Newark Communities Shouldn't Be Bamboozled Into Accommodating An Unregulated Utility In The Middle Of Town

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Newark, DE - Official Website - The Data Centers, LLC Project

cityofnewarkde.us

The Data Centers, LLC Project

Presented at October 28, 2013 City Council Meeting by City Council Member Stu Markham "Environmental Impact of Power Plants" - Public Service Commission of Wisconsin 

PLEASE READ THIS REPORT. Thanks Stu Markham!

Piles of power plant-related papers that Amy Roe FOIA'd and is going through now from UD. She writes  ~  

"We now know what we know because of the thousands of hours of work that have been conducted to bring sunshine to the facts, including by me, my family, and our friends and neighbors. This has not materialized out of thin air, but by a lot of sweat and tears."

With comment rescue ~  

Who in elected government understands financial investments and the nature of venture capital and utility level financing? If they just kicked the tires on TDC LLC for a few minutes they'd recognize that TDC chasing Glenfarne Capital and then Lexden would tell any financial professional that they don't have money, that they only have proof of concept, that they aren't seeking venture capital through equity build in their business, and that these guys are chasing traditional utility level financing for individual projects. 

This project is strictly a power plant with a data center tie-in. To raise a $1B in utility level capital they have to pitch earnings streams from day 1. Which means the utility business has to be nailed down before the data center value kicks in. That's why the utility offer has moved north in terms of power requirements - to guaranty a fixed return to investors regardless of their success in selling the data center concept. 

Data centers are everywhere. If they kick the tires on other data centers around the country they'll figure out that while Kern is bragging he is onto some new concept, the truth is the main entities that require massive cloud data storage - social engines like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, EBAY, Verizon, Apple, etc etc and brick and mortar banks like JP Morgan, Citibank, etc etc require captive data centers because of their scale and proprietary information management risks. Bottom line - this is a power plant first and foremost. How do we know that? Simple - Kern has said that without the power plant to the surplus scale they desire the project will receive no investment capital. I hope they kick the tires on this.

Who in elected office has the business acumen to understand business models and whether or not you would steer clients into them? As I am a Certified Treasury Professional working for cloud technology providers, while having worked for a local utility for ten years, I understand Kern's model and I understand what this project truly is - a utility with a data center business. It's not a data center like Chase has in Bear where I live, but a data center that offers the purported value of 100% up time (as if that couldn't be achieved from the grid with backup generation).

.........Lexden Capital hired Tom Ross to be their front man, and Tom was the former Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party. My guess is that Alan Levin steered Lexden towards Tom to baby sit this project through Delaware political channels. It's the "Delaware Way". When you click on the Tom Ross link on Lexden Capital, instead of going to his email address there, it drives to someone else. Yet when you click on those individuals at Lexden that actually work there, the email goes to their email address at Lexden itself. It just tells you about the nature of deals here. 

Some of this was in response to Paul Baumbach's statements on facebook today ~

I am not being asked to comment on the investment appeal or strategy of TDCs project. That is the responsibility of Lexden's analysts.

And

I would like to thank the 122 residents of the 23rd Representative District that I serve who signed the No Newark Power Plant petition. It took us over two weeks to identify those who live in the 23rd. Special thanks to those who collected the signatures.

Please know that I continue to monitor this project, report news on it (such as through Facebook and my e-newsletter), share opportunities for all residents to share their support/opposition and to raise their questions. I am also working to ensure that all of the rules are being followed. If this project proceeds, I will work to make it integrate as well as possible for the community. Finally, I am determined to identify any flaws in our processes, and to suggest improvements for future projects.

With a comment rescue ~

Thanks for sharing this update for Rep Baumbach. I'm confused. Is Paul for or against the project? The second paragraph suggests a politically neutral answer. It's why I could never be a politician. Because if I was for this project, I would make the argument to my constituents as to why it is beneficial and for those that opposed it, I would fight for the most environmental and sound-proof protections for the project to do the least damage to my constituents who were against me. If I was against the project, I would argue to my constituents as to why it is a poor investment for this particular piece of University of Delaware land and if the project continues to go forward despite my opposition, I would fight for the most environmental and sound proof protections for the project to do the least damage to my constituents. Again, I'm just confused here. Where does Paul stand?

~*~