Friday, June 12, 2015

When the Words Speak for Themselves

Yesterday, Senator Lamar Alexander sent this letter to the Department of Energy:

Dear Secretary Moniz,

I write to express my serious concern with the Plains and Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project.

The Plains and Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project proposes to build a single 700 mile direct current transmission line from Oklahoma, through Arkansas, to deliver wind power to Tennessee and other southeastern states. The proposed project raises several concerns that must be carefully evaluated by the Department of Energy.

First, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Draft Integrated Resource Plan, TVA would not have a need for this wind power until the 2030s, at the earliest. In other words, the project proposes to fill a need that is not present at this time and could force a comparatively expensive source of energy on Southeastern utilities that don’t need the additional generation.

Second, the Department needs to take the true cost of wind power into account. Wind only has an average capacity factor of about 35%. Therefore, when considering the costs of wind power, the Department should also take into consideration the cost of all of the backup generation needed to support the grid during the 65% of the time wind isn’t producing electricity. Additionally, wind is not effective at meeting the peak demands of the grid, because the wind blows when demand is low (at night) and does not blow when demand is high (during the day). Therefore, the true cost of wind must include the energy storage and dispatch infrastructure that wind energy requires to support a stable grid. 

Third, the wasteful wind production tax credit has provided billions in subsidies to the wind industry over the past 22 years. The tax credit has been in place for 22 years and has been extended 9 different times. The subsidy costs the tax payers more than $6 billion over ten years each year it is extended.

The subsidy to Big Wind is so generous that in some markets, wind producers can literally give their electricity away and still make a profit. This phenomenon is called “negative pricing,” and it has the effect of making baseload power plants, like nuclear plants, less competitive and more likely to close.

The Department should take into account the impacts of the wind production tax credit when evaluating this proposed project.

Fourth, the Department should take into account the potential problems with relying on a single transmission line from Oklahoma to Tennessee. According to the National Climate Data Center at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, from 1991 to 2010, Oklahoma and Arkansas averaged over 100 tornados per year. Over the same time, the states averaged nearly six major tornados each year. A single tornado could take down part of transmission line, cutting off the wind farms from TVA. The proposed path of the project makes an inherently unreliable source of energy even more unreliable.

Finally, while the states of Tennessee and Oklahoma have approved the project, Arkansas continues to oppose the project. The use of Federal eminent domain authority would strip Arkansas of their traditional property rights.  The Department should carefully consider Arkansas’ concerns and resist efforts to undermine states’ rights.

I appreciate the Department’s consideration of my comments, and I urge the Department to take my concerns into consideration as you evaluate the proposed Plains and Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project.


Sincerely,



_____________________________                                     
Lamar Alexander                                                                   
United States Senator



I know I should just stop there and let his words speak for themselves, but I just want to throw a couple thoughts out there:

1) If your first thought in reading this letter is that this man is just a shill for nuclear, or to blame the Koch brothers, you haven't really been paying attention. The world would be easier if things were so black and white, but they're not. There's a lot going on here and this is whole situation is a fat ball of tangled up strings. Again, not to beat a dead horse or anything, but that's coming from a Bernie-o-phile. 

2) Read this article from the Times Free Press because, again, there's a lot going on here, too. Not the least of which is this quote from Mario Hutado:

 "We spend a lot of time talking with people in Tennessee and other states and what they tell us is that having more renewable energy options at an affordable cost is a good thing," he said.

I'm glad that Clean Line spends a lot of time talking with people in Tennessee. I wish they'd spent more time talking to Arkansans, landowners in particular, much earlier in this process. And I think more affordable renewable energy is important, too. But Plains and Eastern isn't the way to get there because the "affordable" in this equation comes partially from the fact that Clean Line wants access to a massive development discount: eminent domain. I know I say this all the time, but the people who pay for that discount aren't wealthy investors. It's the affected landowners. It's their neighbors. Clean Line claims they don't want to use it, but they do. Eminent domain isn't just for the hold outs. It's for everyone. It's the shadow lurking in the background that sends chills up your spine, that feeling that something is chasing you when you're alone in the woods. It's the ultimate backstopping authority and everyone knows it. So while Senator Alexander and I may disagree on much, I'm gonna go call him to say thanks. Thanks for standing up for us. 

Monday, June 8, 2015

Banned from Clean Line's Astro Turf

Today we learned that someone started a blatantly faux "support page" on Facebook called "Arkansans for Jobs & Low-Cost Energy". AFJLCE claims to be a group of conservatives who support lower taxes, more jobs and excellent education opportunities for Arkansas future generations...

