the green PHOTO: STAYDEN Gil Campos and Kate Vanko, Mammoth Middle School sheet Science teachers, helped out at the Flex Your Power booth at All Things Green in the Eastern Sierra the Roxy Chicken Jam in the Village at Mammoth on Mar. 27. Saturday, April 17, 2010 FREE Vol. 3, No. 1 DWP digs into solar at Owens Lake THE GIVE AND TAKE Valley requests transparency from the agency throughout project By Fredericksen OF FEED-IN TARIFFS n a windy day, dust the massive solar array project that currently relies on coal By Kirkner from the scarred that is now in the preliminary for 40 percent of its energy ow do you make a plan for something like this Oremnants of Owens planning stages. needs, reaching the mayor’s someone buy some- would look like,” McCarroll Lake rises in milky plumes so The photovoltaic solar park target would mean shifting to Hthing expensive? told the Green Sheet. “I keep huge they seem to dwarf the is being presented as a tri- renewable energy sources on Promise them something in hearing that it may not be surrounding mountains. The fold solution to three major an unprecedented scale. The return. It’s the age-old game economically feasible, but airborne dust causes pollu- issues: dust mitigation, water Owens Lake solar project has of give and take. So it’s no how do you know what to ask tion that exceeds national air conservation, and fossil fuel the potential to be the largest surprise that in order to get for if you don’t have a plan?” quality standards by a factor reduction. A pilot project has of its kind in the world. people to buy into solar, many A feed-in tariff, or FIT, is a of ten. been approved that will cover Currently, the project is at will need to see how it benefits price tender model whereby By the late 1920s, most of 616 acres with solar panels. If the master planning stage. their pocketbooks first. “a standard price or set of the water from the lakebed the pilot project proves that a Different groups with vested Mayor of Mammoth Lakes prices are presented for solar had been diverted to Los larger version is viable, the so- interests in the lakebed are Neil McCarroll suggested power production, and often Angeles, transforming the lar array could be expanded to trying to draft a master plan at a Town Council meeting for other forms of renewable lake into a salty alkali-crusted thousands of acres, potentially for Owens Lake that will ad- several months ago that the energy,” according to a 2008 wasteland. Since 1983 the generating enough power to dress the various agendas for Town supply solar incentives White Paper by Ted Flanigan LA Department of Water and serve 10 percent of California’s land use, such as dust control, to Mammoth Lakes’ citizens of EcoMotion. At this time, Power (DWP) has sought miti- energy needs. grazing leases, local mining, who want to install solar panel the model is only beneficial to gation measures for the dust Mayor Antonio Villarai- habitat protection and resto- systems at their homes or those who can invest in solar problem. Never before, how- gosa of LA has set a goal to ration, and solar potential. businesses. projects that are large enough ever, has the City proposed eliminate the city’s use of “I think it’s historical that Rick Phelps, Executive to produce more power than such an ambitious solution as coal energy by 2020. For a city there’s such a diverse group Director of the High Sierra they use. Owners of these working on this,” said Mike Energy Foundation explained projects can sell the excess Prather of the Eastern Sierra why this idea, even though it’s back to the power companies Audubon Society. “The lake a good one, isn’t quite feasible for a set rate. FITs are used to needs to be looked at as a yet. help the utilities meet their re- whole, since historically it “People who get the benefits newable portfolio standards. has always been looked at in of solar incentives are those The concept is just begin- pieces.” who can invest in large solar ning to make an appearance In the wake of DWP’s aque- projects,” Phelps explained. in California even though FITs duct project, residents of Ow- McCarroll agreed stating, have been used in Europe for ens Valley were left skeptical “People doing it now are ones years with positive results. of the department’s genuine who can write a big check be- According to a story at interest in the welfare of the cause they believe in it.” But www.marketwatch.com, just valley and its resources, said one of the concept he wants last October Governor Ar- Geoff McQuilkin of the Mono to further explore is that of nold Schwarzenegger signed Lake Committee. He said feed-in tariffs, something that legislation that enabled