Thanks, But no Thanks Calpine
Mike Buettner, 08.01.2004 14:47
Calpine Corporation is proposing to place a Liquefied Natural Gas facility on Humboldt Bay. Through my research I realize the LNG industry is making a concerted effort to target small coastal communities throughout North America in an effort to site these facilities were the economy is depressed and the resistance is low. They are also taking advantage of the recent relaxing of federal regulations regarding such facilities. LNG and the associated risks to the environment and neighboring communities is not a good fit for our California coast.
The energy corporation Calpine wants to ship in supercooled methane on 1,000-foot or longer tankers, store it in 150-foot-tall, 250-foot-wide tanks on the peninsula, then pump the gas through a 150-mile pipeline to the Central Valley gas main line. It is eyeing the old Simpson Paper Co. site or the Eureka Municipal Airport for the plant.
The entrance of the bay would have to be deepened 5 feet to accommodate tankers, and significant dredging would be needed in the turning basin. Maggy Herbelin of the Humboldt Bay Stewards said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers aerial surveys have shown increased erosion from the recent harbor deepening project.
More than one hundred jobs would be created to build the estimated $1 billion project though many of those jobs will go to outside contractors with the expertise needed for such a complicated project. Several dozen people would be employed permanently. Tax revenues from the facility would also likely be realized.
Liquefied natural gas itself does not burn. When warmed -- and at the right concentration with air around it -- the natural gas does burn. It vaporizes quickly, especially on contact with water.
Experts that studied potential accidents at a once-proposed terminal off Vallejo found a 2-meter hole in a double-hulled tanker (penetrating one of five tanks carrying 33 million gallons of LNG total) would send a flammable vapor cloud across the bay into Eureka with a 5 mph wind. Such an accident could be the result of human error in the navigating, docking and offloading of the LNG. It could also be the result of an earthquake or terrorist attack on this vulnerable target.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology LNG expert James Fay wrote that the required hazard exclusion zones would not protect people from such low-risk, high-consequence accidents.
LNGwatch, a grass roots not for profit group of concerned citizens, has launched a campaign to raise the awareness of the residents of Eureka and Humboldt County to the proposed Calpine Liquefied Natural Gas terminal to be located on Humboldt Bay.
LNGwatch feels the community is not getting the full story on what this project means. Issues such as safety, security, visual blight, environmental impact, and quality of life in general need to be addressed BEFORE the city of Eureka enters into any negotiations with Calpine. This project has the potential to have greater impact on our community than anything we have seen before.
As evident from the December 16th, 2003 Eureka City Council meeting, too much has already been set in motion. We would like all background information, proposals and offers to be made public so that all Eureka residents have a full understanding of what has transpired so far. Calpine has been in our community for months pitching their proposal to city and county governments, the Harbor Commission and we suspect the Chamber of Commerce. Only if we are fully informed can we make the best decision about whether or not this project is good for our community.
e-mail:: info@LNGwatch.com
Homepage:: http://lngwatch.com/
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Calpine gnawing at northern california 16.01.2004 - 17:04 Northern California is getting quite a hit from Calpine. This is the infanmous company that is pushing to develop geothermal energy plants at sacred Medicine Lake on the corners of the Modoc, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests. Calpine does not seem to mind that homeowners, Native Americans, or environmentalists don't want them around. As a company who makes business partnerships with scammers like ENRON, and war-profiteers like Halliburton and Bechtel, it is apparent they don't care much about people or the planet. Just another example of greedy corporate power. In the Medicine Lake case they are hiding the project in sheep's clothing - touting it as "green energy." hoffman> Information about Calpine at Medicine Lake 18.01.2004 - 10:44 Some information about Calpine's activities in northern California from Mt Shasta Bioregional Rcovery Project~  http://www.mountshastaecology.org/
and a short video about the issue http://www.medicinelakevideo.org/
Jim Lockhart> e-mail:: eagleye@PhilosopherSeed.org
Homepage:: http://www.PhilosopherSeed.org
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