Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee Meeting
The Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee will hold its regular meeting at the Administrative Offices of Torrance County in the Commission Chambers at 205 9th Street in Estancia on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
If We Build It, Will They Come? And Who, Exactly, Are They?
by John Weckerle
In the 1989 film Field of Dreams (a film well liked by your editor), farmer Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) undergoes a supernatural journey in which a voice whispering “If you build it, he will come” leads him to plow under part of his farm and build a baseball field. Much transpires, and as time goes on the field is populated by the spirits of baseball players gone by, including Ray’s father. Author Terrance Mann, played by James Earl Jones, asserts that people will come, even though they won’t know why, and pay to simply be there – and in the end, a stream of automobiles, miles long, is seen headed for the field.
“If you build it, they will come” has to some extent been a bit of a mantra among the economic development community – with the right incentives, infrastructure, amenities, etc., who could resist coming here (wherever “here” may be)? The problem, however, is that every community/region/state, etc. has incentives and amenities to offer. The competition is fierce, and it can be difficult to score an advantage over equally hungry community with just a bit more to offer – or an urban area that can offer much more, both to owners and employees. And people tend to have ideas regarding what is to be built, and to whom it must be sold. In our earlier article on economic development in the Estancia Valley, we referenced a September 4 article from local newspaper The Independent reporting on a presentation by Estancia Valley Economic Development Association Executive (EVEDA) Director Myra Pancrazio. As stated in the article:
What those high-paid millenial workers at Google want, Pancrazio said, is retail shops and mixed-use development, like master-planned communities that combine residential with retail and open space. “Quality of life,” she said to the Moriarty council, adding, “Homes, homes, homes, homes.”
We likely join our readers in a certain sense of suspense, wondering what what strategy is forthcoming from this realization. The article indicates that EVEDA is now considering pursuit of retail companies, something it has “not done much so far.” We’ll note that one of the areas in which the region – for the most part, Edgewood – has succeeded is in retail, all on its own.
We digress, perhaps a bit, because our focus today is not on the “what” (we’ll get back to that another time), but the “who.” And maybe the “why.” When we first read The Independent’s article, we decided to take a look not only at what might attract entrepreneurs (and we’ll go on record that shops, good restaurants, etc. are attractive to anybody), but who those entrepreneurs might be. And as it turns out, they may not be who the regional experts plan to target. “Millennials” (depending on the source, birth years run from the early 1980s to around 2000) definitely include their share of entrepreneurs. However, a number of sources, including the 2015 edition of The Kauffman Index: Startup Activity, National Trends suggests that perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye of the local econovelopers.
We’ll note that the Kauffman report examines 3-year averages, which dampens down some of the volatility that is common to many economic data sets. Examining “unfiltered” data, which includes both entrepreneurs pursuing opportunity and those going into business by necessity (lost jobs, running out of unemployment benefits, etc.) as well as data strictly involving opportunistic entrepreneurs, some intriguing information comes forward. In the unfiltered realm, substantially more men than women create startups, and from the standpoint of ethnicity (the report incorrectly expresses this as race), Latinos lead the pack in terms of starting up businesses. Immigrants create more startups than native-born folk. With respect to age, the lowest rate of startups is actually associated with those 20 to 34 years of age, and the rest of the age populations tend to leapfrog each other over time. And almost incredibly (unless you actually read the text of the report, of course), the least educated segment of the populations (“less than high school”) outstrips the more highly schooled populations.
Looking next at the filtered data, which excludes those who essentially start businesses for reasons other than absolute necessity, other patterns emerge. More women than men start up enterprises by a substantial margin; people of Asian descent lead in terms of ethnicity/race; more educated people somewhat narrowly lead in terms of startups; and foreign-born and native-born folk are in a dead heat. In terms of age, the group from age 53 to 64 outstrips all other age groups. And as the Harvard Business Review notes:
Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25. The vast majority — 75 percent — have more than six years of industry experience and half have more than 10 years when they create their startup,” says Duke University scholar Vivek Wadhwa, who studied 549 successful technology ventures. Meanwhile, data from the Kauffman Foundation indicates the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America has shifted to the 55-64 age group, with people over 55 almost twice as likely to found successful companies than those between 20 and 34.
