-September 2,2022-
Kings gas fired power plants help keep the lights on
Diablo Canyon drama this week
Two Kings fossil fueled power plants have been thought of as relics of the past.The natural gas fired 100MW plants located across from NAS Lemoore and the Hanford Industrial Park may be old news but they turn out to be good news for residents suffering through this week’s continuing days of 110 degree extreme heat that does not let up at night either. NWS weathermen say they expect night time temps in Hanford to be 10 degrees or more warmer than average. Solar works great in the day hours but when you come home from work and crank up the AC where is the power going to come from?
That’s where the local power plants come in, now owned by Chicago-based Middle River who supply power under contract to PG&E and the state system operator.
“The plants can operate any time but we find they are needed most not just in the summer months but in the winter when there is less sunlight“ says Mark Kubow CEO.
In an effort to extend the useful supply of power, Middle River plans to add one-hour battery storage to the Henrietta power plant that will allow the plant to supply that one hour without turning on the plant – so power is sent to grid with with no emissions – a key goal of regulators.Anyone who has traveled the Avenal Cutoff has seen this plant surrounded now by solar panels.
At their Hanford plant, they will add 42 MW of battery storage, says Kubow, to go on line by 2024.
That will increase the power that can be supplied by the two Kings County plants to 242 MW – or enough to supply the electric power needs of 200,000 homes, he says. There are about 47,000 houses in Kings County.
Middle River does the same for other parts of California with 10 plants in their portfolio in the state.
State power officials have changed their tune about gas fired power recently emphasizing the need to allow theses fossil fuel facilities to meet power needs not met by solar, wind or hydro power in part due to extreme weather events like we are seeing in California this week.Another factor- renewables are not coming on line as fast as they had estimated due to supply bottlenecks.
Among the assets the state is taking a second look at is Diablo nuclear power plant that may not be mothballed in 2025 after all. Diablo Canyon generates around 200MW of power day and night.
A bill to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open past 2025 will come up for a vote in the state Legislature this week at press time Wednesday — but it requires two thirds approval from both houses. The plant would close in 2029 instead of 2025. To meet a deadline, PG&E must submit an application for federal funding in September.
Lemoore City Manager- PGE capacity problems hamper new development in town
Lemoore City Manager Nate Olson says the city is negotiating for serval new developments to locate in town but the projects are hampered by PG&E’s lack of available capacity to power the new developments that could bring more jobs to town.”We are talking to PG&E now to try to work something out but there are are few alternatives” he shrugs.
PG&E to replace overhead lines at Tulare demonstration forest to cut wildfire risk
PG&E plans to install a new remote solar micro-grid at the Whitaker’s Forest Research Station within Whitaker’s Forest. Whitaker’s Forest is an approximately 350-acre forest plot bordering both the National Forest and National Park. The place is owned and managed by the University in Tulare County
Once installed, solar would provide existing residential structures on-site with a consistent and reliable source of electricity that would replace the need for the existing overhead electric distribution lines. It consists of a 12-panel solar array mounted on the roof of a new shipping container and battery storage.The Project is part of PG&E’s Remote Grids Pilot Program, a program within PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program.
Valley tomato production down 5 percent
USDA says contracted production for California processing tomatoes this year is forecast at 10.5 million tons, averaging 46.9 tons per acre. The current production forecast is 2% below last year’s contracted production, and 10% below the May forecast.
The projected harvested acreage of tomatoes grown under contract is 224,000 acres, which is 1% lower than in 2021.
Expected production continued to decrease as the season progressed. Acres that were planted early were hit by frost damage that affected yields and crop quality.
Concern over low supply was prevalent as the lack of water availability and high summer temperatures have made it difficult for growers to meet market demand.
Harvest began during the second week of July. At this point, the flow of tomatoes has been consistently below last year. The Processing Tomato Advisory Board published shipments through August 27, 2022, showing a 5% decrease compared to the end of August in 2021.
Car sales down in California / EV sales up
New light vehicle registrations in California declined 17.9 percent during the first six months of this year versus year earlier, in line with the 18.3 percent drop in the nation. Information is from the California New Car Dealers.
As the vehicle market continues to navigate high demand, chip shortages, supply chain issues and production problems, the current economy could allow dealerships to help replenish their inventories as manufacturing of new vehicles is able to catch-up with demand, California New Car Dealers Association Chairman, John Oh, General Manager of Lexus of Westminster says. “We are thankful California isn’t being hit as deeply as other regions in the nation across all vehicle registration sectors. Additionally, we are seeing some increased interest in the electric vehicle market that are very promising.” Nearly 30% of new statewide registrations are electric or hybrid vehicles so far in 2022.
Near record butter prices
Kings County dairymen should not complain about high grocery prices considering the hefty price they are getting for a key commodity in preparing meals every day – butter. With the fall baking season coming up, the wholesale price for butter on the commodity market now exceeds three dollars a pound.That is near an all time high and almost double what butter costs a year ago. Blame low supply in storage and reduced supply in the hot summer months. Processors have been turning more milk into cheese, say sources. Dairy operators defend themselves facing sky high production costs from feed to labor and fuel.They say processors are pocketing the extra receipts