Seems the Mojave evictions WERE to make way for solar and wind projects
Guest post by Alec Rawls
In 2006 California’s Senate Bill 107 codified a requirement that by 2010 all electricity retailers in the state were to procure 20% of their electricity from “renewables.” That same year L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich established Nuisance Abatement Teams that started combing the Mojave desert hitting isolated residents with ever-expanding lists of code violations, imposing whatever it took to drive residents out, and they made their intentions perfectly clear:
As her ordeal wore on, she heard one agent, looking inside their comfortable cabin, say to another: “This one’s a real shame — this is a real nice one.”
A “shame” because the authorities eventually would enact some of the most powerful rules imaginable against rural residents: the order to bring the home up to current codes or dismantle the 26-year-old cabin, leaving only bare ground.
“They wouldn’t let me grandfather in the water tank,” Jacques Dupuis says. “It is so heart-wrenching because there was a way to salvage this, but they wouldn’t work with me. It was, ‘Tear it down. Period.’ ”
The immediate object in this case was actual confiscation of the land:
In order to clear the title on their land, the Dupuises are spending what would have been peaceful retirement days dismantling every board and nail of their home — by hand — because they can’t afford to hire a crew.
As the de facto evictions and confiscations multiplied, Antonovich’s motives were questioned. Was he trying to clear the land for redevelopment? In August of 2011, Antonivich Press Secretary Tony Bell denied it (at 8:40):
The county is simply responding to code violation complaints from neighbors in the area and any speculation about redevelopment was purely a conspiracy theory.
I did some Google searching at the time to see if any major wind or solar developments were planned for the area where the evictions were centered (the western Mojave’s Antelope Valley), but couldn’t pin down the connection. When First Solar recently cleared a permit for a massive Antelope Valley project I tried again and found some things I should have seen before.
It seems the wraps were already off when Antonovich issued his denials. Newspapers had reported just a month before that Antelope Valley had “33 utility-scale renewable energy installations” in the works. The updated map above shows how much of the valley has been sectioned off for various wind and solar projects.
These are presumably the anonymous “neighbors” who were asking for previous residents to be evicted. Apparently it is not enough that our green crony capitalists are getting billions in taxpayer subsidies, or that that rate-payers are forced to buy their “renewable” energy at extra-high prices. They also need their pet politicians to steal the land for them.
First Solar is the largest recipient of Obama loan guarantees at $3.73b
From last June:
The Arizona company is set to get a guarantee for a $680 million loan for the 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 project, partial guarantees for $1.88 billion in loans for the 550 MW Desert Sunlight project and partial guarantees for $1.93 billion in loans for the 550 MW Topaz Solar project. Electricity from these projects will go to utilities Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison.
PG&E and SCE. It’s all to feed California’s renewables mandate, now raised to 33% by 2020. (That’s Senate Bill X1-2, signed by Governor Brown in 2011.)
California is the perfect patsy. First Solar makes its own cadmium-telluride solar panels. Another cadmium-telluride panel manufacturer, Abound Solar (recipient of $400 million in loan guarantees) just shut down production, but First Solar doesn’t have to worry how much it costs to produce intermittent solar in the Mojave. California residents are required by law to pay whatever it takes. That’s the key to successful green crony capitalism: vertical green-subsidy integration. Solyndra and Abound really should have known. They weren’t corrupt enough.
Grumman Aircraft objected that First Solar’s 2100 acre AV Solar Ranch One would interfere with its stealth radar testing, but this concern was brushed aside:
A solar energy generating plant is “the highest and best use for this particular property,” said Mel Layne, president of the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance.
More important than national security and certainly more important than the property rights of a bunch of isolated “desert rats.” If only we didn’t have the lowest and the worst telling us what the “highest and the best” is, but this is why we have rights. The voluntary nature of the market insures that the benefits from each transaction are sufficient to make all parties better off. As soon as government starts subsidizing loans, forcing customers to buy inefficiently produced power, and otherwise confiscating property, there are no limits to the losses.
