewhere else. If we are going to export anything it should be goods manufactured right here.
We’re screwed guys. “They” control the press, the government and they have a funnel for tax dollars that we evidently cannot stop. When you control the press and the politicians you do whatever you want. Don’t think Messerle didn’t know exactly what he was doing . And don’t think Cam and Bob don’t know it too. They are truly above the law and they know it and we know it.
Bend over and enjoy it, you have no choice now.
I am so sorry for those impacted by ORC, this is going to be really ugly. And tax free to boot.
Unfortunately, Coos County is more valuable to economic development agencies as an economically depressed region than it it were prosperous. Because the county is poor it qualifies for special incentives like new markets tax credits and receives a funding priority for econ dev schemes, no matter how impractical, put forth by agencies like the Port.
The millions received in state guaranteed loans and federal grants benefits outside contractors and a very few locals while the rest of the county struggles. Keeping the county poor allows the Port to funnel public money into private hands much more easily.
Well put, JM. It is a shame the taxpayer is footing the bill to help export raw materials that deprives jobs here in Oregon.
This is more about rule than money. A handful of people don’t want to lose power over the rest of the county so they kill jobs that compete with their projects
The reason the powers that be have a ban on wind turbines is because developing wind power here would create 3 times as many jobs and prove the Port’s current one and only project, the (Whoops #2) Jordan Cove LNG facility, is clearly not needed now nor will it be needed in the future.
The report “Wind Energy for a new Era” spells it all out.- http://www.newwindagenda.org/
The benefits of achieving 20% Wind Energy by 2030 would reduce natural gas demand in the electric sector by 50% and 11% overall.
While the rest of the planet moves forward into a clean, sustainable, renewable future, we have a few local powers that be who continue to keep us plundering in the past. The 39 potential local jobs promised by Jordan Cove will not save them or us, and the project will more than likely end up being just another Port boondoggle for the history books or perhaps for a sequel to the book – “Plundertown USA”.
We used to have a paper mill on the North Spit that hired between 150 – 200 workers and there was also another plant in Gardner. Those profit making sustainable facilities are all gone now. Corporate Elitist decided they could make more money having 5 or so people run an export chip facility. Now overseas companies make their own paper using our extracted resources. Raw log exports have now replaced much of our milled wood products.
SCDC’s SDAT report states, “Companies that extract natural resources for export, rather than developing a sustainable local economy do not provide the kind of jobs growth needed by the region.”
It couldn’t be clearer than that and you do have to wonder if these people read much?
Wind power will be a money and job maker for sure, when it is finally developed here. Let’s just hope the powers that be don’t totally annihilate our local area and industries before they figure it out.
PS: (For info on Whoops #1 see – http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/WA3288/ )
Trust me, when they find out there’s money to be had, they’ll be all over it.
That is if they un-ban small wind turbines, those so so forward thinking city fathers we have !!!!