UD/TDC Update: UD Homecoming: Yes! Power Plant: No! - 10 - 12 Saturday In Newark

Come out from 10 -12 on Saturday to this No Newark Power Plant event ~ UD Homecoming: Yes! Power Plant: No!

• DE 896 and DE 4 Park and Ride Newark, DE 19711

• Join us on Saturday, October 12th from 10am - noon to show your opposition to the construction of a 248MW power plant on the UD STAR campus. We will meet in front of the Park & Ride on DE 896 & DE 4 at 10am with our signs and walk across the street to stand in front of the Delaware Stadium/Bob Carpenter center to bring attention to proposed power plant for all those who will be attending the Universality of Delaware's Homecoming football game (kick-off is at noon). The University of Delaware has leased land to The Data Centers, LLC for the construction of a 900,000 square foot power plant and data center right in the middle of a densely population area of 30,000 residents. Residents have concerns about: * the health and safety risks * decreased property values * noise pollution * lack of citizen oversight in this "back room deal" * increased emissions of greenhouse gasses * read more about resident concerns here: http://www.nonewarkpowerplant.org/resident-concerns/ We are reaching out to the University community, especially alumni, who may not be aware that the current university administration is planning on an industrial sized power plant on the UD campus! UD should be in the business of education, research, enrichment and athletics--not in the business of industrial power generation. Bring your voice, a sign and your neighbors! We will have some pre-made signs and sign-making materials on hand as well.

And another letter from Connie Merlet ~ 

This morning (Sunday) I woke up to the sound of a truck outside a building on UD property a block or so away which included running in reverse with the back-up sound. I don’t know when it began but it lasted much of my awakened Sunday AM. The sound was so bothersome that I closed all my windows even though it was a lovely morning. I usually sit on my back deck enjoying coffee and the paper, but not so this morning!

I know that wasn’t nearly 45 decibels or conversation level. But it woke me and bothered my morning. When the truck drove away I was finally able to relax, only to have it return and the sound begin again and continue intermittently throughout the early part of the day.

The proposed power plant facility will run at minimum 45 decibels a half a mile away 24 hours a day seven days a week. No breaks, no sounds of silence, and a heck of a lot louder than what I experienced this morning.

I know there are people hurting for jobs, and I know they have been promised good paying jobs for constructing this plant. I know the plant has promised to hire union.

But it occurs to me why NOW.

There are half a dozen major building projects within two miles of my house. Huge education, dining service , and dormitory construction for the university, and various housing projects by private developers; none of them using more than a sprinkling of union workers every here and there for specialized work.

And the 290 jobs post construction? Not only will only just 30 of those jobs be for maintenance, this total number is pure conjecture. There is no agreement that 290 people will be working onsite at this facility.

Thus, union workers are being thrown a bone to put up perhaps the most egregious and controversial of all industrial projects and the residents are being made to look like the bad guys. The only way the powers that be could make this plant a “go” was by pulling in union- something TDC was willing to afford as their profits will be astronomical once this project is in full swing. (It takes virtually no workers to actually run and maintain a data center/power facility.) With the strength of the building trades behind them the planners have nearly a stranglehold on public opinion. “We just want to provide more jobs to a struggling state economy!” Who could be against that? Therefore the voices of the people who will be most affected by this plant will pale in comparison and the term “small number of complainers” will appear apt to those outside the circle of interested parties.

This is a project that should never have gotten this far in the planning. It should never have been seriously proposed for this area. The fact that it was able to do so without any public knowledge reflects poorly on everyone who knew about it. The residents are not the bad guys here. Neither are union workers who are presently out of work. Neither for that matter is TDC- hey, it’s a corporation trying to make a buck. That’s what they do.

So who does that leave?  

Meanwhile, Another California data center turns to fuel cells

And an item in the News Journal today ~ Bloom will help power California data center

Communications company Century-Link Inc. has announced it will install 500 kilowatts of Bloom Energy power at one of its California data centers. The fuel cells will help power cloud, man­aged hosting and off-site information services housed within the data center in Irvine, Calif., which will be operated by CenturyLink’s company Savvis.

“We must explore our energy al­ternatives to support advancements in technology and the escalating demand for network and IT infrastructure,” said David Meredith, senior vice president and global general manager for Savvis. “Bloom’s clean fuel cells offer a way for businesses like CenturyLink to promote the continuing evolution of technology without sacrificing their sustainability commitments.”

Bloom has started producing its fuel cell servers for East Coast customers at a factory in Newark.

— Aaron Nathans 

Please come out to Governor Markell's Town Hall meeting at Delcastle High School at 6pm and tell him Newarkers shouldn't have to put up with a UD/TDC utility-scale natural gas and jet engine powered power plant in our community.
Also ~

• October 14th  – City Council meeting at 7pm (Residents Against the Power Plant are delivering the petitions at this meeting)
• October 14th - UD Faculty Senate Open Info Meeting. 4 - 5:30pm at Mitchell Hall.
• October 28th – City Council meeting at 7pm

~*~