Wind was also big on the Antelope Valley menu, but the opposition firmed up
Perhaps that should be re-phrased. Antelope Valley was also big on the wind farmers’ menu:
“The western Antelope Valley boasts both the highest and most consistent winds in almost all of Southern California,” said Nat Parker, project manager for Element Power’s proposed Wildflower Green Energy Farm. “Between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. the winds reach their highest peak, and it falls in line with when the electrical grid has highest demand.”
County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the unincorporated Antelope Valley, said this region “has the potential to become the nation’s leader in green, alternative energy innovation and production.” But he emphasized that community support is key to the success of these projects.
Element wants to use 4,000 acres of private land next to the poppy reserve for solar panels and some 50 wind turbines almost 500 feet high. Each turbine would produce enough electricity to power up to 2,000 homes, Parker said.
As for the wisdom of putting 500 foot tall wind turbines in the Antelope Valley, Antonovich’s own website has an item on the hurricane force winds that struck the area early last December. That nice peak-demand wind isn’t going to help much when half the turbines are on the ground.
Thankfully, the opposition has organized sufficiently to block the big windmills. Even Antonovich is cowed enough to put a wet finger in the air and pretend that he is all about protecting birds now, but of course he’s not done yet. Next in Antonovich’s sights: high speed rail to Las Vegas. Weather warning for the eastern Mojave: 80% chance of confiscatory Nuisance Abatement Teams. S#!+$torm guaranteed.
These actions need to be challenged in court and I will gladly hit a tip jar set that funds a legal defense team for these residents. Additionally, the people implementing this (L.A. County Supervisor and others) need to be thrown out in the next election. This coming June, Raj Pal Kahlon, 49, will run against Michael D. Antonovich, 72, a Republican incumbent from Glendale who will seek his ninth term as supervisor:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/la-county-supervisors-face-little-opposition-to-reelection-in-june-.html
Sorry mod, this is endemic to that site for some unknown reason; I get the SAME message and I have never even heard of (let alone visited) that site before …
[just been there again and it opens fine for me, and the map is there too . . bizarro non? . . kbmod]
.
Once you understand that our government is run by crook then everyting else falls into place.
The people of this country need to stop electing crooks and start electing people who will uphold their oath to support the Constitution. Start by electing Ron Paul to the white House. Otherwise get accustomed to the abuses because they will only get worse.
The people of California have been mislead by global warming alarmists into fighting the wrong battle – anthropogenic global warming (aka “Climate Change”) will have little impact over the next 100 years. The sea level rise rate of 3.1 mm/year is only 310 mm (12′) over the next century. Of that, 25% is coming from ground water depletion for irrigation.
By contrast, global light oil production leveled off in 2005. About 50% of global crude oil has now been consumed. Oil prices have increased 500% from $20/bbl to $100/bbl since 1998. The IEA optimistically projects no increase in crude oil production.
Global depletion of 7%/year plus even minimal growth of 1%/year requires replacing 63% of our current production with new resources or alternate fuels within 20 years. That will require about 6 new Saudi Arabia’s of production.
California is critically dependent on transport fuel. Shutting down the economy for lack of transport fuel – or “destroying demand” by higher prices will be far more damaging than a foot rise in sea level.
Focus on the critical issues – Replacing – FUEL DEPLETION– and GROUND WATER DEPLETION – not warming.
USE your ballots – focus on YOUR critical needs to drive to work.
Eggzakry how far do the proponents of the “AGW theory of why mother Gaea hates you and so you can’t have nice things and shut up and give me your wallet and your car, and your light fixtures, and your house and…” have to go before its OK to call them a pack of thieves?
I’m just asking. What would it take?
No really… what would it take for it to be inside the bounds of polite discussion to stop pretending there is anything other than a kleptocratic conspiracy behind the public policy agenda which arises from AGW “science” ?
I’d like to know the where the line is on that one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptocracy
North of 43 and south of 44 says:
April 7, 2012 at 6:00 am
Find some endangered specie and turn their own rules against them.
Not hard to do. Find one or two arroyos with skinks living in them, then have a local Wildlife Biologist (make sure you get the capitalized kind) declare it a unique subspecies, found only in that area.
Very strange, indeed. I don’t mean Alec’s report. I mean in the comments – I don’t see one troll. Where have they all gone?
