Posted on 10/14/2008 9:48:18 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES – A relative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and one of his former cabinet secretaries are part of a private investment group that could score a lucrative payoff if regulators approve a sprawling solar-energy complex near the Mojave Desert Preserve.
The personal connections have raised questions about possible favorable treatment for a project being touted as a breakthrough in the development of solar power.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime environmental activist who is the cousin of first lady Maria Shriver, and former state Environmental Protection Secretary Terry Tamminen were named senior advisers at VantagePoint Venture Partners last year.
VantagePoint has a multimillion-dollar stake in startup BrightSource Energy, which plans to spend up to $2 billion to build three solar-power plants on nearly 6 square miles of federal land along the Nevada state line.
The project — one of dozens seeking permission to harness the power of the sun in California — would be the first in the nation on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property. It would power 142,000 homes annually, potentially generating billions of dollars of revenue over time.
Kennedy and Tamminen say they are not lobbying on behalf of the California project. But each stands to profit if construction gets green-lighted and BrightSource prospers, although their income is derived from a pool of investments, not a single company. VantagePoint declined to disclose its projected earnings from BrightSource.
State Sen. Roy Ashburn said the California Energy Commission, the lead agency reviewing the project in tandem with federal regulators, should consider the link to Tamminen and Kennedy.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Golly gee .. what have we here?
BTTT
Imagine That...I wonder if Pelosi has a stake in this also?
The "salary free" governor has been a very expensive experiment.
RFKjr wrote Arnie's environmental platform and Tamminen helped push through the $3 Billion dollar "million solar roofs" boondoggle that helped make this little scheme possible.
Is Maria still in the private prison biz?
It sure took him long enough to finish that story.
LOL!
Won't he term out at the end of this year???
2010
Hey! Good news!! Superb!!!
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