Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2020 22:21:02 GMT
"Invenergy, a Chicago-based global developer and operator of green energy generation and storage, announced a 1,310-megawatt solar farm in northeastern Texas on Wednesday. It will be the largest in the US upon completion. The solar farm is currently under construction. The Samson Solar Energy Center, as it’s called, will support five major consumer brands and supply power to three Texas municipalities:" electrek-co.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/electrek.co/2020/11/20/texas-largest-solar-project-us-samson/amp/Up 'til now the largest solar farms have been in CA, then AZ and NV (not suprisingly). But TX sits at the crossroads of wind and solar in an upside-down T. The wind corridor in the US goes N-S down the plains and ends in TX. The solar corridor goes across the southern states w/TX in the middle. GREEN TEXAS!!
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Post by papersilly on Nov 24, 2020 22:40:19 GMT
earlier this year, i had my fingers crossed that there would be a new administration with different thoughts and plans on renewable and clean energy. i started investing in clean energy companies and after the election, those stocks really took off. i'm glad the new administration will be focusing on cleaner and renewable energy. climate change is real. we have to be mindful of our carbon footprint and leave a cleaner planet for future generations. we also need new industries for those displaced from obsolete jobs.
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Post by Merge on Nov 24, 2020 22:44:49 GMT
Yeah, our GOP leadership actually realizes - unlike some of their voters - that oil and gas is not forever, and has actively pursued alternative energy companies for our state.
Go figure.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2020 14:32:05 GMT
Yeah, our GOP leadership actually realizes - unlike some of their voters - that oil and gas is not forever, and has actively pursued alternative energy companies for our state. Go figure. TX can be a green energy powerhouse w/all its wind and sun. As storage comes down in price and hydrogen cell manufacture cranks up, it can be swimming in jobs and tax income. If it can get its head out of its well-oiled behind.
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Post by freecharlie on Nov 25, 2020 14:34:10 GMT
Yeah, our GOP leadership actually realizes - unlike some of their voters - that oil and gas is not forever, and has actively pursued alternative energy companies for our state. Go figure. what i don't get is why people fight slowly changing...not saying oil and gas is going away soon and not saying that we cut dependence completely, but moving away...
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Post by Merge on Nov 25, 2020 14:45:53 GMT
Yeah, our GOP leadership actually realizes - unlike some of their voters - that oil and gas is not forever, and has actively pursued alternative energy companies for our state. Go figure. what i don't get is why people fight slowly changing...not saying oil and gas is going away soon and not saying that we cut dependence completely, but moving away... Honestly, it’s often because they see it as something only Democrats want. Stay completely reliant on fossil fuels to own the libs. And there are certainly family businesses - small oilfield supply places, for example - that will eventually have to change their business model or go under. And people don’t like change, especially if they feel like some commie liberal in the city is telling them to do it. My husband worked for one of those places, and I worked for a different one, and what we know is that they’re often headed by one guy and his less than qualified friends and family members (sound familiar?). Outsiders are brought in to do boring stuff like accounting and IT, but the family decides all strategic direction (or spends all their time not in the office, and expects that the business will go on exactly the same and provide them with a revenue stream in perpetuity). This model has worked very well for many of them, and generates lots of wealth. But things are changing. To continue to prosper, the people who run these businesses would need to either learn something about alternative energy forms and how to provide wind and solar with what they need, or they’d need to bring in some senior-level people to help develop a strategy. These mom and pop places want to do neither.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2020 15:41:21 GMT
Marry the solar potential map up top w/this one for wind and you'll see what any intelligent person in TX should see. Move now. Move hard. Move fast. Your state sits on a powerhouse at the intersection of sun and wind.
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Post by yivit on Nov 25, 2020 17:31:20 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm
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Post by freecharlie on Nov 25, 2020 17:36:30 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas??
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2020 17:59:42 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas?? Just shit-kicking the idea w/o sourcing.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 25, 2020 18:20:49 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas??
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Post by Merge on Nov 25, 2020 18:42:47 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm Honest question: I don’t believe I’ve seen more than a few trees up there except right along the river. The three counties they named all border Oklahoma, and I believe they’re well north of the piney woods. Am I missing something? It seems to me that part of Texas is pretty barren, and could do with a new influx of industry.
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Post by freecharlie on Nov 25, 2020 18:46:53 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm Honest question: I don’t believe I’ve seen more than a few trees up there except right along the river. The three counties they named all border Oklahoma, and I believe they’re well north of the piney woods. Am I missing something? It seems to me that part of Texas is pretty barren, and could do with a new influx of industry. thats what I was wondering. Our solar and wind farms are in areas that might have five trees in a mile radius.
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Post by yivit on Nov 25, 2020 22:43:03 GMT
I thought that was still piney woods. It might be on the edge so not the amount of trees I'm thinking of.