We’ll refer readers to our earlier article on the departure of Google’s solar drone project so that they can take a look at some regional demographic information. We see a certain commonality between our local demographics and some of the groups of entrepreneurs in the Kauffman report. And lest we be uniquely branded as merchants of doom and gloom, we refer our readers to this Washington Post article on New Mexico’s economic situation, published in January 2014. And we’d like to put forth an idea: as a place to which entrepreneurs might bring their companies, perhaps the Estancia Valley is not quite ready to receive them – but on the other hand, if one were looking for an pool of potential entrepreneurs ready to start up, based on the demographics, just exactly where else should one look?
As has been the case in many places, those dedicated to economic development here in the Estancia Valley and East Mountains should perhaps move into a listening mode. There will always be projects in which partners from elsewhere are needed – hotels, and so on are a prime example – but the entire idea of economic development should always be to enhance the lives of and opportunities for those who live here in the first place. We may face challenges in attracting businesses, but perhaps we can help grow them, instead.
Road Construction/Traffic Alert
by John Weckerle
On Saturday morning, road crews were hard at work on a repaving project involving the bridge over Interstate 40 and the road leading up to the westbound Sedillo entrance to the highway. Based on the state of construction, we expect that efforts will continue through Monday morning and beyond. We recommend that readers commuting westbound leave themselves a few extra minutes or find an alternate route – of course, given the difference in speed limits between Old Route 66 and Interstate 40 – the only real alternate route – the value of the trade-off may be minimal.
EMIFPA Fire Info – October 1, 2015: EM Library Community Appreciation Day
by John Helmich
EM Residents,
This one should be on your calendar! The Tijeras Library (EM Library) will hold a “Community Appreciation Day” October 10th (Saturday) from 10 am until 2 pm. They will be holding various programs for the whole family – grade schoolers, teen agers and parents. Check out the various events planned by visiting their web page – http://abclibrary.org/eastmountain.
EMIFPA will be part of this celebration. We will hold a 1/2 hour conversation (10 -10:30 am) about landlord/tenant issues and concerns. This is a very interesting topic, and we hope highly informative. EMIFPA member agency US Forest Service Sandia Ranger District will also be involved. Matt Rau, FMO for the Sandia District, will present a program (12:30 – 1 pm) on prescribed fire, and he will also be touching on USFS prescribed fire plans in the near future on the Sandia District.
John Helmich
EMIFPA Community Education Outreach Coordinator
Twitter: @EMIFPA_NM
Edgewood Will Leave The Light On For You – Finally
by John Weckerle
In a September 17, 2015 article, the Mountain View Telegraph reports that the Edgewood Town Council has taken formal action toward bringing a hotel to the Town. According to the article, the hotel will be a Comfort Inn (yes, we know our title for this article suggests a different chain) built on Marietta Court by Aspire Hotels. The Town acted to approve an ordinance and a contract to allow the project to move forward. As the Telegraph reports, the hotel is projected to results in 10 full-time equivalent jobs, $26,000 in gross receipts taxes, and $3,718 in property taxes.
This is great news for Edgewood; the local business community has long cried out for a hotel. As with Estancia’s wishes to bring in a hotel to house people visiting inmates at the nearby prison, these cries seemed unheard by the regional economic development community. At one point, however, Edgewood apparently decided to pursue the concept, and the Town began working with the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce to assess the feasibility of bringing a hotel to the Town.
Edgewood is entering the hospitality arena – and given the Town’s closer proximity to Albuquerque as compared to Moriarty, shifts in the region’s economic configuration remain an item of interest. Moriarty has long held a monopoly in the lodging arena in the region, and a solid entry into the market on Edgewood’s part could seriously erode Moriarty’s primacy in the lodging sector. Moriarty holds certain advantages with respect to road infrastructure, especially regarding truck traffic, but if old proposals for an exit between Edgewood and Moriarty resurface, the value of that advantage could decrease.
