All of us can recognize the benefits of decreasing fossil fuel consumption. The challenge is how to do it economically and without sacrificing comfort. That aim was the focus of a gathering of experts who met in Yucca Valley for the Morongo Basin Conservation Association’s Desert-Wise Living series on Saturday. Reporter Mike Lipsitz was there…
Experts in resource management, public policy, hydro-electric engineering, and energy research echoed their message to the local audience: successful growth and productivity of communities across the nation will largely be determined by the level at which they embrace fossil fuel alternatives. Successful communities, they said, should be managing renewable energy production, distribution, and use in homes and businesses. Locally, the Mojave Water Agency, the Basin’s wholesale water supplier, is moving forward on a project to install a hydropower turbine and generator on an existing 48-inch water pipeline. It is expected to generate enough power to pump water from the state aqueduct to three big water agencies in the Basin and elsewhere. Twentynine Palms is also looking ahead in a proactive effort that would lower energy costs for residents and businesses there. City Manager Frank Luckino briefed the audience on plans for a feasibility study to look at buying electricity wholesale through a model known as Community Choice Aggregation.
