OCR Text |
Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 8-11, 2015 M A-19 The Park Record OUNTAIN TOWN NEWS CATS AND DOGS, BIG AND SMALL... WE LOVE ‘EM ALL! A Roundup of News from Other Western Ski Resort Communities By ALLEN BEST Record contributing writer Mine property now mines solar energy KIMBERLEY, B.C. - With its tumbling creeks and fast-moving rivers, British Columbia gets 97 percent of its electricity from clean-energy sources, mostly hydro. Now, a new 1.05-megawatt solar installation at Kimberley has diversified the province's energy portfolio. The city of 7,600 people is located in the foothills of the Purcell Mountains, about a 90-minute drive from the U.S. border and about two hours from Alberta. It now has a tourism-based economy, partly because of not only a local ski area but also proximity to Fernie, about an hour and a half away. It used to be a mining town. The Sullivan Mine had been the largest lead-zinc producer in the world before closing in 2001. Some 4,032 solar modules have now been installed on that former mining property. The panels are attached to trackers, which follow the daily progress of the sun, the first large-scale solar facility in Canada to use the technology. The German-engineered trackers let the panels generate as much as 38 percent more energy than fixed panels. Tech Resources Ltd., the owner of the mining property, provided the land as well as a $2 million contribution. By a wide margin, Kimberley voters in 2011 approved borrowing $2 million for the solar installation, called the SunMine. Also crucial was a commitment from B.C. Hydro, the province's electrical provider. The agency committed to paying 11 cents a kilowatt-hour for the next 25 years, substantially more than the cost of hydro, says Kevin Wilson, Kimberley's economic development officer. Wilson says the solar helps diversify British Columbia's power supply. That, in turn, makes the power supply more resilient. Solar will, for example, continue even in times of drought. Kimberley's solar project may also be a catalyst for other solar projects, perhaps in neighboring Alberta, he says. According to Alberta Energy, 90 percent of the province's electrical production in 2013 came from either coal or natural gas. But as prices for coal and natural gas fluctuate, solar may eventually be seen as a more stable source, speculates Wilson. The sun maybe doesn't always shine, as solar energy detractors often point out, but it's free and generally reliable. Kimberley, for example, calculates it gets sunshine for at least some part of 300 days per year, the most of any location in British Columbia and on par with Colorado. For solar to gain traction in Alberta, says Wilson, the province will have to provide stronger incentives, probably including a long-time price commitment. Price guarantees can then allow solar developers to get financing. With a major change in the Alberta government produced by elections in May, many observers predict policies more encouraging of alternative energy. Tellingly, shortly after the elections, several oil companies that help produce oil from the tar sands around Fort McMurray indicated their support of an elevated carbon tax. The province already has a carbon tax of $15 per metric ton, which is now scheduled to increase to $30 per ton by 2017. British Columbia has a broader carbon tax, first instituted in 2008 at a price of $15 per ton now increased to $30 per ton. Kimberley leaders have indicated that they may try to expand the solar project. Mayor Don McCormick pointed out that SunMine is relatively small, but there have already been inquiries from prospective partners. Existing panels cover 5 hectares of the property, but there's enough land to support 200 times as much electricity. As electricity can travel across borders as well as any other commodity, it's possible that electricity markets in other locations, such as in California or Alberta, could conceivably drive future outlays. When stealing cannabis, it's best to wear a mask ASPEN, Colo. - If you should plan to rob a cannabis store in Colorado, you should remember that state regulators require top-of-theshelf security systems. Hide your face. Don't speak. Be quick. But then, if you're desperate, you may forget all this. A robber at a cannabis store in Aspen last week was both contrite and admittedly desperate. He arrived at the Stash with a hammer and a trash bag and, after other customers had left, entered the back room. There, he emptied several jars, with an estimated retail value of $11,000, into his getaway bag before he, himself, got away. RE PRI DU CE CT IO N Garrett Patrick, owner of the Stash, told the Aspen Daily News that his unwelcome visitor was apologetic but insistent. "Sorry, I apologize about this, but I'm desperate right now," he remembers the young man saying. Store employees said they recognized the man. Police got in touch with his family, in the hope that the man could be persuaded to turn himself in before worse trouble ensued. That worse trouble almost occurred in St. Louis, where the relative youngster led police on a 100 mph chase before finally submitting. As for the cannabis, it's now down the tube, at least as for retail value. It's considered possibly contaminated. The store owner credited his employees with handling the situation well. They're instructed not to resist. But he also noted that the store's high-definition cameras provide better definition than his own TV. How small can you get and still have a home? CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. - The average home size in the United States continues to increase. In 1983, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, new homes were an average 1,725 square feet. By 2013, the average had increased to 2,679 square feet. At least in regards to its laboring class, Crested Butte looks to go in the other direction. The town has six so-called micro-lots that it intends to develop for affordable housing. Town regulations are being revised to allow seven, instead of six, single-family homes. The homes could range in size from 400 to 1,250 square feet. Jim Schmidt, who himself lives in affordable housing, thinks that instead of trying to create singlefamily homes, the town should instead build more duplexes. They are cheaper to build and less expensive to heat," he said at a recent meeting covered by the Crested Butte News. A 400-square-foot home is no bigger than a garage, he added. His opinion, however, was ShOrT STAy Servicing Park City for 16 years Professional, gentle pet grooming Breed-specific or unique haircuts All breeds welcome Adjacent to Park City Animal Clinic in the minority. Scientists study ebbing of Athabasca Glacier LAKE LOUISE, Alberta - University scientists this summer have been spending time on the Athabasca Glacier, the largest of six tongues of ice descending from the Columbia Icefield. The icefield is located on the eastern flanks of the Continental Divide, about halfway from Lake Louise to Jasper. It's about a four-hour drive from either Calgary or Edmonton. Like other glaciers around the world, the Athabasca has been shrinking. In the last 125 years, it has retreated more than 1.5 kilometers or a little more than a mile, now at a rate of 5.5 meters (18 feet) each summer. It has also lost half its volume. The scientists from the University of Saskatchewan hope to learn how the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield regulate their own climates by cooling the local air mass and interacting with the warmer air from the valley bottom, explains the Rocky Mountain Outlook. "We wanted to better understand the mechanisms by which this occurs and how much this might affect the melt rate of the Athabasca Glacier," says Dr. John Pomeroy, the director for the university's Centre for Hydrology. "By better understanding this self-regulating climate, we can understand how resistant it is to climate warming and, as the glacier and icefield shrink, start to estimate at what point this ‘resistance' is no longer effective." Once the ice shrink reaches that threshold, says Pomeroy, "we can expect greatly accelerated ice melt rates." The research has one other significant so-what: If the glaciers do vanish, will that diminish the amount of water flowing into rivers. The Columbia Icefield is the headwaters of three major rivers, the Columbia, the Saskatchewan, and the Athabasca. parkcitypetsalon.com THE MOST IMPORTANT LOAN OF YOUR LIFE...SECURE IT WITH PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND TRUST. Since 1992, we‘ve been servicing our community with safe, secure loans. Great Rates, Great Loans, Great Lender Rob Karz rob@greatlender.com Ian Poor ian@greatlender.com Intermountain Mortgage Company | NMLS #74889 2029 Sidewinder Drive, Suite 200 (435) 649-6660 www.greatlender.com Rising interest rates. Is your portfolio positioned to benefit and withstand? The Mogul Financial Group is constantly monitoring the markets and the risk and rewards of past, current and future investments. Many investors underestimate the potential loss of principle in their portfolios due to changing interest rates. Some asset classes are more affected by these fluctuating rates and we can help you understand why. If you've been thinking, "What happens if interest rates rise?," then this is the time to call us for a personal portfolio review. STUNNING, BY NATURE U TA H SUNSET RANCH OAKLEY • 113 Acres • Main House & Outbuildings on 5 Acres • 8 Fireplaces, 3 Kitchens • Barn Loft Apartment • Reclaimed Barnwood, Hand-Hewn Timbers • Stone & Rustic Metal Roofing • Private Theater Room • Infinity Pool, Cabana, Hot Tub & Waterfall • 55 Minutes from Salt Lake Int'l & Heber Airports • Just 30 minutes from Park City RUSTIC ELEGANCE, ULTIMATE PRIVACY Price reduced to $10.5 million Charlie Taylor | Charlie@glenwild.com | 435-602-9995 Mogul Financial Group Glen Mintz Managing Director- Wealth Management Senior Portfolio Manager Greg Golding, CIMA®, CWS® Senior Vice President- Wealth Management Senior Managed Account Consultant UBS Financial Services Inc. 255 Heber Avenue, 1st Floor Park City, UT 84060 435-615-7169 888-219-4914 mogul@ubs.com 60 years of combined experience located in the heart of Park City Noah Levine Senior Vice President- Wealth Management Jake Doilney | Jake.doilney@glenwild.com | 435-640-5212 www.SunsetRanchUtah.com ubs.com/team/mogul All Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. ©2015 Glenwild Realty CIMA® is a registered certification mark of the Investment Management Consultants Association®. in the United States of America and worldwide. CWS® Board of Standards owns the certification marks CWS®, Certified Wealth Strategist® and the federally registered CWS® logo in the U.S. As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, we offer both investment advisory and brokerage services. These services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate contracts. For more information on the distinctions between our brokerage and investment advisory services, please speak with your Financial Advisor or visit our website at ubs.com/workingwithus. ©UBS 2015. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member FINRA/SIPC. 31.00_Ad_7.25x9.25_PH0617_Mogul |