Of course, Moriarty holds one other distinct advantage that Edgewood refuses to take away: the ability to have a cocktail with dinner ( we will note that we gave up on dinner in Moriarty several years ago, with or without cocktails, so we may be a bit behind the times in this regard). Edgewood has only one establishment – Pizza Barn (which we recommend) – that offers beer and wine with dinner. And of course lodgers will be unable to purchase wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages to take back to the room on Sunday, unless of course they drive to Moriarty. Regardless, the arrival of Comfort Suites in Edgewood is good news for local businesses and attractions. Perhaps this will renew Estancia’s interest in obtaining a hotel, as well.
Apple iOS9 User Alert!
by John Weckerle
Readers using Apple iPhones and iPads with cellular connectivity should take note of a new feature that may end up costing them money. This feature, Wi-Fi Assist, will cause the device to switch to cellular data when the system perceives that the wi-fi signal being used is “poor.” The new OS comes with this feature turned on by default. To disable it, go to Settings, then Cellular Data, and scroll all the way to the bottom (perhaps not coincidentally, where it’s least obvious) and turn it off.
One has to wonder why Apple would set the default to “on” for this feature – then again, Apple does have business relationships with the cell carriers, so perhaps one doesn’t have to wonder too hard.
The Incredible Super Harvest Blood Moonar Lunar Eclipse
by John Weckerle
Lunar Eclipse, September 27, 2015 as seen from southern Santa Fe County, NM.
This past Sunday, the denizens of New Mexico Central were treated to a rare event: a total lunar eclipse. What made it even more unique was the collection of other monikers applied to the event: Supermoon, Harvest Moon, and Blood Moon. For an explanation of these terms and answers to some other questions, we recommend that our readers take a look at EarthSky.org’s article on Sunday’s eclipse.
Year of the Cat…erpillar
by John Weckerle
For gardeners in our areas, this year has presented challenges: unusually warm weather, especially early in the season, grasshoppers, and of course the caterpillars. We have had all manner of furry crawlers in our areas – not just the black ones, but brown, silver-grey, yellow, and green. The caterpillar killer we mentioned in an earlier article was effective in protecting many of the vegetables as well as some trees and bushes, but we did not apply it on a wider scale, so we continued to experience the hungry horde. As we were walking by a scrub oak in the back yard a couple of days ago, we noticed a number of non-furry types, and found them interesting enough that we though we would share a few pictures with our readers.
Boehner To Resign?
by John Weckerle
This just in – the New York Times is reporting that Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner will resign effective October 31.
While we disagree with Mr. Boehner’s positions on many things, we hope that his decision is political and not a result of health problems or family issues. We’ll likely comment further when more information is available.
Press Release: EPA and USDA Join Private Sector, Charitable Organizations to Set Nation’s First Goals to Reduce Wasted Food
Editor’s note: This is a few days old but we found it interesting enough to pass on.
WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015 — Today, U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the United States’ first-ever national food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50-percent reduction by 2030. As part of the effort, the federal government will lead a new partnership with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector and local, state and tribal governments to reduce food loss and waste in order to improve overall food security and conserve our nation’s natural resources. The announcement occurs just one week before world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to address sustainable development practices, including sustainable production and consumption. As the global population continues to grow, so does the need for food waste reduction.
“Let’s feed people, not landfills. By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Today’s announcement presents a major environmental, social and public health opportunity for the U.S., and we’re proud to be part of a national effort to reduce the food that goes into landfills.”
“The United States enjoys the most productive and abundant food supply on earth, but too much of this food goes to waste,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This announcement demonstrates America’s leadership on a global level in getting wholesome food to people who need it, efficient use of natural resources, cutting environmental pollution and promoting innovative approaches for reducing food loss and waste.”
Food loss and waste in the United States accounts for approximately 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the overall food supply available to retailers and consumers and has far-reaching impacts on food security, resource conservation and climate change. Food loss and waste is the single largest component of disposed U.S. municipal solid waste, and accounts for a significant portion of U.S. methane emissions, which fuel climate change. This large volume of wasted food is a main contributor to the roughly 18 percent of total U.S. methane emissions that come from landfills. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the United States.
Furthermore, experts have projected that reducing food losses by just 15 percent would provide enough food for more than 25 million Americans every year, helping to sharply reduce incidences of food insecurity for millions. It is estimated that at the retail and consumer levels in the United States, food loss and waste totals $161 billion dollars.
Ongoing federal initiatives are already building momentum for long-term success. In 2013, USDA and EPA launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, creating a platform for leaders and organizations across the food chain to share best practices on ways to reduce, recover, and recycle food loss and waste. By the end of 2014, the U.S. Food Waste Challenge had over 4,000 active participants, well surpassing its initial goal of reaching 1,000 participants by 2020. EPA is working with nearly 800 grocers, restaurants, venues, stadiums, and other organizations to reduce wasted food through prevention, donation, and composting. In 2014, participants in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge diverted nearly 606,000 tons of wasted food, which included over 88,500 tons donated to people in need.
USDA and EPA will also continue to encourage the private sector—food service companies, institutions, restaurants, grocery stores, and more—to set their own aggressive goals for reducing food loss and waste in the months ahead. Organizations such as the Consumer Goods Forum, which recently approved a new resolution to halve food waste within the operations of its 400 retailer and manufacturers members by 2025, are helping to lead the way.
The United States is leading global efforts to address the threat of climate change. The first-ever national food waste goal is just one part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to protecting our environment for future generations. Since President Obama took office in 2009, the United States has increased solar generation by more than ten-fold, tripled electricity production from wind power, and reduced greenhouse gas pollution in the United States to its lowest levels in nearly 20 years. By setting achievable environmental goals, this Administration is making strides to help boost the economy and protect the health of American families for the long-term.
Challenge: To Boldly Not Go Where We Have Gone Too Many Times Already
by John Weckerle
Having repeatedly written against discrimination of all kinds, it was with disappointment that we read this story regarding Irving, Texas high school freshman Ahmed Mohamed (son of a Sudanese immigrant who had run twice for that country’s presidency – and who, according to the Dallas Morning News “once made national headlines for debating a Florida pastor who burned a Quran”), who brought a clock he had made out of spare electronics parts to school to show his engineering teacher. He presented it to the teacher early in the school day, who told him it was “nice” but advised him not to show it to any other teachers. The clock’s alarm went off during his English class, and the teacher stated that it looked like a bomb and confiscated it. The school’s principal called the police. Upon first seeing Mr. Mohamed one of the police officers, whom Mr. Mohamed had never met, reportedly stated “Yup. That’s who I thought it was.” The officers questioned the young man, who asserted truthfully that it was a clock, and he was subsequently handcuffed, arrested, not permitted to contact his parents, fingerprinted, and threatened with charges of creating a hoax bomb because police – while admitting they had no suspicion that it was a bomb – saw “no broader purpose.”
No broader purpose. For a clock?
Now, we admit that clocks, while having their uses, have perhaps certain negative implications as well. They are especially known for going off in the middle of a good dream – and given that this was English class (your editor always enjoyed English, despite the snoring of some of the other students) the clock might have been disruptive in that context. However, the item was clearly not a bomb, and Mr. Mohamedhad showed it to his engineering teacher and explained what it was. With that in mind, the concept that the article was a hoax bomb becomes absurd in the extreme; who on earth would create a hoax bomb, and then show it to a teacher – ensuring that if he did engage in the hoax, a) it would be immediately identified as a fraud, and b) he would be immediately caught and criminally charged?
Now, once it had been established that a) the object was not a bomb, and b) Mr. Mohamed had not in any way, shape, or form done anything to suggest, pretend, or otherwise represent that it was a bomb, or that it had been created as a hoax bomb, the affair could have, and should have, been concluded amicably – and Mr. Mohamed should have been sent on to whatever class awaited him. Instead, authorities treated Mr. Mohamed as if he was a criminal, and marched him in handcuffs through the halls of his school in handcuffs, in full view of his peers.
Other than “graciously” announcing that Mr. Mohamed would not be charged with creating a hoax bomb, the city’s Mayor, Beth Van Duyne (described by the Dallas Morning News as “a national celebrity in anti-Islamic circles”), police department, and school principal continue to justify (rationalize?) their actions. According to the police chief, “We live in an age where you can’t take things like that to school.” Things like what? Clocks? Electronics projects? We live in an age where, if we’re going to prepare engineers, scientists, and inventors to maintain (or perhaps more accurately, recover) the nation’s presence on the global technological stage, “things like that” are going to be coming to school in increasing numbers. If this is the position, then they might as well arrest the entire robotics club and the evildoers at Radio Shack who sell good kids gone bad the parts to build these items.
Let’s face it, readers, as a case of racial/ethnic and/or religious profiling, this situation is not difficult to spot – and given that the local government has decided not to investigate it as such, perhaps external authorities and organizations should do so.
When the Dallas Morning News article first came out, it was nearly heartbreaking to read the last line: “He’s vowed never to take an invention to school again.” To think that a bright talent had been squashed in such a way was tragic. But then…
Mr. Mohamed has been invited to the White House and to a gathering of NASA scientists (he was wearing a NASA t-shirt at the time of his arrest). He’s been contacted by representatives of his “dream school” – MIT – and received an outpouring of support from people throughout American society. And all that, perhaps, gives us some hope that perhaps we are, collectively, better than some of us occasionally make us look.
As is all too often the case, suspicion born of ignorance and bias may well have created an unfortunate situation and likely a violation of a young man’s civil rights. Such things strain relationships within the community and create or strengthen divisions that sap the strength of the community as a whole. Rather than circle the wagons, Irving city and school officials should engage in some serious self-examination and look for ways to be more inclusive and less suspicious of their minority populations.
Some small steps might be easy to take. One way to strengthen relationships might be to allow the Muslim community a greater role in performing the invocation at the City Council meetings. Reviewing the City Council meetings and agendas from January 2013 to date, we found that the Islamic faith was given this opportunity only once, on September 3, 2015. Representatives of other faiths were given multiple opportunities, and a number of individual congregations were represented multiple times. Perhaps a greater degree of inclusion here would
The City Council agendas also indicate that members of the public may speak for up to 3 minutes on essentially any topic; perhaps if a number of Muslim citizens of the greater Dallas area used this time to address this sort of situation and provide good information and suggestions on how to improve relations, the degree of familiarity would increase and the level of discrimination would decrease. We hope that all the people of Irving, and the rest of us, may learn from this unfortunate situation and work together toward a more harmonious and balanced time together.
Tasting The Symphony – The India Kitchen
by John Weckerle
Back in the 1990s, your editor and a band of Indian food enthusiast friends with whom he worked were once or twice weekly lunch regulars at a small Albuquerque restaurant called the India Kitchen. We were regulars for all the right reasons: excellent food, excellent service, wonderfully friendly owners, and excellent atmosphere. Sadly – at least for us – the owners made a decision to move to a dinner-only strategy. Not much later, your editor changed jobs, and subsequently moved to the “other side of the mountains.” Being the only resident of New Mexico Central headquarters who enjoys Indian cuisine, he doesn’t get back to the India Kitchen as often as he would like. So it was a delight to receive a call from one of the old crowd, and a continuing co-attendee at the restaurant, inquiring as to whether tonight would be a good time to pop back in, as it had been several months.
Of course it was. When isn’t?
The India Kitchen is a relatively small enterprise located on Montgomery Boulevard, on the south side just west of Louisiana. Nestled in the corner back away from the road, it’s not immediately obvious to the casual drivers-by. The restaurant has a dozen or so tables, and is decorated in a tasteful Indian theme. One of the owners often greets customers as they arrive, and the service remains as friendly as it was decades ago – small wonder, as the owners have been there for as long as we have been going. The ambiance, cordial welcome, and attentive service combine to create an intimate and positive atmosphere that make dining at the restaurant a good experience that starts when one walks in the door. Prices are reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food.
