WORLD'S LARGEST SOLAR FACILITY PROPOSED NORTH OF
KINGMAN
by Dave Hawkins
A development company proposes a renewable energy project of unprecedented
scale in Mohave County. Mitchell Dong, the Executive Director for Mohave Sun
Power LLC, touts the $2-billion project in a 27-minute early April
presentation at the Harvard Club that is posted on the internet.
``Our company is building the Hualapai Valley Solar project," Dong said.
``It's the largest planned solar project in the world."
The proposed 340-megawatt facility would be constructed on private property
near Red Lake, about 27 miles north of Kingman. The company has an agreement
to purchase a 4,160 acre site from Jim Rhodes should it succeed in its
effort to secure a vast array of federal, state and local permits and
approvals required for project development.
Project Manager Greg Bartlett, headquartered at the Mohave Sun Power office
in Tempe, said Rhodes is simply selling the property and is not involved in
the solar-thermal project.
Dong explained that the sun would be harnessed through a network of solar
collectors spread over a five square mile area.
``It's a parabolic trough, or a 'U'-shaped mirror that reflects or
concentrates the sunlight by a factor of 100 to this thin tube of transfer
fluid," Dong said. ``In this case, it's a synthetic oil heated to 800
degrees by the sun's light. There are rows and rows of these collectors and
this 800 degree oil is pumped to a central power block, a central location
where that hot oil goes to a boiler. It makes steam and drives a single
steam turbine."
Dong said heat will be stored in molten salt that would allow the plant to
generate power at night or when cloud cover diminishes solar radiation to
the desert floor. He said the operation would require annual use of
1,500-3,000 acre feet of water.
Bartlett said company officials are well aware that use of groundwater is a
sensitive subject. He noted, however, that the area had been targeted for
residential development that would consume more water than the proposed
solar facility.
Proposed use of groundwater from the Hualapai Valley basin is noted in
application materials the company has submitted with Mohave County.
``The Arizona Water Atlas shows an increase in the Hualapai Valley water
basin's cultural water demand from 3,850 acre-feet/year in 1971 to 8,300
acre-feet/year in 2003," the application stated. ``The increase of cultural
water demand may correlate with a negative net water-level change in
portions of the Hualapai Valley water basin, however, wells in proximity to
the Project Site have experienced a net water-level increase from water year
1996-2006."
Bartlett said water quality and quantity issues are the focus of ongoing
hydrological study. The project will require zoning changes and plan
amendments at the local level and Bartlett said company officials welcome
public scrutiny and input.
``That's a very important part of the whole process. We embrace that,"
Bartlett said. He added that the company looks forward to initial feedback
when project related matters are initially expected to be heard in Mohave
County sometime in June.
``If there's anything we can do to mitigate concerns over water
usage---we've got what we think is the best engineering team in the world
but---people might have some ideas for us," Bartlett said. ``So to learn
what the concerns are early gives us time to kind of integrate that into
final design of the project."
Bartlett said up to 1,500 jobs would be provided during peak construction of
the facility that should be generating power by late 2013. He said more than
100 people would staff the plant once it is operating.
``The impact on the country, the state and the county is pretty dramatic,"
Bartlett said. ``There's lots of tax revenues that will be coming in.
There's lots of jobs that will be created. It's an exciting time."
Bartlett said the project might attract businesses that manufacture mirrors
and other components needed for the solar-thermal facility. The Spain-based
Albiasa company plan to build a similar 200-megawatt solar thermal power
plant about 50 miles southeast of Kingman could fuel additional demand for
like products.
Bartlett said local production of such products would provide additional
economic benefit for the region. Developers would also realize savings
associated with cost of transporting the components.
The project site is within two miles of a utility corridor and Mohave Sun
Power seeks interconnection to the power grid operated by the Western Area
Power Administraton through a 500 kV transmission line. The company has also
entered discussions with utility companies interested in securing
electricity through a Power Purchase Agreement.
Bartlett said rapid project development is necessary to take advantage of
the availability of federal stimulus package funding and tax incentives. The
project is on pace to evolve from concept to reality within four years.
``It's a very aggressive timetable for a project of this size when you look
at all of the permits you need---the Air Quality permit, the Aquifer
Protection permit, the Environmental Impact Statement, the Certificate of
Environmental Compatibility from the ACC (Arizona Corporation
Commission)---all of those permits," Bartlett said. ``That's a lot of work."
Forwarded to Speak
Out Arizona by "Award Winning" Newsman Dave Hawkins.
by Dave Hawkins
The Executive Director of the company planning to build the world's
largest solar power plant north of Kingman has a monumental vision. Mohave
Sun Power's Mitchell L. Dong believes the sun can be harnessed to produce
all of the energy needs of the world.
In an early April presentation at the Harvard Club in New York that has been
posted on the internet Dong stated the sun delivers enough energy in one
hour to supply all that would be consumed on earth in an entire year. He
said that the sun delivers to earth the amount of energy that would be
produced by 174 million nuclear power plants.
The key, Dong said, is development of all of the infrastructure required to
harvest the sun.
