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Drought, Lower Prices Eat Away at Fresno County 2015 Crop Values

/in /by /The Fresno Beeby Bonhia Lee

Fresno County’s overall crop value fell to $6.61 billion last year from a high of $7 billion in 2014 as the region battled drought, lower commodity prices and production issues.

The drop was a disappointment, but not a surprise, as the 2015 Fresno County Crop Report was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Still, with all of that, Fresno County farmers and ranchers come together to do something magical,” said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive officer of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

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Metropolitan Switches to Solar to Help Offset Power Used for Water Deliveries

/in /by /Yahoo

With the dual goals of cutting carbon emissions and reducing operational costs, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California unveiled its latest investment in solar power today. Metropolitan board Chairman Randy Record joined General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger to flip a ceremonial switch signifying the activation of two separate solar fields with 10,780 large, sun-tracking panels at the district’s F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne. The 3-megawatt solar installation covering 15.5 acres will generate about 6.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean, renewable energy a year, offsetting nearly half of the plant’s energy demands.

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OPINION: Taxpayers Group Doesn’t Seem to Care About Taxpayers When it Comes to the Desal Plant

/in /by /Voice of San Diegoby Marco Gonzalez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Earlier this summer, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association gave its Golden Watchdog award to the Carlsbad Desalination Project, reflecting the group’s support “every step of the way” for what many in the environmental community consider the region’s biggest boondoggle in recent memory. While much of the fight against the desalination plant has focused on the devastating environmental harm to marine life and huge output of greenhouse gasses, this recognition from the Taxpayers Association really has environmentalists scratching our collective head.

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Metropolitan Water District Saving Money Lost During Drought by Investing in Solar

/in /by / San Gabriel Valley Tribune (Monrovia)by Steve Scauzillo

With conservation cutting into demand, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California used nearly 16 acres of land originally set aside for additional water production for a solar farm at its F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne. The $10.5 million solar installation produces 3 megawatts of electricity at capacity, or enough to supply one-half of the treatment plant’s power needs. MWD General Manager Jeff Kightlinger flipped the switch on the renewable energy project Tuesday, marking the ceremonial opening of the solar installation situated in two fields adjacent to the plant’s cleaned-water reservoir and only yards away from tract homes.

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