Energy
Priming the News Pump–Choose Your Topic
With many of our readers gone and much of the legacy media not reporting any news, we are left to fend for ourselves with some “make news” topics of discussion. The GUARDIAN has been reporting from Hawaii the past week where we shared top visitor billing with the Obama family, hence little in the way [...]
Consumer Advocates Need Voice At IPUC
By HUBERT OSBORNE GUARDIAN Reader A recent examination of rate cases before the Idaho Public Utility’s commission on three separate rate cases all involving renewable energy show some startling differences in the electricity rates that have been agreed to between small power producers and the Utility’s involved. A case in North Idaho involving the burning [...]
Will Politicos Squelch China Demo Bus?
It will be interesting to see if Idaho politicos are as adamant about enforcing the “Buy America Act” when it comes to a demonstration electric bus for Camarillo, California as they were when Boston sought a waiver of the federal rules to get a demo locomotive in 2008. Zonda USA–which sounds a lot more like [...]
Communist China Learns Capitalism From USA Government Subsidies
In this modern day of Communist China leading the world in capitalist business ventures funded by U.S. Government taxpayers, we are not surprised to learn of Chinese plans to seek cheap labor in Idaho. The latest scheme is an electric BUS FACTORY to be built in the Treasure Valley. GUARDIAN GROWTHOPHOBES caution the enthusiastic Chamber [...]
PUC Plugs Into Dynamis-Idaho Power Deal
The Idaho PUC is now on the punch list for the “trash to electricity” deal proposed for the Ada County landfill. Idaho Power agreed to buy power from Dynamis’ project at the Ada County landfill for $92.35 per megawatt-hour. The proposal was submitted Tuesday to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. Regulators will evaluate it for [...]
Geezer Group Talks Turkey Over Raising Rates
Taking advantage of the paucity of news during the holiday week, the oldtimers at AARP have issued a press release aimed at the electricity and water providers who want more cash for their current. With Thanksgiving just days away, AARP Idaho has released the hotly anticipated winners of its first annual Gem State Turkey Award [...]
GUARDIAN Reader Plugs Into Dynamis Deal
The following came into the GUARDIAN as a comment on the DYNAMIS story posted recently. We contacted Commish Vern Bisterfeldt and shared the details of the comment. Bisterfeldt told us, “This is all news to me. I have asked for much of that information for over a year and was unable to get it–that’s why [...]
Dynamis Inks Deal With Ada Commishes
Dynamis Energy, the outfit that got $2,000,000 of taxpayer cash to design a “trash to electricity” generating plant signed a five year agreement with Ada County Tuesday. Commish Vern Bisterfeldt voted against the project, citing “serial meetings,” lack of a bid, no performance bond, improper loans (of public funds) and no payback as Commish Sharon [...]
Payette County P&Z Commishes Have Gas Deals
We all know that much of government fails to pass the “smell test.” In Payette County they appear to have passed gas, at least in a meeting approving a gas fired dehydration plant. Normally these things don’t get our attention, but this sentence from the BOISE WEEKLY left us shaking our head. “Last night’s meeting [...]
Idle Thought: So What’s New?
We certainly agree with the latest campaign by Boise’s Team Dave to cut down on emissions by turning off automobile engines while at drive up windows and the like. But there is nothing new here. The GUARDIAN outed idle copper cars long ago and even got an official POLICY implemented to curtail the practice. We [...]
Thoughts From The Road Summer 2011
The day job has the GUARDIAN editor on the road gathering photos for the LIBRARY. As always, we have thoughts to share. –Don’t panic when you hear a loud explosion within the car while negotiating the 8000 foot plus summit between Victor, Idaho and Jackson Hole…especially if it is followed by the aroma of fresh [...]
Boise County Bankruptcy Is Historic
While Boise County is set to file for bankruptcy in federal court, there probably won’t be any auctions for snowplows and road graders in the near future. Since the developers who won the $4 million judgement against the county are themselves delinquent in paying their property taxes to the tune of $368,182, we expect a [...]
Landfill Energy Project May Be Just Garbage
After getting some negative comments as well as talking with an engineer, the GUARDIAN’s red flag began to wave over the electric generation project with Dynamis and Lloyd Mahaffey at the Ada Landfill. Last week the DAILY PAPER ran a big page one story which clearly said the firm operates a trash-to-electricity project at Barrow, [...]
Powerful Trash Talk On Ada Landfill
Boise’s much touted no-sort blue bin recycle program could face some major alterations in the future if the electric generator project at the county dump doesn’t get short circuited. The DAILY PAPER had a page one story Tuesday on the project with details about the technology of superheating trash to reduce emissions. This a new [...]
PUC Deals Big Blow To Wind Generators
Idaho’s Public utilities commission has dealt a blow to companies seeking to sell massive amounts of electricity to Idaho Power and two other utilities in the Gem State. Monday the PUC issued an order putting a temporary limit on the size of so-called PURPA projects which require the big utilities to purchase power from alternative [...]
Sunshine On Wind, Solar Finances, Politics
For folks investing in those mandatory “PURPA” electricity generating projects, their plans could face a short circuit, thanks to recent developments in science, business, and politics. The most important issue for Idaho consumers is a report from Idaho Power Company telling the GUARDIAN they are approaching enough wind generating capacity to meet their minimum daily [...]
Ada Landfill Gas To Double Electric Output
Ada County’s Hidden Hollow Landfill apparently is rotting away at a rate that will double the potential to capture methane and burn it to power two more electrical generators, doubling the current capacity. Idaho Power will enter into an agreement with Fortistar Methjane Group, the owner of the plant, to use the electricity as an [...]
GUARDIAN Warned of Fizzled Fission Three Years Ago
Thursday’s story by Rocky Barker in the DAILY PAPER about an alleged scam involving the SEC investigation of Alternative Energy’s proposed nuclear power plant near Payette didn’t really surprise us. The GUARDIAN, along with readers and writer Jo Kirkpatrick warned folks of the “smooth operator” in this NUKE STORY. Our hat is off to the [...]
GUARDIAN Guest on Channel 4 Dialogue Show
GUARDIAN editor David R. Frazier will be on Idaho Public TV’s DIALOGUE show Thursday at 8:30 p.m. discussing the three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot. State Senator Joe Stegner of Lewiston will also be featured on the show hosted by Marcia Franklin. We plan to discuss the importance–and what passage could mean–of HJR [...]
Ada Dump Seeks Green Power Trash Talk
The Ada Commishes are trying to generate some trash talk–or talk generating with trash– with the idea of making prime real estate out of the county dump. They issued a “REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST” for anyone willing to talk about using trash to generate energy and potentially building a “Renewal Energy Industrial Park” at [...]
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