``If we covered 20,000 square miles of U.S. deserts with solar panels, solar
collectors or mirrors...we can produce close to 4 million gigawatt hours a
year, which is the energy consumption of the United States," Dong said. ``So
by using only 4% of our deserts, we can supply all of the electricity of the
United States."
Through similar use of lesser portions of the Sahara, Kalahari, Gobi and
Australian deserts, all of the world's energy needs could be generated
through solar power development, according to Dong.
``The solar grand plan is a bold plan. It's visionary," Dong said. ``Some
think it's idealistic or too much of a dream, but I think it's feasible and
doable."
Dong said ten large scale solar power plants are in operation and ten more
are under construction. He said some 3,000 facilities could be constructed
in the United States over the next 40 years to supply all of the nation's
power needs.
Dong said some 50,000 miles of additional transmission lines would have to
be constructed to achieve the feat. And he said research and development
successes would be needed to lower the cost and increase efficiencies of
solar energy production.
Jack Ehrhardt, northwest Arizona's leading environmental activist and
renewable energy advocate, cautiously embraces Dong's vision.
Ehrhardt applauds the 340-megawatt and 200-megawatt solar-thermal power
plant projects that Mohave Sun Power and Albiasa propose to develop in
Mohave County. But he said he is conflicted or contradicted by concern that
the projects
could consume well more than 100,000 acre feet of water over their 25-to-30
years of operation.
Ehrhardt emphasized that a commitment to development and deployment of the
most resource-friendly technology is a must. He said renewable energy must
be developed with a premium commitment to water conservation.
``We have to be exceptionally smart and conscious how we are using our
water," Ehrhardt said. ``We only have our aquifers to survive on."
Ehrhardt is a proponent of development and application of what he called
hybrid wet/dry cool technology that would render power plants less reliant
upon water consumption. Dong said dry cool technology is more expensive and
less efficient in energy production.
``It cuts the output by 10% annually and as much as 20-30% on peak when the
power is most needed by the utility," Dong said. ``I don't think that the
utilities and their ratepayers would be willing to pay the price to make an
air-cooled solar power plant financially feasible."
Ehrhardt said any commercial use or application of water in any form of
energy production, regardless of economics, requires urgent attention and
scrutiny with a premium and additional value placed upon conservation of the
resource. Ehrhardt said Dong himself draws scrutiny given prior sanction
by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced in January, 2008 that it had reached a settlement
agreement with Dong and Chronos Asset Management Inc., a company that Dong
founded in 1995. The SEC issued an order imposing sanction and a
cease-and-desist directive.
``The Order finds that Chronos and Dong engaged in a fraudulent market
timing and late trading scheme. From January 2001 to September 2003, Chronos
and Dong used deceptive means to continue market timing in mutual funds that
had previously attempted to detect and restrict, or that otherwise would not
have permitted, Chronos's trading," the SEC Order said. It said that Chronos
and Dong willfully violated SEC trading rules.
The order imposed a penalty and interest sanction totaling nearly
$2.2-million and Dong was suspended for 12 months from investment adviser or
investment company activity.
``This represents to our community that he is someone who represents a
company that we need to be concerned about," Ehrhardt said. ``He (Dong) will
have to be treated accordingly as someone who represents part of the greed
that has crippled our country's economy."
Dong explained that Chronos Asset Management was a hedge fund with nearly
$500-million in assets under its management at its peak. He said they traded
mutual funds, equities, futures and other securities using a statistical
arbitage approach and proprietary mathematical models developed by his
partners, former statistics professors at Harvard and MIT.
``Eliot Spitzer, a regulator in NY State and the SEC, alleged that we traded
improperly and after 5 years, we chose to settle the matter, without
admitting any wrongdoing, rather than to litigate," Dong said. ``We were
pleased to close this chapter and move on."
When GREEN isn't GREEN anymore! "Two SUPPOSED Green power plants "could consume well more than 100,000 acre feet of water over their 25-to-30 years of operation" from an already taxed water supply here in Mohave County! Don't forget the promises made about Griffith Power. The same participants in that fiasco are making the same UN FOUNDED promises to you as they did then." Denise Bensusan denisebensusan@hughes.net
The Standard
SOLAR PLANTS STUMBLE ON WATER ISSUE
A pair of massive solar-thermal power plants proposed in Mohave County encountered their first public opposition during the May 20 meeting of the Northwest Arizona Watershed Council (NAWC). Criticism was focused on the fact that both operations would likely consume well more than 1,000 acre feet of groundwater per year.
Dry Lake Mead? 50-50 chance
by 2021 seen
Study cites warming, water use and growing Colorado River deficit
This view of Lake Mead was taken last July 26, during the seventh straight year of drought that had caused the lake to drop more than 100 feet to its lowest level since the late 1960s
What are the chances that Lake Mead, a key source of water for more than 22 million people in the Southwest, would ever go dry? A new study says it's 50 percent by 2021 if warming continues and water use is not curtailed.
