At their meeting today, Inyo Supervisors planned to review a Mid-Year financial report. The County Administrator planned to ask the Board to continue to “stress revenue attainment and expense savings to maximize year-end fund balances” and to consider reaffirmation of what they call Extraordinary Budget Control Policies. That item was set for 10:30am.
At 1:30 pm, The Planning Department was expected to conduct a workshop on the Renewable Energy General Plan Amendment. That is the document that angered a number of residents who do not support establishment of 14 industrial-scale energy development areas that total 1,000 square miles. Objections range from environmental damage to visual ugliness.
The Board had planned to make a decision on this General Plan Amendment today but decided to hold a workshop first and make a decision April 1st.
Energy is on the agenda of the Mono Supervisors today too. They have scheduled a presentation on a program that would possibly include the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the County in search of ways to save energy in homes and businesses. It’s called a Property Assessed Clean Energy program. This kind of program could access funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.
Today, the Supervisors were expected to direct their staff to engage the Town of Mammoth in this process and to come up with a resolution and Joint Powers Agreement for the program.
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If DWP wants to build on their land with our support, why don’t they give us a discount on their rates? Same with Edison. The old question here is what do we get out of this deal. Right now DWP wins everything and we loss everything.
While some have been focused on the content of the REGPA issues, there is also the issue of the Inclusion of Public Input into this General Plan Amendment Process. The Board of Supervisor’s Work shop tomorrow will offer the opportunity to address the issues. The Inyo County Planning Department is dealing with Community Organizations and Individuals who have been in this last year very involved in the proposed LADWP Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch Project. There is a heightened interest and awareness for a REGPA that comes from an actual 2 square mile project with over one million solar panels and so expect carefully considered, peer review comments and concerns from the Public tomorrow.
A simple question to residents, voters, visitors might go like this . “Inyo County is considering a General Plan Amendment for Industrial Scale Renewable Energy for the exclusive export of renewable energy. There is very little economic and environmental benefit for Inyo County. Where in Inyo County would you agree to allow a 2 square mile one million solar panel project? In Owens Valley? Deep Springs Valley ? Panamint Valley?
Another question might be. “Do you prefer commercial and residential roof top, parking structure solar projects within our Towns and existing commercial industrial areas of Inyo County or do you prefer to have the 2 square mile, one million solar panel project on the empty open lands of Inyo County?”
And for final questions . ” Do you wish to change the Conservation, Agriculture Zoning to a Industrial, Manufacturing Designation to allow for 2 adjacent Industrial Solar Projects ,4 square miles, up to 2 million solar panels, allow for the construction and operation of addtional transmission lines to export the proposed 338 mega watts generated to Los Angeles” ? and then, some questions we should be asking, What’s in it for Inyo County?
Will we receive property tax revenue from these projects ? Will this revenue benefit our Budget deficet in Inyo County ? Revenues to benefit our schools ? And the answers are, hardly anything , no, no and no
So how does the idea of Industrial Scale Development become a given an assumed “this is a exactly what we need element” in the General Plan?
Whose “big bucks to be made ” idea is this any way. Will they share the profits?
There are alternatives already in the application process on the LADWP Priority Queue List that already fill the capacity of the Transmisson Lines. Did the LADWP provide a copy of the Queue List to any of the selected groups this past week? Did they show a copy of the completed Facilities Study for the SOVSR ? Did this report show the Manzanar Rewards site map as the Q09 Priority Queue Position? The Facilies Study ,the System impact Study ,the Feasability study and notes from the Scoping Meeting, actually only identifies the Owenyo Site, the same alternate 2 site identified in the LADWP DEIR Docs.
We don’t have to be angry and shout tomorrow. We have to ask a whole lot of questions and we need to get the answers to questions like these and be part of the decision of
whether to change Inyo County forever . These answers to our questions is what the Inyo deserves.