Company responds to power plant concerns

Still not convinced that a natural gas fired energy plant isn’t ‘Green Technology’? Well, folks in other parts of the state are very concerned about a plant coming to their neighborhood. Read my post above on environmental concerns and then consider this …
In El Paso a group of over 200 residents, (Far East El Paso Citizens United), have come together to oppose the El Paso Electric Company’s plans to build a natural gas power plant. The residents fear that a range of air and water contaminants will have a negative impact on their community, hinder property values, create health problems and degrade the local environment.
While the group has several arguments against the power plant, the proposed location is a big concern since it is near so many houses, people and schools. We have a similar situation here. Others within the group have expressed concerns about contributing to a drought in their community since significant amounts of water would be required for the plant to operate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/us/in-texas-montana-vista-is-set-to-fight-power-plant.html

http://www.txnewsfeed.com/amarillo/far-east-el-paso-residents-accuse-el-paso-electric-of-wasting-water-with-new/

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/04/05/el-paso-power-plant-draws-community-opposition/

“I just want to go on living.” Living how?

Like the power plant, I have questions on the distribution center that I’d like to know answers to, and hear the opinions of my fellow San Benitians. For instance:

1) Will Telemark operate the distribution center or just build-to-suit for another company? If so, who? Who are the tenants who will be occupying and running the distribution center? Is some company already committed to this project or is its’ construction speculative?

2) What types of jobs will be created? Aside from the obvious “order pickers” who will retrieve merchandise from shelves to fill orders, and custodial and maintenance personnel, are these minimum wage jobs or something better?

3) A distribution center of the magnitude to create this many jobs will require a substantial increase in large truck traffic. Has the city considered and addressed this with Telemark? Has the city even considered and addressed this among themselves? The scrap metal trucks hauling to and from the collection yard have been increasingly passing through downtown. How will this influx of traffic impact those who “just want to go on living?” How will the increased traffic and noise and exhaust pollution impact the quality of life in our city?

4) A distribution center implies the distribution of products. What types of products? What happens to the jobs if/when we enter into another prolonged recessionary period like we just experienced? What happens to the EB-5 investors if they can’t sustain the required number of jobs because of a recession — do they pull their funding altogether?

5) Is Telemark willing to up its ante to provide greater power-producing capabilities in line with others around us? This is important for the long-term growth and needs of this community. In a recession, when products may not sell as people cut back, electricity will continue to sell and generate tax revenue. Holding out for a larger plant the likes of Harlingen, for example, will allow the producer to provide the city now and 40 years from now, while selling the excess wholesale in the interim.

6) Is Telemark willing to sever the two projects, building the distribution center on half the acreage (85), while allowing the city to seek a power provider who will build something larger that will benefit the city longer-term?

7) The above letter states, “the Power Plant facility will employ thirty-five (35) to forty-five (45) full time employees. The residents of San Benito will be offered employment first….” What the letter fails to state is that most, if not all, of those perspective employees need to be engineers. The operation of a power plant is highly technical and requires specialized training. Telemark may offer these highly technical positions to residents of SB, but I’m not aware of any out of work Power Plant Engineers in SB, or many Mechanical or Electrical Engineers, either. The truth is, almost all of the jobs at the power plant will come from outside SB. In Edinburg, where they will build a 700 MW plant, they are claiming it will require 35 employees – engineers.

For those of you who “just want to go on living,” I ask you: Are you not concerned with the quality of life you will be living? Are you not concerned that the proposal set forth is more of a short term solution without thought to the needs of the city 30-40 years from now? Will not most of us still be alive 30-40 years from now – or our children and their children?

The 150-200 jobs being discussed represent .6 to .8 percent of the total population of SB. That is less than 1% of the 25,000 residents of the city; a lower percentage still, if you figure that percentage based on the city administration’s estimate of 28,000+ actual inhabitants of SB, a figure they recently asserted is the truer number of citizens in their challenge to the latest Census.

I commend the city’s commission, administration and the EDC for working together to bring this exciting opportunity to SB. But…I believe we can do better. Instead of bringing power to 170,000 homes with 171 acres, we can bring power to 700,000 homes with 80 acres – and still have enough land remaining for the best distribution center/transportation hub in South Texas — maybe all of Texas.

I’m not taking anything away from Telemark, either. They are helping us to see our true potential, and I am personally grateful for their desire to want to join us in SB. Maybe the power plant can be postponed for 6-8 months while funding is sought to build a larger one. Maybe Telemark can start with the distribution center with a right of first refusal on the land while they and the city work together to find funding to build a power plant that will serve our greater need long-term.

This is an exciting opportunity and a tremendous blueprint of what we can become. It would be a pity to squander this chance in the conceptual stages by not designing something that will keep us on even footing with our neighbors, or even greater than. The commission owes it to the people of this city to explore the possibilities another 6-8 months. We usually regret jumping into bed with the first person who comes along.

I tried goggling the owners manual and could not find it. The plant is only as good as the people who build it and finally run it in a safely manner. I am sure osha and federal employees may be on board permanently . 100-200 permeant jobs is what SB needs. Economic and employment longevity. Now lets try to figure out what can be build at the old CP&L power plant. Hopefully something that will bring more jobs . I am still waiting for a Toyota plant or Volkswagen plant. Make use from trip to China think back was there anything that can be remembered after the sound of the loud Gong!