http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007021.html
The Worlds Largest Solar Energy Farm
WorldChanging Team
July 13, 2007 1:01 PM
by Warren Karlenzig:
Fresno, California sits at the south end of one
of the sunniest and hottest valleys in North
America, the San Joaquin. The San Joaquin Air
District is also one of the most polluted in the
nation, with asthma rates many times higher than
the rest of the nation and numerous air quality
action days every summer causing significant health and business impacts.
Upon this tableau, the city of about a half
million residents along with 11 surrounding
communities and two counties announced last week
they would together be developing the largest
solar facility in the world. It will be more than
seven times the size of the earths largest solar energy farm, now in Germany.
Map of California counties with solar potential overlay
Map sources: geology.com, WIPP.Energy.gov
The planned 80 PV solar plant, eventually
covering one square mile, will be developed by
San Francisco-based Cleantech America and managed
by the Kings River Conservation District (KRCD),
one of the states new community choice aggregation districts.
Were so excited about what community choice can
do for us, said Dave Orth, Manager of KRCD.
Community choice allows a city, county or group
of communities such as the KRCD to band together
to build and produce their own energy and then
transmit that over lines owned by public or
investor-owned utilities. In the case of the KRCD
and other California communities following in its
path, the goal is to control development of new
energy sources, particularly renewables, which
can be solar, wind, biomass or other non-polluting technologies.
Community choice was legislated by Californias
General Assembly (AB 117) in 2002 after rolling
power blackouts of 2000-2001 and skyrocketing
energy prices spooked the state into action to
ensure that it would be more independent from the
market manipulation of out-of-state companies, such as Enron.
California also passed a law that year requiring
that 20 percent of all its electric power will
come from renewable sources by 2010, and 33
percent by 2030. Renewables not only will provide
jobsthousands in the case of the new solar
farm--but they will not add to the extreme air
pollution experienced by the San Joaquin Valley
as do coal and gas-fired power plants.
Air quality is a very significant issue. Orth
said. To improve air quality was the biggest
priority for the communities that have come
together as part of community choice.
Mark Stout, San Joaquin Valley Manager of
Community and Government Relations for Cleantech
America, the project's developer, had a spent his
career advocating renewables, clean air and green
economic development before he joined the company
earlier this year. He was a consultant for the
Union of Concerned Scientists, and helped
campaign for the California Rewewable Energy
Portfolio Standard during renewable energy's dark days--the 1990s.
"There's a lot of effort in economic development
in the Fresno city and county area being put into
clean tech, particularly into renewables, as a
solution that addresses air quality and job
growth," Stout said. Besides the jobs and clean
energy, he said the price and availability of
other energy sources are becoming less stable,
making solar much more attractive. "We're seeing
the day when North America will be stripped of natural gas."
"The vision of community choice is to let local
governments make decisions about generating
energy in a way that best benefits their region,
and hopefully that will result in making more
sustainable choices, economically and environmentally," Stout said.
Other California cities potentially following the
community choice aggregation path of Fresno and
the KRCD include San Francisco, Oakland and Chula
Vista, along with the Bay Areas Marin County.
--
Warren Karlenzig is Chief Strategy Officer at
SustainLane, where he directs the companys US
city rankings, and SustainLane Government, an
open-source best practices sustainability
knowledgebase for state and local government
officials and their constituents. Warren is lead
author of the newly released How Green Is Your
City? The SustainLane U.S. City Rankings (New
Society Publishers). His blog is www.greenacity.com
--
((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
