Commissioner Sharon Ullman has publicly claimed Ada County spent $2 million for design plans for the waste-to-energy facility and the money will be repaid once construction begins or is approved. Today after long consideration the GUARDIAN has determined there was no legitimate reason for the county to pay for design plans, drawings, or blueprints. The county has no business paying for plans to a facility it will never own, hold interest in, or otherwise operate.

The facility–if it is ever built–will be privately owned and operated by Dynamis on land it will lease for $1 a year from Ada County. The deal is akin to someone paying for architectural drawings for a home to be built, owned, and occupied by someone else! Any way you cut it, the best the county can claim is they made a loan and loans of public funds are illegal.

In another development, The STATESMAN linked two officers of the firm to the failed DBSI real estate development outfit that is subject of federal investigations and a bankruptcy. No sooner had the story been posted, it was removed from the DAILY PAPER website.

SATURDAY UPDATE–Statesman posted THE STORY.

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Seven candidates discussed the issue while Commish Sharon Ullman refused to participate in the forum which was moderated by Dr. Jim Weatherby, a former political science prof at BSU. Ullman told the forum organizer she was “comfortable here” (in the back of the room with a laptop computer opened before her).

Weatherby, a veteran political forum moderator, told the GUARDIAN, “I have never seen anything like this. She shows up and then refused to participate.”

Of the seven who participated, all but one were opposed to the Dynamis project based on current information and urged that it should be delayed to allow more public input. Ada County, with the support of Ullman has already spent $2 million in public funds on the no-bid project.

Candidate views:
–Jim Tibbs wants proof of financial security from Dynamis before proceeding.
–Brad Rowen said the project needs an independent environmental inspector.
–Steve Halvorson was the lone Dynamis advocate and said the firm “answered all my questions.”
–John Howard said there was no “hard science verifying it would work and we shouldn’t be Guinea pigs.”
–Dave Case said there was “too much secrecy” by Dynamis and the public was left out of the process. He chided Ullman for sitting out the session.
–Larry Rincover declared the project to be in trouble and said the firm’s PR was a “disaster.”

Related posts:

1. Ullman Ousted, Case In Line For Appointment
2. Candidate Talks Trash Over Dynamis Plan
3. Yet Another Commish Candidate Forum

Sewell also confirms what the GUARDIAN has written over the past two years with regard to Mahaffey’s dodging questions from critics, tax debt in Boise County, and lack of performance on various projects that are “in the works or underway.” In addition to burning trash, the facility seeks to burn tires, claiming the super heated proprietary technology will eliminate concerns about emissions. Critics are skeptical.

Ullman is scrambling to make it all come together because she was instrumental in delivering $2 million in public money to Dynamis. It is unclear exactly WHAT the $2 million purchased if anything. Dynamis has become the focal point for the upcoming May 15 primary election.

The GUARDIAN feels it is time for Dynamis to “put up or shut up” with regard to financing. Ada County politicos have failed to obtain any proof of financial ability, relying instead upon promises and statements from a guy with a public record of deceptive and evasive statements and a history of non-payment of taxes.

We first QUESTIONED THE DEAL in July 2010 and the concerns are unabated.

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Please attend the town hall meeting with the Ada County Commissioner candidates. All candidates have been invited. Six candidates have confirmed attendance. Come meet the candidates. The main topic is Dynamis.

“Dynamis plans to build a facility within the county-owned Hidden Hollow landfill that would super-heat and gasify trash to create a gas that can be converted to energy. The facility would process daily up to 408 tons of trash, including tires, to generate 20 megawatts of power.”

Town Hall Meeting Information:
When: Thursday, May 3rd
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Where: Riverglen Junior High

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By Dave Case
Ada Commission Candidate

It has been almost a month now since the Idaho Statesman ran its last story on the proposed waste-to-energy facility at the Ada County landfill, and there are still several unanswered questions the Statesman’s reporter didn’t ask.

For instance: Why were there no public hearings on this proposal prior to the one on June 18, 2010, when the County Commissioners put out a Request for Expressions of Interest on this project?

Apparently, the Commissioners met several times individually with representatives of Dynamis regarding the trash-to-energy concept, but held no meetings with anyone else, and held no open meetings where the public could participate. Then the Commissioners did something extremely unusual. In just nine working days, the Commissioners reconvened to award the proposed project to Dynamis. By most government standards, that’s an incredibly short period of time to allow others to consider responding.

In fact, during the nine days they were supposedly waiting for other submissions, Commissioner Sharon Ullman admits on her blog dated November 8, 2011 that “our lead attorney and I negotiated an agreement with Dynamis”. Were no other responses even going to be considered?

