He's got the chops, but those combat boots.
Firebaugh may prove to be the Valley's Love Potion No. 9. The tiny west-side community of 7,000 hasn't let its rural character and farm field sentiments get in its way as it seeks to attract its share of perhaps the biggest potential energy development prize of the coming decade.
So far, it's got two sectors -- solar and biofuel -- in the wings and is pursuing sustainability and a regional clean energy leadership with vigor and, more importantly, real finesse.
Littleton, Colo.-based SolarGenUSA has leased a 52-acre parcel from the city for a 5 megawatt solar installation. The company's web site says the project has been permitted.
In addition, there's talk of a Seattle-based company looking to contract for 40,000 to 60,000 acres so it can plant an obscure but desert-loving plant that's part of the mustard family. The crop, camelina, may be emerging as a front-runner in the effort to develop a viable source of biofuel, writes Harry Cline of Western Farm Press.
This and enterprise on the part of its leaders makes Firebaugh potential ground zero for clean energy.
And the drive for clean energy is on its way. Make no mistake. While it appears to be taking its time, the push for more diverse sources of energy -- that don't add to carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere -- has begun. And the San Joaquin Valley is attracting attention from solar, wind, biofuel and even geothermal.