The meal began with samosa and pakora, which were outstanding, as always. We followed this with mulligatawny – shrimp for me, and lamb for my meat-eating friend. The mulligatawny was, in typical fashion for the India Kitchen, delightfully flavored and had just the right amount of “heat” (a 3 – enough to feel the heat but not enough to hurt). Next, it was time for vindaloo, with my friend selecting chicken while I once gain elected to go with shrimp. The India Kitchen’s vindaloos are wonderful – as with everything they cook, the heat is as advertised (6 for me, and 7 for my friend), and the spicing is done masterfully. The vindaloo was accompanied by delicately flavored rice and the restaurant’s delicious garlic naan (ordered separately).
This, perhaps, is the India Kitchen’s great strength. The spices in all their food are skillfully combined, with the flavors clearly indicative of the style ordered (for instance, the vindaloo tastes like vindaloo), but without overpowering the other spices in the dish. The result is always a flavor that is well-defined yet intricate and subtle and, in our experience, rare. The friend I dined with this evening arrived early and mentioned this to the owner, who indicated that he worked to achieve “a symphony of flavors.” And achieve that the India Kitchen has, time and again, for decades.
To the owners we say: Play on, Maestros! And to our readers we say: Go to the India Kitchen; it’s time to enjoy a culinary concert.
Fire On Sandia Mountain
by John Helmich
There is an active wildfire on Sandia Peak. US Forest Service fire fighting teams are aware and are inbound to the area. The fire is located north of the Crest Highway. At this point we have no more information other than it is small, with winds from the south. We will update you as we receive more information.
This is be a reminder that wildfires can and do occur in our area at this time. Please remain vigilant and prepared. As we say, report it, don’t ignore it.
John Helmich
EMIFPA Community Education Outreach Coordinator
Twitter: @EMIFPA_NM
On The Road Again
by John Weckerle
We join our readers today from not-so-sunny New Hampshire, from whence we will be returning tomorrow. We have a few short reviews for the probably small percentage of readers who find themselves traveling to this neck of the woods.
On the way out, we changed planes in th Baltimore airport. Standing in stark comparison to the Kansas City airport, whose most redeeming feature would appear to be the departing flights, the Baltimore Airport is clean, modern, and well appointed with eating establishments. We selected the Silver Diner, which purports to take classic American recipes and give them a different (and healthier) flair. Your editor chose the chipotle shrimp tacos, and Senior Fish and Chips Correspondent Lucy ordered the obvious. Neither of us was disappointed; the tacos were delightfully flavored, and the fish and chips, while very different from the traditional treatment, were very tasty.
We enjoyed breakfast twice at the DW Diner in Merrimack, where your editor enjoyed the vegetarian omelette and the Californian Benedict, and Senior Breakfast Correspondent Lucy had the hash and eggs one day and steak and eggs the other. All were very tasty, and the veggie omelette was more flavorful than most. The home fries had a great flavor, but we note that they are of the moist rather than the crispy variety, which was not to the liking of Senior Potato Consultant Trina but which – in your editor’s opinion – still outdoes the deep-fried potato cubes that all too many restaurants are calling “home fries.”
We ate dinner twice at The Lobster Boat in Merrimack, where your editor had the Medley, consisting of baked lobster, shrimp, and scallops. While the lobster was a bit overcooked, the shrimp and scallops were spot on, and the overall impression was very positive. The baked haddock was also very good.
Saturday night found our little band of travelers tired, so we had pizza delivered to the hotel. This was from Merrimack’s Pizza Roma. The pizza was very good, and arrived as hot as any pizza we have received. With six diners in attendance and three large pizzas to deal with, enthusiasm was so high that there was, tragically, no cold pizza for breakfast the following morning; this, however, was remedied by the aforementioned Californian Benedict.
Everyone Knows It’s Windy
by John Weckerle
In a September 4, 2015 article, The Independent’s Leota Harriman reports on a Moriarty City Council meeting at which the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association (EVEDA) provided a semi-annual report on economic development activities.