Commissioner Ullman says I.C. 31-4403(6) allows the Commissioners to do this deal “with or without competitive bidding”. But just because you can do it doesn’t make it right. And it certainly isn’t prudent to do something this complex and apparently revolutionary without seeking other expert opinions on the feasibility of Dynamis’ proposed “new technology”.

Why the hurry? Why did the Ada County Commissioners avoid the normal due diligence required for such a complex project?

In a recent symposium on trash-to-energy, Commissioner Ullman said she could find nothing in her research to indicate that Dynamis’ concept would not work. But she gave no evidence of any research that she or anyone else associated with the county had done to indicate the project will work. Most responsible people would demand such evidence before handing over $2 Million in taxpayer money to an unproven entity with an unproven concept without, at the very least, demanding a performance bond.

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The Dynamis project and the $2 million payment in taxpayer money to the firm are focal points in the Commish primary race.

The GUARDIAN has been monitoring the project and talking to scientists familiar with the process and the specific Dynamis proposal. Simply put, the project is full of holes with regard to waste sorting and who will pay for sorting (cement, iron, and other waste simply will not burn or provide fuel for the system), emissions, and other issues including things like who owns the trash that will be used to fuel the system.

The firm has applied for an expedited “15 day permit” from the Idaho DEQ. That will allow them to begin construction, but if the project is not approved someone will be left holding the bag. Prior financing has fallen through and Dynamis was refused to provide details with regard to the current financing while touting job creation, economic development, etc. The 350 page applications can be seen HERE.

They have previously pushed for a “world headquarters” operation in Garden Valley in conjunction with the South Fork Landing development which is failing and owes Boise County hundreds of thousands in back taxes. See STATESMAN story.

Environmentalists are now claiming the issue of emissions is a serious concern–noting Dynamis has removed references to certain carcinogens from its web site. Says opponent Erik Jensen, “Dynamis has absolutely zero experience building, operating, and maintaining a facility like the one they want to build right at the population center of Idaho.”

Dynamis has been touting projects all over the world from Alaska to Italy, but when examined closely they either don’t exist or are not at all what they claimed to be. A consortium of several Eastern Idaho Counties have reportedly abandoned plans to use the Dynamis trash burning technology at a proposed facility in Clark County.

While the firm does have an agreement to sell electricity to Idaho Power, the deal is only good IF they “produce the juice.”

We see the proposal as a way to take advantage of public funding for something that is not needed and will most certainly cost taxpayers more than the $2 million already spent when it is all over.

UPDATE 4/30/12–The IDAHO CONSERVATION LEAGUE blogs in opposition to the project.

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By Steve Hulme

The CCDC, in cahoots with the Central District Health Dept., are hoping to start upa bike-sharing program in Boise.

On the surface, it sounds laudable… 140 bikes at 10-15 different secure”stations” around town–mostly downtown extending out around BSU, and to the North End. You swipe your membership tag, or bankcard in the case of out-of-towners, and you release a shared bike. You ride and ride, and then turn your bike in at any of the 10-15 stations to release yourself from liability for the bike. Depending on how long you’ve used it, you pay rent.

In big cities, “members” get a half-hour of use for free, and then it’s a few bucks per hour. Members pay a $55-85 annual fee. Visitors would just be charged the per-hour fee for the time they had the bike out.

Fantastic, huh? Promotes health… cements our reputation as being “bike friendly,”gives tourists an easy way to ride the Greenbelt.

But here’s the rub. The startup money is likely to be $650,000. And that kind ofmoney doesn’t grow on trees… but it might as well; they’ve asked the federalTransportation Department to give it to ‘em. And of course, it would go onto the backs of the taxpayers. Or doesn’t it count, if it’s our federal taxes?

Here’s another point of interest… they did a study to determine the viability and decide where the bike stations should be located. They looked at 6 cities with existing bike-shares: Montreal, Minneapolis/St.Paul, DC Metro, Boston, Denver, and Miami.

What makes Boise different from them? Well, the comparison cities range in size from 400,000 (Miami) on up, and the metro populations range from 2.5 million(Denver) on up. I question whether Boise has the population base or density to
realistically compare with those places, or support a bike share program, even if we are “a bike-friendly city,” as stated by Karen Sanders of the Downtown Boise Association.

I’m not confident that my grandkids and their grandkids want to pay for a bike-sharing program for us, today.

It’s like nobody “in power” gives a rip about the $15 trillion debt – let’s just spend more!

EDITOR NOTE–Paris was the first place to start the bike vending program and it has caught on worldwide.

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2. Peddle Pushers To Protest Prohibitions

As usual, the GUARDIAN will present DOPE REPORTER awards to reporters who appear on camera standing in flood water. Boots are permitted to get a good camera angle, but wading in water is for children on their way to school.

