Another Solar Farm Scrapped; The Price of Oil Just Went Up Another Buck -- Quietly, Steadily; Best Dividend Payers on August 14, 2012

I don't watch television any more so I don't know what CNBC talking heads are saying about oil today, but regardless, oil has gone up almost one dollar -- at least where I follow it at Yahoo!Finance.  (That's a dynamic link and this pertains to the page shot at 10:51 a.m. Pacific Time. Your results will vary.)

*******************

Meanwhile, SRE -- wow, that company has been on a tear this year -- has scrapped plans to build a 300 MW solar farm near Hawaii's Pearl Harbor.

Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has taken off the table its plan to build a $1 billion, 300-megawatt solar farm on Navy land near Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor.

Sempra’s photovoltaic project, which would’ve been one of the biggest solar farms in the country, was announced at last year’s conference.

Crider had said last year that the solar farm could provide the Navy with electricity at no cost and that Sempra would sell power to Hawaiian Electric Co. to make up its costs. 

If solar energy is not economically viable in Hawaii....

Or maybe the same admiral who likes $26/gallon diesel, couldn't see the cost savings in "free" electricity.

I cannot make this stuff up.

My hunch is some "movers and shakers" moved in on Sempra and said "no way, Jose, will you give away your electricity to the Navy." Wow, can you believe the outrage in the civilian community if they knew they were subsidizing the US Navy's electricity bill. Wow. I cannot make this stuff up.

A lot of story lines here, too, I bet.

Again, this is just opinion. I have no inside information. Some posts are simply for entertainment.

For those folks concerned about another solar farm scrapped, and global warming temperatures this summer:
Remember, folks choose to live in Hawaii and not North Dakota for a reason. 

*******************

As most of you know, we've been boogie boarding off Huntington Beach the past few days. Actually, we've been eating dinner at Ruby's at the end of the Huntington Beach pier during the past week, and boogie boarding up the coast, at Bolsa Chica. We have this "magic card" that gets us into the beach for free: we just show this card, and "voila," as my 6-year-old granddaughter says, and they wave us in.

But I digress. I see that AES is looking at updating the power plants at Huntington Beach.

California energy regulators started reviewing U.S. power company AES Corp's proposed 939-megawatt (MW) addition to the Huntington Beach power plant in Orange County.

AES wants to build two natural gas-fired, combined-cycle plants on a 28.6-acre site located within the existing footprint of the existing Huntington Beach facility about 30 miles (48 km) south of Los Angeles.

The California Energy Commission said in a release late Thursday the estimated capital cost of the project would be from $500 to $550 million. Power traders noted that cost was low and may only pay for one of the two combined cycle facilities AES is looking to build.

Why not solar? Why not wind? Why not algae? Because the math simply does not work.

Deep in the story:

After both reactors at the 2,150-MW San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California shut in January due to problems with its steam generators, the California ISO, which operates the power grid for much of the state, called on AES to take Huntington Beach Units 3 and 4 out of retirement for at least for the peak summer demand months.

Go to the link; it's a great story, with some great background to the energy situation and the heat wave in California. 

*******************

Normally I would not link/post this story, but I've been a very long-term accumulator of shares in one of the companies listed. I use the blog as a reminder for myself for stories I might otherwise miss. This is for my archives only and not a recommendation to invest. Best dividend payers on August 14, 2012 -- SeekingAlpha.com. 

*******************