Gerlach Sempra Coal Plant Cancelled

[retropsycho]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/busi ... empra.html

"Sempra Energy said yesterday it was ending its effort to build two coal-fired electricity-generating plants in the West, projects that had prompted stiff opposition from nearby residents and environmental groups.

San Diego-based Sempra said that rather than build the plants in northern Nevada and southern Idaho, it will seek buyers for the development work it has done on the projects over the past two years."

[joel the ornery]

just don't bitch when electricty rates go un-regulated... and up.

[Desert Duck]

That would have been polluting the playa, and would have eliminated the chance of developing solar and wind power in the area. Good riddance.

[Lassen Forge]

...

San Diego-based Sempra said that rather than build the plants in northern Nevada and southern Idaho, it will seek buyers for the development work it has done on the projects over the past two years."

Sounds to me like it doesn't mean it's out of the woods, just that Sempra's not building it. Remember, they can sell it to one of their minor subsidiaries, keep it hushhush, and build the damn thing. Seen it happen before.

So... please... reamain...

VIGILANT!!!

bb

______________
All's fair in the land of corporate greed - just ask them!

[theCryptofishist]

Yeah, thanks Sue.

[Rob the Wop]

That would have been polluting the playa, and would have eliminated the chance of developing solar and wind power in the area. Good riddance.

Well yah, but currently solar and wind aren't all they are cracked up to be. When I lived in Ridgecrest, CA- I had buddies that worked at the Kramer Junction Solar PLant and the wind plants in Tehachapi. The heat exchange liquid used in the solar plant is INCREDIBLEY toxic. My buddy John is still in court trying to get compensation for the after effects years later from getting hit after a pipe burst. And the wind turbines are known for having to be continually fixed. The desert sand really messes with the components.

That being said, I feel wind and solar has great potential. I'm just not sure is there is enough of a sustained wind for one, and whether that's the best place for solar. It's one thing to say 'replace the coal plant with solar/wind'. It's entirely another to justify building a huge plant if the location is wrong. The reason they want to erect a coal plant is bottom dollar. Coal is still cheaper and they have to placate their shareholders. If you can figure out a way around the cost issue (legislation that makes it cheaper to implement solar, etc.) then there stands a chance.

[LeChatNoir]

We don't need more energy, we need more energy efficiency. I will build another home eventually and I'm shooting for off grid. I'm looking into LED lighting and solar for a start. But until then, by being conscious of things and using mostly compact fluorescent bulbs I keep my electric bill low in my current home. Last month it was about $28.00... that’s pretty much the average.

And just so you guys know, it's not just the air around the plant that suffers. Coal fired power enables the destruction of mountains... mountains I grew up wandering around and climbing. I went back to East Kentucky last year to check out the old homeplace. Drove up a winding little road to see some really cool rock formations that I had climbed as a boy. From atop of them, you could see the ridges roll off into the blue distance. When I came around the bend in the road that used to reveal those rocks, there was nothing to see but open sky. The entire mountain top was gone and the valley that used to be beside it was filled with its remains.

Just so you know there's more being hurt by leaving the lights on than just the air.

from this webpage: http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/

and here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Aug16.html

or do a search for "mountaintop removal"

[Ugly Dougly]

In related news, Reno cancels its plans to go all-LED.

[can't sit still]

We don't need no stinkin coal.
600,000 magawatts for nevada.
http://www.solargenix.com/news_details.cfm?id=11

[can't sit still]

... More than 1,000 coal-fed power plants will be built in the next five years, mostly in China and India, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. China, the world's biggest coal producer, became a net importer for the first time this year, taking supplies from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa and reducing the amount available for Europe.

[mdmf007]

Your digging deep here

[can't sit still]

007, it was just a bit of irony. 1 plant is blocked in Nevada but thousands go up in other places. CO2, heat and fly ash are spread worldwide. The Chinese say that there is enough uranium in the ash to make it worth procesing. Just fucking wonderful. The cancer causing particulate emissions come with an added bonus,,, uranium.
China is having horrible pollution problems. BUT, China also believes that they would do OK after a nuclear war. They have enough people to come out OK. If they aren't worried about a ICBM exchange, they sure aren't going to do anything about pollution.
It seems futile to control pollution here when we just get it from other places.
I see that Warren Buffett is investing in nukes http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid= ... sort=whole
I suppose that with oil running down, nukes are the obvious choice for GOV
The only good news is that they can get rid of the radioactivity with Brown's gas. There have been very reliable reports. Dunno

[can't sit still]

Obummer says that we don't have to worry about coal plants anymore;