by Dan Bacher |
Tuesday, March 20 was a busy day for Restore the Delta (RTD), a coalition opposed to the Brown administration's rush to construct massive peripheral tunnels to divert millions of acre-feet of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to corporate agribusiness, oil companies and Southern California developers. 
Representatives of the group, along with fishermen, environmentalists, and other Delta advocates, testified at both a public meeting in West Sacramento to discuss the first three chapters of revised Bay Delta Conservation Plan proposal and a State Water Resources Control Board (SWRB) meeting in Sacramento hearing regarding San Joaquin River flows.  Photo of San Joaquin River below Friant Dam by Dan Bacher... Read More

The 300-megawatt natural gas Lodi Energy Center is fully operational as of Tuesday, bringing clean energy to the Valley.

The $500 million project - $388 million for construction and $112 million in debt service - had been under construction for two years and will generate power used partially for Lodi homes and businesses, but also for BART trains and computer technology manufacturers in the Silicon Valley.

Tuesday's startup, which comes two months after its projected opening in September, means subscribers will be using the plant's power, and power will eventually be sold onto the California electricity grid.

"It's the official Commercial Operating Date, so it's an exciting day for us," Lodi Electric Utility Director Liz Kirkely said Tuesday afternoon.