Fresh Loaf

The ball was back in her court and she played it like we thought she would.

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel — whose spokesperson said she was disappointed by last week’s Fulton County Superior Court ruling that put Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell back on the ballot — is now contesting that decision in the Georgia Court of Appeals. She filed an appeal this morning, the candidate said.

“I’m going to continue fighting this in court,” Powell said. “Looks like we’ll take it all the way to the state Supreme Court if we have to.”

No word yet on when the appeal will be heard. To read CL’s coverage of the never-ending PSC brouhaha, click here.

Bookmark It

The man who invented powdered peanut butter has inked a deal with the U.S. Dept. of Defense to produce oil and gasoline out of our waste.

J.C. Bell, an agricultural scientist in Tifton whom we’ve written about previously on Fresh Loaf, will build a pilot facility at Fort Stewart and several other military bases around the country to convert trash and biomass into fuel by using cloned bacteria found in — ahem — a cow’s hindquarters.

Read all about it here.

(Hat tip to Rogue109 at Peach Pundit)

Bookmark It

No word yet from Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel if her office will appeal yesterday’s ruling in Fulton County Superior Court that Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell is indeed eligible to run for office in his district.

After the jump, Powell’s statement regarding the legal ping-pong match.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Jim Powell, the Public Service Commission candidate who’s been wrangling with Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel over whether he was eligible to run for office, told CL minutes ago he has won his appeal.

“I just got a two-word e-mail from my attorney saying, ‘We won,’” Powell said.

No other details to report at the moment. If Powell or Handel release a statement, we’ll post it here. A spokesperson for Handel says the office is “disappointed” with the Judge’s ruling and are reviewing it. They’ll have a lengthier statement to offer tomorrow.

Powell won nearly 85 percent of the vote in the July 15 primary against opponent Bob Indech. He will now ostensibly go on to face Lauren “Bubba” McDonald in the November’s general election. To read CL’s coverage of the PSC brouhaha, click here.

UPDATE: Griftdrift posted his thoughts about the case plus a good collection of links to news stories.

(Photo courtesy of Jim Powell for PSC)

Bookmark It

Rob Pavey at the Augusta Chronicle reports the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have determined two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle would not have an impact on the environment. The commission approved an early site permit initially requested by Southern Co., the plant’s co-owner and operator, in August 2006.

From the article:

The early site permitting process allows an applicant to address site-related issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible construction and operation of a nuclear power plant.

Although it is not a license to build reactors, it streamlines the process to determine whether a proposed site is suitable.

(Photo courtesy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

Bookmark It

There’s an interesting conversation taking place on Peach Pundit about what exactly the Democrats want in an energy plan now that 70 percent of Americans are in favor of drilling off the coast and in protected lands in Alaska.

Wait, wha?!? Seven out of 10 voters want increased drilling? Even if it won’t lower gas prices in the short-term? Even if those people take into account that oil is a global commodity and whatever is found isn’t necessarily ours to keep? Even with all the risks associated with these projects at a time when hurricanes are predicted to become more frequent and powerful?

(more…)

Bookmark It

The cogitators at the Brookings Institution, the D.C.-based think tank, have released an in-their-own-words summary of where Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain stand on energy and climate change policy. Included in the chart are their views on nuclear power, auto-emission standards and if they have a goal to cap greenhouse gas emissions, as well as links to public statements and environmental legislation they’ve supported. Bon appetit!

Bookmark It

Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell’s court case against Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel has been rescheduled for Friday, Sept. 5 at 9:30 a.m. in Fulton County Superior Court. His case will be heard by Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore in Courtroom 4-E.

Moore’s name may sound familiar — her recent ruling that the state must consider carbon dioxide when issuing air permits slammed the brakes on Georgia’s first coal plant in 20 years. That ruling is being appealed.

To read CL’s coverage of the PSC brouhaha, click here.

Bookmark It

The cost of building nuclear reactors, such as the two new ones Southern Co. has proposed at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, is high. Turns out storing the spent fuel generated from the power generators at Yucca Mountain in Nevada will be expensive as well.

From E&E News (subscription required):

DOE has spent $13.5 billion since 1983, and figures to spend $54.8 billion on construction, operation and decommissioning of the [Yucca Mountain] repository; $19.5 billion for transporting the waste — including building the canisters for holding waste; and $8.4 billion for other program activities.

The report notes that the expenses were based on a repository opening date of 2017 — a best possible opening date that Sproat has already said is no longer possible due to budget constraints, which have pushed it to 2020. The lifecycle estimate also does not include the at least $11 billion in liability expenses DOE expects for breaking its contract with utilities to begin taking away the spent nuclear fuel in 1998.

Another possible cost increase could come from the more than 30 planned new nuclear reactors, which were not included in the estimate. Sproat said trying to estimate costs for waste from the new reactors would be speculative and would no longer provide “an apples to apples” comparison with the 2001 report….

