Trying to be conservative in the dollar numbers because they always get larger, they have spent or invested around $800 million for VV2 starting construction in June 2008. The road from the 15 out to SCLA will come in at around $187 million. $95 million at Foxborough and $2 or $3 million at Aspen that the Victorville City Council knows nothing about . Add it all up and you are getting real close or over a BILLION  dollars of tax payer funded  "energy programs " in Victorville. And not 1 penny in return for the people of Victorville on these private "energy" investments of tax payer dollars.

$95 million fumbled at Foxborough

By BROOKE EDWARDS
Staff Writer

5-18-08 VV Daily Press

    VICTORVILLE — The city of Victorville’s venture into the electric power business has cost $95 million and the Foxborough cogen power plant has yet to produce a single kilowatt of electricity.
    City officials are now trying to sell off the outdated equipment that sits collecting dust, and to repair mistakes in the plant’s original designs.
    They are also preparing to connect the plant to the state’s energy grid, defying the entire reason Foxborough was developed.
    The city wanted to generate low-cost electricity to attract industry and jobs to the city with the plant, located on east Nisqualli Road. Instead the project’s costs soared, almost quadrupling from initial projections.
    “Having been newbies in the electricity and utilities business, there were some bumps in the road,” Councilman Bob Hunter said. “But they are working themselves out at this point.”
    In 2004, city officials said Foxborough’s price tag would be $22 million of Redevelopment Agency funding. But when City Council members were asked recently if they could estimate the total amount that has now gone into Foxborough, only Councilman Mike Rothschild hazarded a guess: $70 million.
    An April 9 e-mail obtained by the Daily Press from Inland Energy’s Wayne Sawyer to Mayor Terry Caldwell and City Manager Jon Roberts stated the city has spent upwards of $95 million “on ‘Foxborough development efforts’ w/o the main plant (FCF) completed or functional (much less deemed a ‘worthy investment’).”
    A financial document obtained by the Daily Press confirms the $95 million figure, showing cost overruns would amount to $5 million more than the $90 million bond the city took out to pay for Foxborough.
    The city attributes much of the price increase and delay in construction to changes in state policy, requiring at least 20 percent of all energy produced in California to be renewable by 2010. To meet this standard, the city dumped original plans for gas-fired combustion turbines and the temporary generators providing energy until the plant was completed.
    “The equipment we had was good for the moment we bought it,” Rothschild said. “It was cost effective and fit what we needed in that moment in time. Regulatory issues came up after that we couldn’t anticipate.”
    The city is now buying more temporary generators — though this time to run on biodiesel — and staff is trying to sell off the older equipment.
    Glen Casanova, director of the city’s utilities, would not confirm whether any of the old equipment has yet been sold, saying the city is still in negotiations with potential buyers. He said income from these sales will show up on the next budget, and that it will replace a “big chunk” of the city’s original investment.
    Aside from start-up costs, the utility has also shown a deficit of $4.5 million to more than $8 million in operating revenue each year since its generators were first fired up in 2005. The city has borrowed from the general fund to make up this shortfall.
    Casanova said the city knew the project would lose money initially.
    Rothschild said Foxborough will go revenue-positive in approximately two more years, which he said is longer than they’d hoped.
    Much of this shortfall in revenue is due to Nutro dog food plant — which draws energy from the plant along with AmeriCold — not using as much energy as they’d originally requested. Rothschild said this is because they have permits to fire up three cycles, but because of the odor problems they’ve had, the city has held them to one.
    An e-mail from Sawyer to Wellborn last April said, “Nutro loads are nowhere near what had been projected (had they been, they would have melted some cable by now).”
    This is due to another misstep, reportedly made by the city’s original design and consulting firm, Carter & Burgess. There’s pending litigation between the city and the design firm.
    “A wrong part was purchased,” Councilwoman JoAnn Almond said, “and the thing has basically been sitting there collecting dust.”
    Sawyer’s message said there were rudimentary design errors with undersized conductors purchased for the planned cogen plant, which would produce energy and convert excess heat into steam. Casanova would only say that he wouldn’t recommend the council hire Carter & Burgess for the city’s next project.
    Former plant manager Wayne Campbell may also have been held responsible for some of these errors, as Casanova replaced him in August. Another e-mail from Sawyer mentioned Campbell getting out of control near the end of his tenure as manager.
    The city is now looking into connecting to the state energy grid through Southern California Edison, which will reduce the annual deficit by $5 million, according to another e-mail from Casanova.
    This is a complete tur naround from the plant’s original purpose, which was to attract businesses by staying off the state’s grid and providing electricity at a 10 percent discount over Edison.
    While they haven’t yet made a final decision, Rothschild said he’s confident the plant will eventually be on the grid.
Brooke Edwards may be reached at 955-5358 or at

bedwards@vvdailypress. com.

Aspen another energy bust for Victorville

Victorville is spending $800 million for the powerplant at SCLA and now will spend $187 million in matching funds for a road from the 15 to SCLA? $987 million on SCLA? And how does this benefit the people of Victorville? How is this the priority over public services or public safety?

County prioritizes transportation projects

 By RYAN ORR Staff Writer

 

December 30, 2007 - 1:44AM

 

SAN BERNARDINO — With $2 billion worth of transportation funds set to be dispersed by the state in 2008, Victorville is trying to get it’s hands on $187 million of it to change the way business is done in the Victor Valley.

A 12 mile stretch of road that connects Southern California Logistics Airport to the Interstate 15 is Victorville’s number one priority.
On the county’s list of five projects, however, it ranks fourth in importance.

Ahead of the Victorville project is widening the 15/215 interchange in Devore, lane improvements on Interstate 10 and railroad grade separations.

After submitting a list of San Bernardino County’s highest priority transportation projects at the end of 2006, the Southern California Association of Governments came up empty in obtaining any of the first $4.5 billion released by the state.

The money comes from the $19.9 billion Proposition 1B state transportation bond.

In the second round of funding, the state will release $2 billion to go towards projects focused on the movement of goods.

The projects approved for funding must be matched dollar for dollar by the city they are in, and be ready to get off the ground within three years.

Victorville City Councilman Mike Rothschild said the SCLA interchange fits the bill.

Rothschild, who is also a member of SANBAG, said they have been working on the project for seven years, have two engineering companies ready to start construction, environmental impact studies close to done and enough funds to match the state’s allocation.

 The road will also be part of the High Desert Corridor, which will eventually reach from Apple Valley to Palmdale.

Rothschild said it would serve as a catalyst to get some serious money into what would be the first new freeway in California in years.
Eventually the idea would be for trucks to offload trailers onto trains and plane to head north and east.

Rothschild said there is a difference between the Victorville project and the other project improvements that have been given higher  priority.

“We’re not asking to just improve the system,” Rothschild said. “We’re asking to change the system.”

Rothschild said the funds probably wouldn’t be released until the summer and he would have a better idea of which projects will be approved for funding in the next couple months.

Ryan Orr may be reached at 951-6277 or rorr@vvdailypress.com.