...and we had some fun. 

I mean really, the whole thing was a gag fest, sorry, I mean advertisement for the same old garbage they've been spewing for months. It kinda kills me that they think Arkies are so stupid that they'll just fall for the "jobs/taxes" flute. Like our eyes just glaze over and we start drooling... "jooooooobs... taaaaaaaaaxes." Please. It's insulting.

Dave got deleted first. Probably because he tagged just about every constitutional officer and elected delegate he could think of. And, ah, RTO Insider.

Scott got banned. Nic got banned... I got banned, too.  But I took screenshots of my posts...




And then... I took some more...




You may recognize this next one because I commented on it... Deleted!!!


Factually inaccurate... $5 million to our schools...







I know, I know... You're all like, "What are these people freaking out about with the taxes thing?!"

Please allow me to explain, to the best of my knowledge. Clean Line can't own their facilities in Arkansas. Our statues won't allow for that, as the PSC ruled way back when. Instead of trying to fix those rules (now even more firmly set against interstate transmission as of the last legislative session, thanks to the ill will Clean Line generated among so many people here), Clean Line decided to try their luck with the feds assuming that the SWPA would own all the facilities in Arkansas. Here's the big, honkin' problem with that plan. The SWPA is a federal agency. Federal agencies in Arkansas are immune from taxation due to both federal and state law. So unless SWPA signs a waiver, or Clean Line pays out of it's own pocket (in spite of my request above, I was not presented with a legally binding document saying that those taxes would be paid), all of those promises to the schools are nothing but hot air.

Pants on fire, indeed.

Now, I could be wrong. Maybe there is a document. Maybe Clean Line has good intentions. Know what would help the general public to determine that? Public hearings on the 1222 review, an extension on the comment period so that these issues can be more carefully explored, and rule making for 1222 in general... Which is why our lawyer filed motions with the Department of Energy for all those things today.

**Update** Oh, look!! I still can't comment, but my posts are back... Magic ;) 
**Update 2** Whoops, gone again! They're here, they're gone. Here. Gone. Here... Gone. Along with the comments of almost every member of the opposition. Nice communication with the little people, my transmission constructing inclined friends. Well done. How about you just slap another couple hundred on promoting that page. That will fix everything.

Monday, June 1, 2015

"The Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men..."

"...Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!"


What does it mean when a inexperienced company posing as a "utility" takes to Change.org with a couple of petitions that address nothing (But feel real good to sign. Support wind, yay! Jobs, yay! "Ally", yay!... Wait, what? Is this "Ally" by any chance a Clean Line employee?) to try and salvage public opinion for a project? When, after snarkily dismissing the opposition's petition because it's signed by people from other states, it sneakily sends out an email to supporters from other states asking for them to sign in support?

Well, it might mean that their Updated Section 1222 Application can't stand on its own two feet. Or that all those promises for taxes might be just promises (See Appendix 4-A, pg 5&6: The Feds are fixin' to own themselves a brand new shiny line -along with some number of easements- in Arkansas... but not the capacity. Wait, what?) Or that the relationship between certain parties involved in this project (not even talkin' about you, Jimmy) might be a little too close for kosher. It might mean that they're preparing an awesome comment that, yet again, won't deal substantively with any of the serious issues that have been raised about this debacle, but will include a 600 (ba-hahaha!) voter survey of Arkansans showing we support P&E. (Landowners? What landowners? Oh, wait... You mean the Sierra Club Executive Committee member you have listed on your website as a "landowner" even though he isn't even on the route? That landowner?) Because if there's one thing we've learned as a country, it's that if you have a majority opinion based on half-truths and rhetoric that tramples on the rights of a smaller, underrepresented minority, the majority is clearly in the right. That always turns out well.

Listen, guys... You can't outsignature the opposition and expect it to change anything. At least not with the people you'll actually have to deal with if by some miracle this thing goes through without SWN cleaning your clock for virtually ignoring their interest in the Fayetteville Shale (Hint: even with the current natural gas slowdown they are money in the hand. You are money... maybe... someday... when the legal battles are over... possibly).

Who are the mice here? And who are the men?

I gotta go, but I'm just gonna leave this here. Who is ElephantRider? Welcome to the microcosm. Enjoy:
















And... Feelin' free to send along, as instructed: