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State Lands Commission Approves Lease of State Property for Poseidon's Carlsbad Desalination Plant
Desalination is very energy intensive, which is why it is rarely done anywhere in the world where there is another option. Our energy is not cheap, and SDG&E claims we don't have enough. SDG&E is already trying to sell us on the Sunrise Powerlink to bring in more power. How does converting a power plant into a power hog like the Poseidon Encina desal plant fit in to that equation? I also want to know what the financial incentives are for Poseidon. With a level playing field they can't compete with state water, and they can't compete with the prices Orange County claims for it's toilet to tap (assuming we ever build one), so there does not seem to be any market for the Desal plant. Their water will only be price competitive if their energy use is massively subsidized. Somebody is going to be left holding the bag in this deal, and the one thing I know is that it won't be Poseidon, Shepherd, or the other local insiders (fronted by Sanders, among others) who are pushing this thing down our throats while stalling "toilet to tap".— August 24, 2008 4:08 p.m.
State Lands Commission Approves Lease of State Property for Poseidon's Carlsbad Desalination Plant
Don, Regarding the yuck factor, Just how clean do people think the coastal waters off San Diego are? The local spin machine thinks the local rubes are incredibly "gullible" (stupid?), and unfortunately they seem to be proven right most of the time.— August 23, 2008 8:19 p.m.
State Lands Commission Approves Lease of State Property for Poseidon's Carlsbad Desalination Plant
The Poseidon deal smells. Marcela Escobar-Eck (notorious for her role in the Sunroad fiasco) left the employ of the city of San Diego after a long career to go to Carlsbad. In her one year in Carlsbad, she oversaw Poseidon take over the desal project from the San Diego County Water Authority and she signed off on all Carlsbad permits for the plant. She then left Carlsbad to go back to San Diego and work her magic for Sunroad. Was Poseidon the reason she was loaned to Carlsbad? Tom Shephard is a lobbyist for Poseidon. His top person left his lobbying firm to work directly for Poseidon. Tom Shepherd, of course, is the guy who got Mayor Sanders elected (twice). The city of San Diego has no connection with or interest in the Poseidon plant, and will not buy any water from it, yet Mayor Sanders personally went to the Coastal Commission to lobby them in favor of Poseidon. Why, do you suppose, he would do that? I don't suppose it has anything to do with the myriad of Delaware LLC's that San Diego routinely does businees with, even though it violates the city charter to not know who you are doing business with? (thanks to Pat Flannery, once again: http://www.blogofsandiego.com/). Poseidon has to have some sweet deal lined up to guarantee the purchase of its water, because the price of its water produced with unsubsidized power is projected to cost between 2 and 3 times the price of the Orange County GWR plant (Toilet to tap), that will eventually produce 5 times the amount of water that Poseidon will eventually produce.— August 23, 2008 8:17 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
JF said: "Paul, I guess you missed the point where city leaders have spent millions on new equipment and training for the fire department since 2003. For starters, there's that shiny new helicopter sitting there, with a sister ship due to go into service any day now." Would that be the helicopter that Sunroad donated to the city, out of the goodness of their heart, with no expectation of repayment of any kind????? We are still short of fire stations, firemen, equipment and the inspection and brush clearing is still virtually non-existent. We also still do not have the emergency plan that was supposed to be in place over a year ago (before the 2007 fires), for which Aguirre took so much grief for pointing out. As Don said, Bowman's recommendations weren't followed. Nothing changed from, 2003 to 2007. The Pols thought that after two bad fires (2002 and 2003), we would be spared for awhile. Now after the 2007, they apparently think that way to an even higher degree. What has changed since 2007? How are we more prepared now?— August 19, 2008 10:06 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
Response to #184: Wrong, Don. The city leaders learned exactly the lesson you would expect them to learn from the 2003 fires; Their CYA media relations blitz was much improved in 2007. They didn't have to spend any money on fire prevention, fire-fighting or emergency plans, yet they still received better publicity than Murphy in 2003. That is considered a win-win to them....:(— August 18, 2008 9:28 a.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
LeftistTraitor, I think you are straying far from the point that the proposed alternative to GWR in San Diego is desalination of sea water. That is some mighty pure water they will be sucking in off the Agua Hedionda lagoon, so I can see why you would prefer it at 2-3 times the price over GWR water. BTW, the water from the OC GWR is pumped into an aquifer where it spends years going through the additional "natural purification" you were complaining that it lacked. I assume that San Diego would likewise pump the water into lakes and aquifers where it would be diluted and also go through a prolonged natural purification process. The fact that we are down stream from lots of sources of pollution on the Colorado and have drunk from the tap for generations, dispels your "January smoker" argument. San Diegans have been drinking crappy water for many decades and live to tell the tale. GWR will most likely be an improvement. If salt levels get too high, we will just pipe it over to one of Tom Shephards desalination plants.— August 5, 2008 9:58 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
LeftistTraitor, They are already doing GWR in OC and claiming it is a great success. What are they doing about all of their biotech waste? Is it affecting the water they are putting back into their system? Also, do you think there is no chemical discharge of any kind into the Colorado before it gets here? I am sure the mining in Colorado, Utah and Arizona has zero impact on the quality of Colorado river water, right? From what I have heard they only use the very friendliest of non-toxic chemicals to leach mine tailings. :( This is not uncharted territory. There is no boogey man. PBS did a good News Hour special comparing San Diego and OC (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june08…). I particularly agree with this statement about the politically connected opponents of GWR in San Diego (Sanders, Tom Shephard, et al): BRUCE REZNIK, San Diego Coastkeeper: "I think they foment the criticism and the fear that they claim to be responding to."— August 5, 2008 6:14 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
Aguirre will be savaged in another UT editorial very soon for his challenge of mayor Sander's lobbying for the Poseidon desal plant in Carlsbad. It seems that Sanders is also foot dragging the San Diego GWR (toilet to tap) pilot project in an effort to help Poseidon. Poseidon has strong ties with Tom Shephard and his people, and the full backing of Sanders. Orange County has a GWR plant that at full capacity will pump out 250 million gallons of clean water a day for around $600 per acre foot. The Poseidon desal plant would generate 50 million gallons a day at a claimed price of about $900 per acre foot (but which in reality could be as high as $1500 per acre foot) while increasing damage through reusing the obsolete and no longer allowed intake pipes from the old power plant. Destruction of the coastline aside, the Poseidon plant would be nonviable if we had GWR. Any surprise that it is being suppressed by the mayor and his people? The web of corruption in San Diego is amazing. It just goes on and on. You couldn't make this stuff up.— August 5, 2008 4:35 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
Fred, More on historical accuracy; the true Vandals are from Idaho. http://www.govandals.com/ I am pretty sure the Visigoths are a mid-major, probably in the Missouri Valley Conference, but you are at least partially correct, because nobody in the MVC really scares anybody. They do wear a lot of eye-black, though.— August 5, 2008 12:08 p.m.
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
UCAN asked for $5 million. I am not sure what they actually got. $5 million out of 40 is 12.5%. If I remember correctly, the lawyers for the city in it's various audit related lawsuits got a full 1/3. I believe that 12.5% for legal work is relatively cheap as far as class action lawsuits go. The settlement didn't "just change how fees were collected". It returned the $40 million to the ratepayers (35 after legal fees, as you noted) AND it changed the way fees were collected in the future so they would be legal.— August 3, 2008 11:11 p.m.