The article is replete with opportunities for our admittedly nerdy penchant for looking things up and analyzing them – so many so that they simply cannot be covered in a single article, so we suppose we’ll have to call this one the second of a series, with the first being Saturday’s article. At a minimum, we envision examining the following issues:
- The Iberdola El Cabo project and wind energy impacts on county economies (today’s article)
- The concept of amenities as a means of “attracting millenials” and, as a result, technology/manufacturing businesses
- The Local Economic Development Act, including what it says (and perhaps more importantly what it doesn’t say), and the status of the Certified Communities Initiative and other State economic development programs.
And that’s probably just a start; economic development is a complex subject.
For today, we focus on the first item in the list above. This comes in two parts; statements on the El Cabo wind energy project contained within the article, and some interesting studies involving economic impacts on county and state economies as a result of impacts.
El Cabo, or Not El Cabo
From The Independent article, reporting on a presentation by Myra Pancrazio, Executive Director of EVEDA discussing the potential for Torrance County obtaining a hospital using Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT):
Those PILT funds will expand greatly with the Iberdrola wind farm project, which is still “alive and kicking very hard,” she said. Iberdrola recently entered a 25-year contract agreement with Tri-State Generation and Transmission for purchase of wind-generated electricity.
According to that press release, the wind farm is expected to be completed in 2017, when it will produce 76 megawatts of energy, all of which will be purchased by Tri-State.
The idea that the Iberdrola project was moving forward (acknowledging that having a power purchase agreement [PPA]) is no guarantee that a project will be completed) was certainly new information; as reported in an August 28, 2014 Albuquerque Journal article, construction on the project had stopped and there has been little heard about it since. This would be great news for at least some part of the local human population – although potentially less so for local birds and bats – hoping for the economic benefits arising from wind projects. We enthusiastically scoured the web, including the sites of both Iberdrola and Tri-State, both of which post their press releases, and were disappointed to find no indication of a press release announcing a PPA for the Iberdroga El Cabo project in Southern Torrance County. The text in The Independent’s article appears to refer to a press release involving Iberdrola’s Twin Buttes project in southeastern Colorado (previously reported by the Mountain View Telegraph).
While the press release is at least a little good news for the good folks of Bent County, Colorado and renewable energy advocates within Tri-State’s region of influence (and perhaps the aforementioned Torrance County birds and bats), we fail to understand how this development would affect PILT funds, or any other aspect of economic development, in the Estancia Valley. And we also have to wonder how news that Iberdrola is focusing successfully on a project elsewhere, while the local project is halted, is cause for optimism here.
Of course, if we’re wrong about this, we’d invite anyone with information to that effect to click the comment icon (the little word bubble at the top right of the article) and let us know. We’ll be glad to acknowledge the error.
Hang Your Hat on the Wind
At the outset of this discussion, we refer our readers to two sources: Economic Development Impact of 1,000 MW of Wind Energy in Texas published by the National Renewable Energy Technology Laboratory (NREL), and this summary of Ex post analysis of economic impacts from wind power development in U.S. counties. As the latter article states: “…total county personal income increased by $11,150 over the 2000 to 2008 period… And, for every megawatt of wind energy installed in a county, one half of a job was created.” Of particular interest are Tables 3 and 4 of the NREL report, which show that the “local” share of the project tends to represent a relatively small percentage of the total project cost. According to the State Land Office, of the 80,000 acres envisioned for the project, 39,000 would be State land. In terms of acreage essentially half is owned by the state- so it is unclear just how much revenue would be collected by local landowners in terms of leases for tower locations, and how that would relate to local economic benefits in terms of increased economic activity and tax revenue for Torrance County. Unfortunately, as the NREL article notes, the inputs into the JEDI model, which projects economic impacts of wind projects, are often proprietary, so we can’t easily apply it here. While we agree that the project would be of benefit to economic development at the county and state level (assuming that it restarts), we caution that the benefits of wind energy projects may not be what is sometimes envisioned.
We’d like to let our readers know that we will probably be taking a few days off to attend to other things, but should be back next week.