And a big FU to those who are bitching about lack of sourcing. I live in TX and spent a lot of time in NE TX as a child at my grandparents' place (and yes it was pretty heavily wooded where I was outside of Tyler).
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Post by yivit on Nov 25, 2020 22:46:48 GMT
Oh, and while it isn't the worst part of tornado alley, it's close enough. I'm sure they have that (dealing with sudden high winds) built into the design though. Would be trickier if it were further west where it is WIDE open with nothing to stop or lessen winds.
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Post by Merge on Nov 25, 2020 23:16:52 GMT
Oh, and while it isn't the worst part of tornado alley, it's close enough. I'm sure they have that (dealing with sudden high winds) built into the design though. Would be trickier if it were further west where it is WIDE open with nothing to stop or lessen winds. It looks to me on maps like this is a bit west of the woods, between there and I-35 north of Dallas. I can’t honestly imagine there are a lot of trees to cut down. I can imagine there are people already making money there from the mineral rights on their land who will be happy to make more by leasing it to the solar power companies. And I can imagine there are a lot of oilfield workers in that area who will be happy to learn new skills to work for the sun farms as their oil jobs start to dry up. As you know, this is not a bustling metropolitan area with tons of jobs. And while your point about tornadoes is valid, I grew up in tornado alley, and we don’t just not build things because of possible tornadoes any more than we avoid building along the coast due to hurricanes.
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Deleted
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Mar 29, 2024 10:49:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 1:37:49 GMT
Funny how the refineries in hurricane alley don't raise the same concerns as tornadoes near solar farms - which can be built regulatorily to withstand certain conditions.
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Post by Merge on Nov 26, 2020 1:39:22 GMT
Funny how the refineries in hurricane alley don't raise the same concerns as tornadoes near solar farms - which can be built regulatorily to withstand certain conditions. Slow your roll, girl. Yivit is not the enemy.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 1:43:06 GMT
"Samson Solar Energy Center is a $1.6 billion capital investment. Over the life of the project, Samson will directly invest $450 million in the local economy through new tax revenues and lease payments to participating landowners. The project will also support up to 600 jobs during the 36-month construction phase and create 12 permanent operations and maintenance jobs.
Samson Solar Energy Center will be developed and constructed in 5 phases. Each phase will begin operations as they are completed. Construction began in July 2020 and will continue until 2023 when all phases are expected to be complete. Samson will be the largest operating solar project in the United States."
samsonsolarenergycenter.com/
The Samson Solar Energy Center represents the equivalent offset of taking 325,000 vehicles off the road, planting more than 500 million trees and will offset the equivalent of 6 million tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the project."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 1:44:14 GMT
Funny how the refineries in hurricane alley don't raise the same concerns as tornadoes near solar farms - which can be built regulatorily to withstand certain conditions. Slow your roll, girl. Yivit is not the enemy. People who question solutions w/o evidence while giving a pass to existing problems (refineries, CO2, CO, asthma, climate change, etc.) are the enemy of progress, imo.
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Post by yivit on Nov 26, 2020 2:09:35 GMT
Slow your roll, girl. Yivit is not the enemy. People who question solutions w/o evidence while giving a pass to existing problems (refineries, CO2, CO, asthma, climate change, etc.) are the enemy of progress, imo. Hold on there. I think I need some water to wash down the words you're putting in my mouth. I never said anything about refineries, pollution, etc. -changing that subject- I thought it strange that Bryan will benefit since it's in central TX, then read elsewhere that Bryan already gets part of its power from wind farms in west TX. Good for Bryan! (which, btw, has or at least used to have a lot of oilfield type stuff around)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 2:23:56 GMT
I wonder how many trees they're going to cut down for the solar farm the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas?? The areas are rolling prairies and are the few open grasslands left in the United States. Some areas of trees will have to be cut down along the tributaries and rivers but nothing like you would see in the PNW or the East Texas Piney Woods. The land in this area is also very fertile for growing food and raising animals. I grew up in the area. Powering 300,000 homes for the square mileage the project is going to take up is not a good exchange for the people living there. If they live up to their promise of being environmentally responsible I hope they can help cull the wild board population. There are not a lot of mineral rights in the area and from the little information here and from what I am hearing from friends the lease payments are not as wonderful as one would think.
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Post by freecharlie on Nov 26, 2020 2:28:33 GMT
the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas?? The areas are rolling prairies and are the few open grasslands left in the United States. Some areas of trees will have to be cut down along the tributaries and rivers but nothing like you would see in the PNW or the East Texas Piney Woods. The land in this area is also very fertile for growing food and raising animals. I grew up in the area. Powering 300,000 homes for the square mileage the project is going to take up is not a good exchange for the people living there. If they live up to their promise of being environmentally responsible I hope they can help cull the wild board population. There are not a lot of mineral rights in the area and from the little information here and from what I am hearing from friends the lease payments are not as wonderful as one would think. I have no frame of reference having only landed in Texas to change planes Are they doing this on farmland?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 2:53:18 GMT
Yes, the entire area is some of the state's most fertile farmland.
