The are doing the necessary surveying and engineering for the gas pipeline needed to power the huge Tenaska power plant. Their trucks bear the logo of SAM, Inc., Surveying, Aerial Mapping, Engineering. None of the men seem to know about the powerplant, just the gas pipeline they are initializing.
The aspect of the huge Tenaska power plant agreed upon in secret negotiations by Tony Martinez and his cronies is the method of finance.
Brownsville's quarter interest in the plant will be financed by the P.U.B. ratepayers to the tune of $350,000,000.
I think in the long run it is a good idea especially with the new oil being discovered in Matamoros Mx. These new fields it's going to require many support industries, companies to help extract this "black gold" from the ground. I remember Pat Ahumada once told me that it's difficult to attract new industry to the area without having enough electrical power to "juice" them up. What is also going to be needed is to beef up the infrastructure, more and wider roads and forget about the STUPID BIKE LANES.
ReplyDeleteA new plant is a good idea. The one Brownsville owns we were told is 100 years old. Unfortunately we learned from other sources that as long as there is a power plant in the works PUB can legally stick the cost of the gas line to the rate payer. Tenaska will collect the gas from the black gold wells in central Texas at the start of the gas line and Tenaska will take it at the end where the new plant will be. The plan as I understand it is that when the gas line business proves to troublesome or the plant plan goes away PUB will give Tenaska the first right of refusal to buy the public financed gas line. By doing it this way if the plant does not happen the pipeline can still deliver gas to the proposed gas liquefaction Port Plant that was reported in the Brownsville Herald. Tenaska hedges its success in either venture while PUB assumes the risk.
ReplyDeleteThere are gas/oil pipe lines supplying the Port of Corpus Christi from the Eagle Ford. And, most importantly, they already have a liquefied gas facility under construction from a real company, not a pipe dream like Brownsville. Unless Brownsville expects a big boom in more "tortillerias", I don't know what they are going to do with all that extra gas. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-10/eagle-ford-s-exports-spur-boom-at-port-of-corpus-christi.html
ReplyDeleteBrownsville should go nuclear. We already have the genius from Space X. Why not have him draw up some plans for a Fukushima at the mouth of the river. Bring the expertise of Mexico and their Lacuna Verde plant as well.
Sorry. Of course that should be "Laguna" not "Lacuna".
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