Note to Jennifer: Check past DOPE REPORTER awards and you will see it isn’t personal and really is all in good fun.

Reader nominations accepted at the CONTACT button on the home page.

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Oversupply of wind power has been a major bone of contention recently due to high water levels in the Columbia Basin and less consumption than previously predicted. Here is the official version from a PUC press release:

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will hear oral arguments Wednesday on an Idaho Power Company motion to temporarily suspend the utility’s federal PURPA obligation to enter into sales agreements with qualifying small-power producers.

Idaho Power claims the suspension is needed while the commission processes a case (GNR-E-11-03) that addresses how energy from the small projects, called Qualifying Facilities (QFs), should be priced. That case is ongoing with technical hearings scheduled for Aug. 7-9. In the meantime, Idaho Power argues, it may be forced under PURPA to enter into contracts with small-power producers for energy it claims it does not need at prices it claims are too high, unduly inflating customer rates.

Customers can track the progress of the case on the commission Website at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on the electric icon, then on “Open Electric Cases,” and scroll down to Case No. GNR-E-11-03.

Related posts:

1. Dynamis Deal With Idaho Power Gets IPUC Approval
2. Idaho Power Adopts Growthophobe Philosophy
3. PUC Plugs Into Dynamis-Idaho Power Deal

It all boils down to Renewal Energy Credits (RECs) created out of thin air. They can be bought and sold on the open market. These credits cannot be put in a box, they don’t come off anyone’s tax bill, but they play into every major decision to build so-called alternative energy projects. Without the credits most projects are doomed to failure because the value of the power is less than the cost to produce it.

In a nutshell here is how it works: Back in the 1970s the U.S. government wanted to stimulate “alternative energy sources” to cut down on foreign oil dependence. With visions of small farmers using windmills to power their milking machines, congress required the utility companies to purchase the excess electricity from these small producers to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and help offset the farmer’s cost of construction.

The high voltage utility companies are simultaneously required to have a certain percentage of their power generated by renewable energy sources. Alternatively, they can buy RECS on the open market. The idea sounds noble enough. Clean alternative power, burn less fossil fuel and it is financed in part by RECS. The low watt producers have a guaranteed market and use the money from RECS as part of their funding formula–or profit.

Fast forward to 2012 and those little farmer-owned windmills have blossomed into thousands of acres of 200 foot towers owned by the likes of Shell Oil, British Petroleum, and General Electric. In Idaho alone there is enough wind power to supply the minimum needs of Idaho Power.

But unlike politicians and salesmen, the wind doesn’t blow all the time. Under terms of the monopoly, the utilities must have enough DEPENDABLE power to meet peak demand–but still purchase whatever RENEWABLE power is produced.

Which brings us to this new generation of generators who are flocking to the nation’s landfills cutting deals to use the Municipal Solid Waste (MSL) as fuel for electrical generators. Again, sounds great. Trash volume at the dump is reduced, reliable electricity is generated, and we all have plenty of juice for lights and air conditioning.

In Ada County the Commishes were so eager to plug into the idea they ponied up $2 million to Dynamis Energy for an “oxygen-deprived gasification” device that appears to be a glorified incinerator. It is said to create heat to boil water to turn a turbine to make electricity. Currently the company has no pending DEQ permit application and it was denied funding by the Idaho Energy Resource Authority because that outfit doesn’t fund the mandated purchase deals known as PURPAs.

The latest Dynamis news is a plan to double the amount of trash to be burned each day. That signals to some the original plan didn’t “pencil out” so they just increased the “projected” amounts. It jumped from about 200 tons to 400 tons of trash to be burned.

Meanwhile we hear rumblings from the city and others with regard to who actually “owns” the trash which has now become a “fuel stream” with value to the likes of Dynamis. One argument holds that since the city contracts with a firm to pick up the trash, it is the city’s. The county claims it’s theirs once it hits the landfill.

In some cities the generators actually pay for the trash or share in the profits generated by the generators. Ada was happy to just reduce the trash to ash in the case of Dynamis. The county actually is paid for the methane production by sharing in electricity revenues.

Now for the politics. Remember those RECs? In most recent deals Idaho Power has shared the RECs with the producer. They now have a bill before the Idaho Legislature to get ALL the money–a plan the little guys say will put them out of business. Idaho Power charges customers all the costs associated with the purchase of the PURPA power and claims sale of the RECs helps offset costs, hence it provides a saving to customers.

So as we complete the circuit, it isn’t about the ELECTRICITY generation. It’s about the MONEY to be generated by political influence and government mandated regulations.

Related posts:

1. Libya Has History In Idaho Politics
2. Balanced Budget Amendment Is Grandstanding Politics
3. PUC Plugs Into Dynamis-Idaho Power Deal