If the good people of California, by majority rule, wish to hand over their rights to a mene…er…benevolent government, then I say ship the whole entire shibang to them. I mean Washinton DC. The White House especially, but ship the Senate, House of Representative, and the courts too. Then they can enact whatever they wish and apply it to California to their hearts’ content.
I swear if Washington D.C. moved lock, stock, and barrel to California, the honorees of the Washington monuments would wave goodby and party after the entire US Government and its residents of the White House had packed up and gone.
_Jim says:
April 7, 2012 at 7:03 am
Sorry mod, this is endemic to that site for some unknown reason; I get the SAME message and I have never even heard of (let alone visited) that site before …
[just been there again and it opens fine for me, and the map is there too . . bizarro non? . . kbmod]
Bizarro, oui. I’m banned, too, and it was my first trip there.
This is nothing new. The real estate developers have convinced city governments to use eminent domain to take private property for the use of other private purposes for years. Same for highways which are used by those of all political persuasions, including those trumpeting the second amendment. The politics of urban redevelopment are a little different – generally richer (and on balance more conservative) real estate developers getting land from generally poorer people. I would not get too hung up on the politics of who benefits and who is harmed. I imagine those commenting most harshly enjoy their wide roads and may live, work or attend sporting events in developments made possible only because private landowners were forcibly removed from their land.
Funny … I wuz never learnt this in my publik skool edukation in hiztory clazz or in US Gubbint clazzes neither …
Thanks for posting. I think the bulk of one’s education occurs after the group/teach/think period in one’s youth on through collage days; the exception (usually) being the ‘hard’ sciences (e.g. the core classes for the various engineering degrees) where results matter (or ppl may die; think flying, driving and/or crossing long bridge spans and tall buildings in strong winds).
.
Emigration is thew loigical response to their foolishness. However, it is the US citizens who are leaving the state and the illegal immigrnats who are staying while more come accross a porus border. Mexico Norte anyone.
All of these actions smack of one underlying goal: destroy America so there are no more champions of freedom. Makes subjugating the masses to socialism/communism easier.
So glad this is the “most ethical and transparent” administration ever. So sad. When are we going to fight back? And why isn’t Antonovich under indictment?
Bill
How long will it be before the Econuts send in troops to destroy a village so they won’t have to ask the next village to move? Ref: the movie “Shooter”.
[just been there again and it opens fine for me, and the map is there too . . bizarro non? . . kbmod]
Has it crossed your mind yet that they (the web site) is screening for (then ‘blocking’) certain accessing domain names (IP addresses if I have to be specific)?
Is it possible to make a ‘local copy’ under the Fair Use clause of the copyright laws so we can view?
.
Catastrophic Abetted-by-Government Wealth-stealing
In some ways I would think the States has a certain imunization reaction to this sort of stuff. States that act in this way decrease in prosperity while those that don’t increase. Such things do not happen quickly, but eventually the states like California will collapse, the Government will get tossed out, and everyone who moved away to more prospeous areas can now come back and pick up property at bargain basement prices. Either that or you’ll end up with a nice big derilect monument to stupidity. People In California really should think about maybe simply voting with their feet instead. Over the very long run I would think that the blue states are going to lose out politically because they will be welfare cases and have to come hat in hand to their more well off neighbours, who will demand healthy conssessions for helping them out.
Ric Werme says: ……….fees………..
Speaking of fees. The folks who wish to go green in LADWP service area have some to pay- “administrative fees, including an interconnection study as well as a development deposit. The fees range from $2000 to 3000 depending on the size of the project.” http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2011/11-0617-S2_RPT_CAO_03-08-12.pdf
Palo Alto will allow it’s residents to sign up for and install Eligible Renewable Energy Resources under a Feed In Tariff for 10 to 20 years. They have some fees as well-
http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=30290
“9. A metering and administration fee of $34.73/month will be charged to each Eligible Renewable Energy Resource that participates in the CLEAN Program during Program Year 2012.”
