Another friggen mystery

After an 8 mo investigation, the Air Force can’t determine who has bought 55,000 acres around Travis AFB, at a cost of over one billion. I bet they can tell you what President Trump had for breakfast though.

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If the gubment was to naturalize the land back Im sure we would quickly find out who bought it.

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That’s the point. They already know, but they’re not going to tell us.

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Yeah, I’m pretty sure I read an article last week that names the investment company which bought the land. It was something like 80% American owned and another 10% UK owned. Don’t quote me on that.

The part I recall is that they buy up land as investments, and they especially look for potentially under-used farm land. All I could think of is the plot to Superman: The Movie. Are they waiting for the coast of California to fall into the ocean? :rofl:

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Sounds like the base is in CA. For that size chunk of land the company is probably either about to build a new solar farm or knows someone else plans to. Desert scrub land is usually dirt cheap until someone wants to spend millions to put in a new solar site.

Companies like to keep that info on the down low so the current landowners don’t realize how valuable their land is about to become.

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Shoo-wee, 55k acres to build a solar farm. My neighbors who own 100 acres each are talking about putting in solar farms. Dread that like the plague and it causes my home/property value to go down by 2% or there abouts.

I asked one if he would sell me a quarter acre that backs up to my property; he said no. I think he is in talks with them now. :frowning::face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

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They can’t identify the “owners” of Flannery Associates? Stinks to high heaven.

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It’s an LLC. It’s owned by a lot of people.
I’m glad this is getting some attention. It’s worthwhile for the Air Force, Congress, and the press to investigate. But there’s also no reason, yet, to freak out about it. It’s selling headlines and it’s giving politicians something to screech about, but there’s been no evidence of nefarious intent. It’s just a company speculating in land, like many, many others.

Investors Bought Nearly $1 Billion in Land Near a California Air Force Base. Officials Want to Know Who Exactly They Are. - WSJ

At the center of the probes is Flannery Associates, which has spent nearly $1 billion in the last five years to become the largest landowner in California’s Solano County, according to county officials and public records.

An attorney representing Flannery said it is controlled by U.S. citizens and that 97% of its invested capital comes from U.S. investors, with the remaining 3% from British and Irish investors.

LLCs registered in Delaware don’t have to publicly disclose the identity of their owners.

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You’re probably right. Nothing to see here. Puts my mind at ease. Thanks.

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Delaware is a preferred state for basing Headquarters of a company from as there are numerous benefits to having your Corporation Headquarters there. When I was doing a forensic audit for assets, I would routinely send a request to Delaware.

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The final size of the solar plant usually ends up being noticeably smaller than the initial property size after the engineers (and rarely and to a much lesser extent the environmental agencies) determine what areas aren’t suitable for development.

From a “green” energy perspective putting solar fields on previously undeveloped land or on farmland is not a very good idea. Especially when those areas are a good distance from where the power will be used. About 1/3 of the energy produced ends up getting lost during transmission. Very large arrays in close proximity to each other can increase the temperature in the area and decrease rainfall not to mention the loss of habitat and much needed farmland. It makes much more sense to put solar panels on roof tops or over parking lots close to where the power is being used.

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A lot depends on how it’s transmitted over the lines. They can send DC a very long way with minimum voltage drop. Then convert it to AC at a nearby substation.

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So here in Florida they passed an intelligent law that prevents people or entities from several hostile countries, ranging from China to Russia and more, from buying multiple properties. Any citizen of any of the restricted countries, so long as they’re here legally, can buy a house, but that’s it. The f#@king ACLU has sued to stop the law, claiming it’s “racist” ignoring the fact that it covers people from every ethnic background or race and that it has legitimate national and state security implications.

I absolutely can’t stand those unAmerican a$$holes and how they’re trying to destroy this country.

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That’s only true for the relatively new high voltage DC transmission lines. The vast majority of the high voltage transmission lines out here are still AC as far as I have seen. It’s my understanding that the conversion stations to AC on the receiving end of the DC lines are fairly expensive so the high voltage DC is only used on really long lines. And there is still some power loss with the high voltage DC though I have never worked on a completed DC line so don’t know what that percent is.

There is also the issue of the impacts of needing all these very long transmission lines to get the power from these remote power sites. The roads lead to erosion, fragmentation and invasive species issues through large swaths of previously undisturbed areas and the wires take out a lot of migratory birds.

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I tested twice to be a substation operator in WA state. Then had some medical issues. I’ve forgotten tons.

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I’m an environmental consultant so certainly not an expert on energy production. Though at least 80% of my work for the past 10 years has been directly energy related so I get to ask the engineers and project managers a lot of questions:)

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I tested with Bonneville Power. My cousin used to fly helicopters for Bonneville inspecting the lines. Said it scared him sh1tless the first time they hooked up and he landed on the high tension lines.

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Just formed in Feb. 2019 conveniently incorporated in Delaware though a “CA” company! If nothing to hide, then what’s the problem with disclosing who the owner(s) is(are)? How do we know it’s “many owners” and that it’s the interests the lawyer states? The agent is listed as “C T CORPORATION SYSTEM” which is an entity helping companies with registered agent services and legal compliance services. Sounds an awful lot like a shell company to me, but then I’m a bit suspicious minded.

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Sure. “If gunowners have nothing to hide, why won’t they register their firearms?”
Let’s not play their game.

There are multiple agencies looking into the matter right now. Unless they come up with something, this is just sensationalist headlines.

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There are financial benefits regarding taxes for a Corporation incorporated in Delaware

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