these DWP needs to reform its way PHOTO COURTESY RICK PHELPS countries in Europe seem to European-style, above-market of approaching projects in How smart is your irrigation system? See story on p. 2 to find out. have successfully adopted. tariffs for small solar-panel see OWENS, page 10 “I just want to know what see FEED-IN, page 13 get smart with landscape irrigation the green Million-dollar technology now in reach of average homeowner By Geisel sheet PUBLISHER ecades ago, Earl Henderson had his first encounter Jack Lunch Dwith landscape irrigation: digging a ditch for a water line. EDITOR With few exceptions, he’s been Lara Kirkner working with water in one form or 760.914.0678 another ever since. Today, he owns his own landscape and hydroseed [email protected] business, and serves on the Board of the Mammoth Community CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Water District. Ted Carleton Of course, if he hadn’t become Ed Cesnalis a water professional, he’d have made a good teacher. Stacy Corless Henderson, it turns out, is not Devon Fredericksen only a champion of conserving Andy Geisel Mammoth Lakes’ water resources, Tammy Hooper he’s also a firm believer in Lara Kirkner knowledge. “The key to the whole PHOTO COURTESY RICK PHELPS thing is education … how to use Earl Henderson gives a how-to on how to make irrigation more intelligent. Rebecca Paranick-Poiset and manage water,” Henderson Rick Phelps said, referring to all the proposed humidity, rainfall, sun, and plant etc.),” Phelps said. development and where the water and soil types. Expandable up Putting that technology into AD SALES to 13 stations, the “Extra Simple the hands of average consumers will come from to hydrate a thirsty Pamela Stayden, Ad Director town full of visitors and locals Programming” controller can use opens the door to an almost when the numerical threshold for either pre-programmed gathered unprecedented degree of water 760.914.3261 Persons At One Time, or the town weather-data or a satellite link to efficiency. Phelps has 11 zones [email protected] at buildout is reached at some data from the National Oceanic on his controller, and has already point in the future. and Atmospheric Administration observed a significant reduction in PRODUCTION (NOAA) in its calculations. his landscape water usage. “If you As of Jan. 1 this year, the state of Pamela Stayden California issued new regulations Some of the homework on have a system that’s 50 percent for landscape irrigation, requiring the upfront side is yours, but efficient, you have to water twice Lara Kirkner every city and county to adopt not much. You input a few key as long to get the dry spots wet,” the new standards or put their specifics: zip code, allowed Henderson points out. “Going © 2010 The Sheet, Inc. The Green own in place. Mono County opted watering days and the plant/ from six zones to four zones will Sheet is printed on recycled stock. to take the latter route and is soil type for each zone. You set save you some money on the Green Sheet submissions and let- currently working on developing it and, after a little fine-tuning, upfront side, maybe 33 percent, ters are welcome. Send to the edi- a conservation plan tailored to its can pretty much forget it. The but you’ll end up losing more than tor via e-mail or P.O. Box #8088, ESP-SMT takes over from there. that in the ability to control water individual localities. Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546. Locally, Henderson said he Your irrigation system waters only distribution and runoff.” Include a self-addressed stamped thinks residents (not to mention when the landscape requires it Which brings us to the price tag the area’s water supply) can and calculates the details for every of about $500. Think that’s a lot? envelope for mailed submissions. benefit from a new product, Rain zone of your sprinkler system. First, consider the savings that Bird’s ESP SMT Series Smart Timer Rain Bird’s operation manual will come off the top of your water “When the MCWD instituted system. was assembled using a baseline bill. Not enough? Okay, how about staged drought ordinances four Sure, there are other smart standard that was formulated tossing in a $400 rebate from seasons ago, the first thing we timers, but Henderson is under optimum laboratory Mammoth Community Water heard was, ‘I’ve got dry spots on particularly impressed by the Rain conditions, but Henderson said District just for purchasing a unit? my lawn.’ This system applies Bird, which he thinks can help it’s in the field where science And if that’s not enough, they the numbers for your specific users all but eliminate waste in meets creativity.