(Hat tip to the always informative Joe Romm at ClimateProgress)

Bookmark It

The chair of the state Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee says he plans to introduce a bill that would give Georgians a financial incentive to buy fuel-efficient automobiles.

Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, made the announcement today during an “energy independence” rally at the state Capitol. (I’ll write more about the event later today.) No specifics to report at the moment, but Tolleson says the incentive could possibly come in the form of a tax credit when consumers purchase a hybrid automobile.

“What makes this a wise move for metro Atlanta is that it’ll lower the demand for fuel but also improve air quality,” Tolleson says, referring to Atlanta’s notorious smog issues.

But in a slowing economy such as Georgia’s and the nation’s — the state recently announced it’s expecting a $1.6 billion budget deficit — an incentive program could be a difficult sell to fellow lawmakers in January.

Things could get better between now and the start of the General Assembly. But they could also get worse. Regardless, good move by Tolleson.

Bookmark It

Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell says his appeal that was originally scheduled for today at 3 p.m. in Fulton County Superior Court has been postponed. Judge John Goger has recused himself because he’s a former law partner of Powell’s attorney. Powell says a new judge will be assigned later today and the appeal should be heard sometime later in the week.

Powell is contesting Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel’s removal of his name from the July 15 primary ballot. He was granted a stay the day before the election and garnered 85 percent of the vote.

To read CL’s coverage of the PSC brouhaha, click here.

Bookmark It

This was bound to happen. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce tossed its support behind two utility companies itching to build a coal power plant in Early County and echoed their claims that a Fulton County Superior Court judge overreached in her June 30 ruling that halted the beast.

From the Albany Herald:

ALBANY — Officials with the state and area chambers of commerce say they will lend their names to an application that will be filed today with the Georgia Court of Appeals asking that a Fulton County Superior Court judge’s decision interrupting construction of a coal-fired power plant in Early County be reconsidered.

Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore’s ruling on June 30 invalidated a permit granted by the state Environmental Protection Division to LS Power to begin construction on the $2 billion Longleaf Energy Station in rural Early County. Chamber officials say the decision threatens economic growth potential in Georgia by hampering the state’s ability to meet the demand for reliable and affordable power.

“We’re shocked at the decision,” George Israel, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said during a meeting Tuesday with The Albany Herald Editorial Board. “If this ruling is allowed to stand, it will not only hinder the ability to supply power to the state, it will have a major negative impact on future economic development in Georgia.”

Patricia Barmeyer, an attorney for one of the companies proposing the plant, says the judge’s ruling set back the project for one year.

The fallout from this ruling has been substantial. For one thing, the ruling was the first of its kind in the country. Moore’s decision even put the brakes on another coal power plant near Sandersville, Ga. The ruling even sparked a bit of Silkwood-esque drama; The Sierra Club received death threats two weeks ago because it supported GreenLaw, the environmental law firm that led the fight against the plant.

Bookmark It

A MILLION TO ONE: Natural-gas discoveries in northwest Louisiana have sent the price of an acre in some places from a few hundred dollars to $30,000 in a few months, creating a sudden class of millionaires in the middle of nowhere.

LYNCHING RE-ENACTMENT: The victims’ surviving family members say they’re “troubled” by an Atlanta civil rights group’s four-year-old re-enactment of the 1946 Moore’s Ford lynching, and especially by this year’s installment.

CLAYTON: The BOE barely approves its official response to send to SACS regarding the accreditation stripping.

RETENTION: A report released today details the problems the Atlanta Police Department is having retaining officers; 9 percent of the 1,600-member police force left last year, and on one day last August, each zone of the city had one uncovered beat.

SIX-LEGGED DEER: Will go to live with an Athens woman who has a permit to keep unusual animals.

KANGAROO ATTACK: A Zoo Atlanta visitor records on cell-phone video a kangaroo attacking a zoo worker over the weekend.

JASON ELAM: The metro Atlanta native, who’s spent the last 15 years in Denver as one of the NFL’s premier kickers, says he’s happy to now be a Falcon.

JOE HORN: Probably not a Falcon for much longer.

STOLEN THUNDER: Angry at a local radio station for leaking its new Oklahoma City team’s mascot (the Thunder), the NBA hurriedly registers a list of alternates, one of which is misspelled.

Bookmark It

Watch Atlanta alt-fuel hero Rob del Bueno deliver a hypnotic sales pitch to CNN on the merits of biodiesel, the production of which he oversees for Refuel Biodiesel.

I swear, del Bueno could sell water to a well. Good thing the product he’s touting — non-petroleum fuel made from recycled cooking oil that’s siphoned from local restaurants — helps reduce our carbon footprint and our reliance on foreign oil. Oh, and it’s WAY cheaper than regular diesel .

Bookmark It