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Post by Merge on Nov 26, 2020 3:05:25 GMT
the solar farms around here didn't cut down trees. Are the counties this is proposed for forested areas?? The areas are rolling prairies and are the few open grasslands left in the United States. Some areas of trees will have to be cut down along the tributaries and rivers but nothing like you would see in the PNW or the East Texas Piney Woods. The land in this area is also very fertile for growing food and raising animals. I grew up in the area. Powering 300,000 homes for the square mileage the project is going to take up is not a good exchange for the people living there. If they live up to their promise of being environmentally responsible I hope they can help cull the wild board population. There are not a lot of mineral rights in the area and from the little information here and from what I am hearing from friends the lease payments are not as wonderful as one would think. Hm, interesting. I’d love to hear more info. The article - which is admittedly just a dressed up press release - says It doesn’t mention how much acreage is being used, or what the current use of that acreage is. This makes it sound like the lease payments may be substantial. You say in one post that they’re using open grassland and in another that they’re using farmland. Do you have any more clarifying info?
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
Jun 26, 2014 23:58:32 GMT
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Post by sassyangel on Nov 26, 2020 3:21:24 GMT
Slow your roll, girl. Yivit is not the enemy. People who question solutions w/o evidence while giving a pass to existing problems (refineries, CO2, CO, asthma, climate change, etc.) are the enemy of progress, imo. I didn’t see her giving a pass to those things at all.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
Jun 26, 2014 23:58:32 GMT
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Post by sassyangel on Nov 26, 2020 3:28:17 GMT
They don’t cut down trees here for wind farms here, but they are pretty much all located on open prairie farmland.
There is tornado concerns with them here too, that’s a fair point. Also the wild bird issue. They still seem to be going up in ever increasing numbers though, despite them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 4:06:11 GMT
The land value is that area has been lower than other areas of Texas. It was one of the last places you could still buy acreage for around $3K to $5K per. I can't tell from the project map how much acreage is being used but I can tell it's a lot of land. I am using the words farmlands and grasslands interchangeably. It's not about what is growing on the surface. It's about the fertility of the soil to support growing crops and feeding animals. One thing I find interesting are the parcels of land where the panels are going to be erected are right next to a planned reservoir on the river the southern part of the project butts up to that is well known for flooding. Link to project mapThere will be no long-term jobs in the area from this project (only construction phase jobs), the land can no longer be used to produce, the lease payments are below market, and all the energy produced and resulting benefits are going to back to the big cities. I don't see this as progress. Progress would mean what is being built would support the local people and this isn't doing a thing to support the local people.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 4:54:27 GMT
The land value is that area has been lower than other areas of Texas. It was one of the last places you could still buy acreage for around $3K to $5K per. I can't tell from the project map how much acreage is being used but I can tell it's a lot of land. I am using the words farmlands and grasslands interchangeably. It's not about what is growing on the surface. It's about the fertility of the soil to support growing crops and feeding animals. One thing I find interesting are the parcels of land where the panels are going to be erected are right next to a planned reservoir on the river the southern part of the project butts up to that is well known for flooding. Link to project mapThere will be no long-term jobs in the area from this project (only construction phase jobs), the land can no longer be used to produce, the lease payments are below market, and all the energy produced and resulting benefits are going to back to the big cities. I don't see this as progress. Progress would mean what is being built would support the local people and this isn't doing a thing to support the local people. All forms of energy: extractive, renewable, hydro, nuclear - have pros and cons. The trick is to weigh up the pros and cons to see what the net is for each form and in each location. Some don't want wind farms blocking their views. Some don't want their children to burn up in a scorched earth in the year 2100. Some don't want nuclear waste that has to be dealt with for hundreds of years. No matter what form of energy we use, there will be positives and negatives. Using some land for solar (and we'll see what the total acreage turns out to be) to generate up to 1310 MW at full capacity when the sun is shining is a phenomenal step to dealing with global warming while churning out the energy Americans demand for health, safety, comfort etc. Is it w/o downside? NOPE. Nor are extractive technologies, methane flaring, fossil fuel burning. "The Samson Solar Energy Center represents the equivalent offset of taking 325,000 vehicles off the road, planting more than 500 million trees and will offset the equivalent of 6 million tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the project."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2020 15:06:42 GMT
My stance - if the energy is going to shipped out of the area to bigger towns, let those bigger towns prop solar panels on their business towers and on the land in their municipalities. Not in my backyard? You can say that. If the infrastructure doesn't support the local economy it needs to be placed in the areas it will be supporting.
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