Sonoma Clean Power triggers questions of where and how much solar is appropriate

[Barry]

There's a good article in the PD about where and how much solar should go as Sonoma Clean Power creates more demand for local solar projects.

As the PD article suggests, it does indeed scramble standard lines ag/money versus the environment.

Should vineyards and orchards be protected/prevented from conversion into a solar development?

In this case the grape growers are joining many environmentalists with support looser restrictions, where as the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and some environmentalists want tighter restrictions (such as the percentage of a property that can be developed for solar.

It's worthy to note the Efren Carrillo is in the minority as he supports looser restrictions to allow more solar development.

While taking no formal action, a short-handed board without Shirlee Zane sided three to one — with Mike McGuire, Susan Gorin and David Rabbitt in the majority and Carrillo in the minority — in favor of a ban on commercial projects on 70,000 acres of cropland, including vineyard and orchard properties. That includes state-designated prime, unique and important acreage, farmland set aside through the tax-shelter Williamson Act program, and the 16,000 acres of hill- and riverside property disputed by Anderson, the winegrower representative.

Again the article worth a read for the shifting political considerations now that solar development is ramping up!

What do you think?

[Toxic Reverend]

Solar is not the only game in town:

One of the problems that I have with "Sonoma Clean Power" is that they are not
really specifying exactly what type of power they are endorsing or going after.
Be that wind, solar or what ever.

Though this posting is about solar power, I have to ask "what about other alternative
green power ?


Frankly, I will not be too terribly surprized if the County goes for a "Fuel Cell" that
operates on gas from PG&E. As opposed to a Fuel Cell that could be operated
with the methane gas that is being burnt off at the landfill by Linton Springs RD and HWY 101.

FYI:
Fuel Cells made by Blume Energy have been installed and are in use, at Google.

Bloom Energy says its devices provide 100 kilowatts (kW) of power "in
roughly the footprint of a parking space," and you can see Google's quartet
of devices in the 60 Minutes piece. Google is using natural gas with the
boxes, but the Bloom Energy says the devices can convert "nearly any
fuel source," including natural gas, ethanol, biogas, sun, wind, or even,
well, Vodka.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/0...gle_and_bloom/


Another example (amoung several that I have) states
that it can produceelectricity at 2 cents per kilowatt-
hour, which compares to a national average of 8.9 cents
per kilowatt-hour

In reference:>


BlackLight Power
https://www.blacklightpower.com/

News stories about:>
BlackLight's physics-defying promise: Cheap power from water
2008-07-02, CNN Money
https://money.cnn.com/2008/07/01/smallbusiness/blacklight.fsb/index.htm

Note: For two New York Times articles showing the viability of this amazing technology,
click here
https://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2008/10/21/21venturebeat-blacklight-power-bolsters-its-impossible-cla-99377.html

and here
https://www.nytimes.com/external/gigaom/2008/10/21/21gigaom-blacklight-validates-physics-defying-hydrogen-pow-12760.html

Again the main page for this system is

BlackLight Power
https://www.blacklightpower.com/


Others:

Using Landfill Methane to Generate Electricity
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Web site, the agency launched the
Landfill Methane Outreach Program
(LMOP) - https://www.epa.gov/lmop/
https://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/Using-Landfill-Methane-To-Generate-Electricity.aspx


Waste Management tests trucks that run on landfill gas
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
ABC News KGO-TV San Francisco, CA
Posted at:
https://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/environment&id=9069265

And:
A Fuel That Doesn’t Go to Waste
Natural Gas from Rotting Trash at California Landfill Runs Fleet of 350 Trucks
By Andrew Curry,
National Geographic News Published August 16, 2010
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100716-energy-landfill-biogas-powers-truck-fleet/

Fuel From Waste, Poised at a Milestone
By MATTHEW L. WALD , New York Times,
Published: November 13, 2012
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/business/energy-environment/alternative-fuels-long-delayed-promise-might-be-near-fruition.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

_______________

A quick search brought up the following results:
A copy / paste follows

1. Disposal - Landfill gas power plant | Sonoma County Waste
   www.recyclenow.org/disposal/landfill_gas.asp‎
   Methane from buried garbage is collected and converted into 7.5 MW of
   From 1972 until 2005, Sonoma County's solid waste was landfilled at the
   to the landfill gas-to-electricity facility and to the landfill gas-to-vehicle fuel pilot project.
2. [PDF]Overview of Landfill Gas - US Environmental Protection Agency
   
3. Clean-power projects turn landfills' methane into electricity - Los
4. [PDF]Energy - County of Sonoma
5. Using Landfill Methane to Generate Electricity - Mother Earth News
   

End of copy / paste of search results.

Alternately, the methane could be used to make
ethanol to operate vehicles (1) or make electricity (2)
from trash (3, 3a, 3b, 3c), too.

1
Permaculture & Alcohol Can Be A Gas https://www.alcoholcanbeagas.com/

2:
Blume Distillation provides turnkey, appropriate scale alcohol fuel production systems
for commercial applications https://www.blumedistillation.com/

3:
The contact information for the Sonoma County "Recycle Now" https://www.recyclenow.org
For an example of "commercial composting", see a short four minute video about the
commercial food scrap composting pilot in the city (not the county) of Sonoma, posted at:
https://youtu.be/Doe1mePOKYk
Sonoma Compost Company
https://www.sonomacompost.com/

3a:
Sonoma County Garbage company pick up of commercial veggie food waste
https://www.recyclenow.org/compost/comm_food_waste.asp

3b:
San Francisco credits law for more composting bins
The Associated PressPosted: 11/28/2010 03:36:58 PM PST

Updated: 11/28/2010 03:36:59 PM PST

https://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16729325?nclick_check=1


3c:
Fuel From Waste, Poised at a Milestone
By MATTHEW L. WALD , New York Times,
Published: November 13, 2012
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/business/energy-environment/alternative-fuels-long-delayed-promise-might-be-near-fruition.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

______________________________________________________

Should vineyards and orchards be protected/prevented from conversion into a solar development?

What do you think?