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Waiting for the speech
posted at 2007-02-19 18:31 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
It's amazing how fast the week can fill up....
Gov Easley's speech is at seven tonight. Dems will react afterward, while the GOP caucus plans a formal response at 9:30 tomorrow morning.Meantime, Jim Black is expected in Wake Co Court tomorrow morning at 11:30, where, according to the Charlotte Observer, he's expected to offer an Alford plea to state corruption charges. If you want to know what an Alford plea is, Jack Betts' blog has a good explanation.
The big question - will Easley address the Black scandal in his speech tonight? Can he afford not to?
The other big question - when will the Governor release his budget? I've heard it's ready to go, but rumor has it we won't see it till Thursday.
Powered by...what?
This afternoon, NC Pork producers and Progress Energy announced a new pilot program to turn hog waste into power. Hog farmers will use a new type of converter that sits on top of hog lagoons, capturing and burning the methane that the waste produces. Progress has agreed to pay up to 18 cents per kilowatt hour for the power the hog farms put up on the grid. That's a pretty high rate, but proponents say that's what it will take to make the process economically feasible for the farmers - the money they make from selling the power should pay for the converter in 5 to 7 years.
The pork council folks are asking state lawmakers for enabling legisation - something environmentalists will be watching carefully. While most say it's a good first step, they want to make sure the state is careful to approve only the most environmentally helpful converter systems. No one knows yet exactly how well the new systems will work. And then there's the issue of what to do with the rest of the hog waste - the nitrogen and phosphorus left over.
If state legislators approve the converter program, it's also a sort of protection for hog lagoons. Environmentalists have been trying to get them phased out, but if the lagoons can be used to generate alternative energy, their future could be more secure.
