“Last year, when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
kicked off a new program to buy electricity from local solar
installations, city leaders along with environmentalists and
business groups said it would be the nation’s largest urban
rooftop solar program and would allow hundreds of building owners
to create sun-fueled power plants on their roofs or over parking
lots.”
“The Obama administration’s announcement Monday of sweeping new
rules aimed at curbing global warming emissions from power plants
could boost profits at Silicon Valley companies that make solar
panels, energy efficiency software and other clean technology.”
“One by one, a parade of Owens Valley residents rose at a public
hearing Tuesday to assail the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power’s plan to meet its renewable energy goals by covering 2
square miles of high desert with 1 million solar panels.”
“The sun has gone down on a farmer’s plans to build solar
panels on what he describes as salty, unproductive land on
Roberts Island.
“The death of Michael J. Robinson’s would-be solar farm shows
how increasingly difficult it can be to complete a
non-agricultural project within the highly regulated inner core
of the Delta.”
“Quietly whirring away in a dusty field in the Central Valley
is a shiny solar energy machine that may someday solve many of
California’s water problems.
“It’s called the WaterFX solar thermal desalination plant, and
it has been turning salty, contaminated irrigation runoff into
ultra-pure liquid for nearly a year for the Panoche Water and
Drainage District.”
“Despite last week’s showers, the lack of rain in California
this winter is having a dire impact on the rivers and
reservoirs that power the state’s hydroelectricity plants.
“But the abundance of sunshine has been ideal for solar power,
which is stepping in to fill the anticipated drop-off in
hydroelectricity generation.”
“It takes L.A. at least 12 to 13 weeks to approve and inspect
rooftop panels for homeowners, according to estimates provided by
the DWP. That’s roughly five times what it takes in San Diego and
Sacramento.”
“Imperial Irrigation District is starting the new year with a
plan to increase the number of its customers installing rooftop
solar by reducing by a third the cash rebates it offers for such
projects — even though that could mean some ratepayers planning
to go solar could lose thousands of dollars in expected
incentives.”
“Over the objections of critics, Los Angeles is moving ahead with
plans to build a $680-million 200-megawatt solar energy plant
within view of this desolate Eastern Sierra site that was a
Japanese American internment camp during World War II.”
“Over the objections of critics, Los Angeles is moving ahead with
plans to build a $680-million 200-megawatt solar energy plant
within view of this desolate Eastern Sierra site that was a
Japanese American internment camp during World War II.”
“San Bernardino County supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 3, endorsed
new rules to protect communities and natural resources from
potential conflicts with commercial solar developments.
“All but killed by the federal government three years ago, an
innovative way of financing home solar installations may be
poised for a comeback. And San Francisco officials want to be
part of that resurgence.”
From The Bakersfield Californian, in a commentary by Lois Henry:
“A water grab is a water grab is a water grab. No matter how
AquaHelio Resources LLC tries to dress it up, that’s what I
believe its proposed Fremont Valley Preservation Project amounts
to. I wrote about this mysterious company’s initial proposal last
year when it was just a solar/water banking project.”
“Construction of the California Valley Solar Ranch, one of two
commercial photovoltaic plants on the Carrizo Plain, in the San
Luis Obispo County, is complete.”
“SMUD is launching a new clean energy project to help improve
efficiency at its natural gas-fired power plant. The U.S.
Energy Department has given the utility $10 million to test the
technology. …
“The technology uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and focus
it on water to produce steam.”
“BrightSource Energy’s Palen solar project will in all likelihood
result in the death of migratory and other birds, and state
officials have no plan as yet on how to minimize this and some of
the other wildlife impacts of the solar thermal plant, with its
two soaring 750-foot towers surrounded by thousands of reflecting
mirrors.”
“The upscale Sacramento suburb of Roseville will buy 325,000
megawatt-hours of electrical power from a solar facility more
than 260 miles south of the city, in a Kern County town more
readily known for oil wells than solar fields. Roseville will buy
all the power from First Solar’s Lost Hills solar facility for
four years.”
“For years, the solar industry has complained about wide
disparities in the permitting fees California cities charge for
solar installations on homes, schools, churches and retail
stores, not to mention the amount of red tape and time
associated with getting a permit processed. Now nine East
Bay cities — Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito,
Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro — have
joined forces to streamline the permitting process …
“The collaborative effort, three years in the making, could
serve as a blueprint for str
“A proposed Novato solar energy farm that would have been capable
of powering 200 Marin homes was killed by the Marin Board of
Supervisors in a 3-1 vote Tuesday.”
“A project that would seemingly be embraced by Marin’s
environmental community — a solar farm that could power 200 local
homes — has instead divided environmentalists. Some environmental
advocates say the proposed solar project, at the Green Point
Nursery just outside Novato, is exactly what the county needs as
it looks to reduce its ecological footprint.
