May 12,2016-
Farm-Based Group Gets Energy Commission Grant
Near the Fresno/Kings county line at Biodico’s Westside Facility at Red Rock Ranch, the world’s first biofuel production facility that operates entirely on renewable heat and power generated on-site, went online late last year. They produce 20 million gallons of biodiesel per year with multi-feedstock. “Our new facility in the San Joaquin Valley produces economically and environmentally viable biobased fuel and energy for local farmers and truckers, and creates new jobs in the community,” says Biodico President and founder, Russ Teall.
Teall says the company is scheduled to receive $1.17 million grant from the California Energy Commission at their next meeting to help local farmers work toward the realty of a ‘zero net-energy farm’. Their pilot plan would take the 1300 acre farm near Five Points to provide a model of how a farmer can tap feedstock and technology,lay out the path to get the permits and offer alternatives to get financial incentives to make the farm self-sufficient in energy. Sources could include wind,solar,waste digestion and gasification. Teall points to the problem of disposing of wood waste these days with closure of the biomass plants in the Valley by gasification of wood chips on the farm.Also farmers are now allowed to use net-metering to offset their PG&E bill on multiple meters.
Biodico is working with a number of collaborators including NAS Lemoore, about 5 miles from the plant, who has vowed to use biodiesel for ground-based vehicles as an alternative to diesel. Teall adds that the F-35s can not use biodiesel because the fighter planes must be able to go to minus 50 degrees.
Biodico made news earlier this year with their promise to hire 10 interns this summer to work at the facility to get training in alternative energy production.West Hills is another collaborator.
West Hills Works With Quay Valley
West Hills Community College District has entered into an agreement with GROW Holdings to be a part of the Quay Valley project, a 7,200 acre master planned community in Kings County which could help to provide students with job training, employment and educational opportunities. Planned as a showcase, Quay Valley will feature 26,000 new “smart” homes for an estimated 80,000 residents, the world’s first full scale people moving Hyperloop transit system, resorts and entertainment opportunities, businesses, the newly established California Institute of Sustainability and Innovation and a University Research Park. In the works is a Green Collar Job Training Program for students interested in learning about particular clean-tech and green-tech career fields. Preliminary figures from the developer estimate that a total of 6,000 permanent jobs would be created for phase one of the project alone, which is scheduled to open in 2019.
Reclamation Increases Friant Water Supply Allocation To 65 Percent
The Bureau of Reclamation announced an additional increase in the water supply allocation to the Friant Division contractors of their Class 1 water from 50 to 65 percent in the past week,on improved water conditions above Fresno.This is the third increase in supply announced since the April 1, 30 percent estimate.
Corcoran Council Urges Yes Vote On Measure K
The Corcoran City Council has urged the county’s voters to vote Yes on Measure K, a one quarter cent addition in sales tax that will go into effect only if the State of California Proposition 30 one quarter cent expires December 31, 2016. “This is not a new tax” and overall your taxes do not go up, they emphasize ”This 1/4 Cent Sales Tax MAINTAINS Kings County sales tax at