Both of these FIT programs will allow the service providers to measure (via the revenue grade electrical meter) the actual kwh generated from an eligible renewable energy resource. The service providers will own the RE Credits. The joys of the future CAP and Trade program………….. One would need a 2500 Watt (dc) PV system to just about cover the costs of the monthly fee. The first 280 kwh produced by a PV system in Palo Alto would cover the monthly administration fees (10 year contract with a feed in price of 12.36 c/kwh).
To put these administrative fees in perspective I paid a total of $177 to have a new time of use net meter put in place in 2006 which allowed PG&E to use their existing accounting programs to capture the costs and benefits of my little PV system in one meter. The only possible benefit that my meter doesn’t capture is the Total kwh my PV system generates (it does capture the Net kwhs I send to the grid at peak times) hence no REC for me or PG&E. I wonder how long it will take PG&E to figure out they can get REC for the kwh I send to the grid at peak times………. Oh wait my contract with them (for the interconnection of my PV system into the grid) doesn’t say who owns the REC . I put my system in before the CAP and Trade program was signed off.
The hypocrisy of environmental groups including the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife as ell as other groups is astounding regarding the massive land rape impacts of solar and wind. In California’s Mohave Desert more than 50,000 acres of sensitive ecosystem lands are being sacrificed for solar plants while environmental groups ignore these impacts. If a fossil fuel plant was proposed on these lands which would require just a few percent of the land under attach these environmental groups would be screaming bloody murder.
These organizations try to justify this blatantly bias behavior by claiming that they are fighting climate change with solar and wind plants but the reality is that these plants will not reduce global CO2 emissions at all because of the huge and growing use of fossil fuels by the developing nations which will only result in increasing global CO2 levels regardless of how many of these high cost low reliability plants are forced down our throats by environmental extremists.
Peter Miller,
“Do I detect a whiff of hypocracy?”
Nope, MJ
Mike
Cheers and cold craft beers to WUWT for staying on this story. Wind Power advocates are unable to make an economic case, unable to make a scientific case, unable to make any sense whatsoever. Relient on flatulant political boosterism and fraudulant statistics, the Big wind scam spreads it’s blight over the countryside but…. in the end it will end with perp walks and prison terms. To anyone interested I want to pose the idea that these complex scams require a site focused on deconstructing them. One staffed by lawyers.
Totalitarian misanthropist socialists. These aren’t well-intentioned people with misplaced priorities. These are malevolent disgusting entities. They are the antithetical embodiment to the keepers of Liberty. They show open contempt for the foundations of this nation and squander our legacy.
No one with an objective view of our laws and history can be of the opinion this is a legitimate form of governance. Their actions are criminal to natural law and to the derived positive laws laid out by our founders. Their disposition should be treated with this in mind.
Pamela Gray says:
April 7, 2012 at 7:28 am
I swear if Washington D.C. moved lock, stock, and barrel to California, the honorees of the Washington monuments would wave goodby and party…
…and I’d be hauling cases of 10W30 towards the San Andreas Fault…
In California, no one, not even the hermit in the desert, is safe from the grasping, gloved-for-anonymity hand of local, state and national government, Their bureaucracies are their enforcers. Elections no longer matter.
I will be leaving as soon as circumstances permit. Many have preceded me and many more will follow.
I dislike polite terms such as Crony Capitalism because they are a form of reality avoidance. We need to identify these people for what they are: National Socialists or Fascists. Apparently, the choice we will be allowed to have this November is to be between a Communist and a Fascist and looting of the private and public treasury will continue, irrespective of the outcome. I fear that President Thomas Jefferson’s prophetic observation will be coming to fruition: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Michael Ronayne, Nutley NJ
Actual reduction in government spending (not budgets) of 1- 2% every year at the federal level would fix all of this in very short order without the world wide depression that would be caused by some of the Ron Paul type ideas. When states and cities run out of $$ there would be nowhere to obtain more. Poorly run local/state governments would be unable to borrow in the bond market. This would correct many problems. People flee from disaster areas, like California, they are doing it now. It could be re-settled later under more reasonable government. I doubt that it would be taken over by illegals if there is no access to all the free stuff they get now from the existing government. Like private enterprises that are incompetent, disasterous governments need to be allowed to fail. Just take away the $$$.