It's the world's most precious commodity, yet many of us take it for granted. But that's all about to change... Special report by Juliette Jowit
Wadi Faynan, Jordan: This Palestinian Beduin Family of 11 live in the desert. They collect their water from the waterpipes and manage to get 15 litres of water each per day. Photograph: Matilde Gattoni/ArabianEye
It's hard to imagine why humans would have chosen the achingly arid stone desert of Wadi Faynan for their first settlement. But water would have been one important reason, says archaeologist Steven Mithen. When Neolithic men and women arrived 11,500 years ago, things were very different: the climate was cooler and wetter; the landscape was covered in vegetation including wild figs, legumes and cereals, and there would have been wild goats and ibex for meat.
Climate change will cause 'economic deserts' even in rich countries, warns UN environment chief!
Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said water shortages caused by over-use of rivers and aquifers were already leading to serious problems, even in rich nations. With climate change expected to reduce rainfall in some places and cause droughts in others, some regions could become 'economic deserts', unviable for people or agriculture, he said.
Not long ago, my fiancée and I were watching a movie about a small, waterless southern California town. The film led to a conversation about housing policies and the mortgage crisis. "It’s these dry western towns that are driving this mortgage crisis," I declared, no evidence to back it up, waving a glass of wine in one hand while standing in front of the fire, "and this is just the beginning of the problems we’ll see from all this sprawling urbanism!"
The following morning, dropping the red envelope with the DVD to be returned into the mailbox, I reconsidered this point and was surprised that it held up under the sober first rays of the sun on the morning dog walk. It didn’t take much research to confirm that this foreclosure crisis is hitting us harder in the Southwest than in the rest of the country. Even so, foreclosure is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problem of growth in the West and like any iceberg, the bulk of the thing—including its most dangerous parts—lies underwater. Like all icebergs, also, the ”�berg of western urban growth will have its existence and stability challenged by global climate change.
As I write this, the five cities with the highest foreclosure rates are: Stockton, Bakersfield, and Riverside/San Bernadino in California, Las Vegas/Paradise, NV, and Phoenix, AZ. There are a few things these towns have in common. First, show any one of these cities to a person who hadn’t seen it in 50 years and that person wouldn’t believe the growth. Second, in each case growth has required Rube Goldberg-ian water projects, four of them relying on the Colorado River and Stockton benefitting from similarly complex plumbing in California’s Central Valley. Finally, the growth of these cities has been funded and encouraged through construction on the urban periphery. These similarities are related, but there has never been an overarching plan for Western urban development. The piecemeal policymaking style that has led to this crisis is particularly evident to me—a water planner—in the Colorado River Watershed.
The management of the Colorado River is accomplished through an interlaced system of treaties, compacts, dams and tunnels. Interstate compacts define delivery and management roles between adjoining states that share in this body of water. These states, then, are divided into upper- and lower-basin states with additional compacts defining water-sharing agreements within and between these conglomerates. Next, a compact along the entire river system details sharing beyond the basin, and finally, a treaty between the U.S. and Mexico ensures minimum quantity and quality measures at the border.
Over time, these arrangements have altered the shape of the Colorado River and its watershed. Dams, pumping stations, desalination facilities and hundreds of miles of aqueducts store, carry, clean and move water throughout the basin. New Mexico takes its negotiated share of the river through 30 miles of tunnels in order to carry water from three Colorado River tributaries under the continental divide and into the Heron reservoir near Abiqiu, NM—the once pristine home of Georgia O’Keefe—where it joins the Rio Grande and flows to the Atlantic. For years the focal point of Southern Utah’s tourist economy has been Lake Powell, where tourists can explore ancient pictographs and sandstone arches as God intended—by boat. Passing through Glen Canyon Dam, the River turns massive electrical turbines before flowing through the Grand Canyon and into Lake Mead where it again powers and waters a rural desert community—Las Vegas, NV, America’s fastest growing city.
After leaving Hoover Dam, millions of acre-feet are funneled off into the Colorado Canal for delivery to thirsty residents, pools, fields, and golf courses in Southern California, the residue being hung out to dry in the Salton Sea—saltier than the ocean, more polluted than a can of soda. The Central Arizona Project brings another share of this water all the way from the state's western boundary to Phoenix through series of siphons (to carry water uphill), tunnels (to carry water under mountains), and pumps (gigantic wells) that allow America’s fifth most populous city to stay hydrated, to swim and to golf year-round. When a few persistent gallons reach the U.S./Mexico border, the River is run through a plant to remove just enough of the salt that accumulates through irrigation and evaporation to meet the terms of our agreement with Mexico, but not so much that a fish could live in it or a farmer could spread it on her field.
Perhaps this is just an economic downturn and not the moment when the chickens of past crimes against the environment come home to roost, but it should at least give us pause. Moving forward we will face additional challenges to our limited natural resources including climate change and continued population growth. As we begin to address these issues, it is important that we learn from our past actions and consider the relationships between our housing policies, our environmental policies and our natural resources in order to better envision our future from a broad perspective and to shape policies to help us move towards societal goals of environmental and economic sustainability.
This article was reproduced with the kind permission of E Magazine. For more news and articles visit www.emagazine.com.
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