BYD Increases Bus Sales In Washington State

AVPress LANCASTER - BYD's electric bus factory got a boost with Washington state transportation officials' selection of BYD for 10 of 12 types of electric buses expected to be ordered by Washington transit agencies and other entities. The selection does not constitute orders for bus production, but it sets price agreements for buses that Washington transit agencies, colleges, cities, Indian nations and nonprofit organizations can order over the next five years, Washington officials said. "It's huge news, huge news," Mayor R. Rex Parris said. "We've always been very confident the world was going to wake up, that this is the new form of bus transportation. There's not any serious competition anywhere in the world." The Washington State Department of Transportation Heavy Duty Bus Request for Proposal is intended to allow agencies to buy new buses without having to perform their own solicitation, analysis and awards, said David Chenaur, a business analyst with the department's public transportation division. In all, the department approved 26 categories of buses of varying lengths and engines - clean diesel, hybrid, compressed natural gas, plug-in electric and on-route charging electric - for a potential total purchase of 800 buses, Chenaur said. Link Transit in Wenatchee, Washington, has already ordered five BYD buses, he said. "These orders put us into a great position for expansion," said Micheal Austin, BYD America vice president.The company employs more than 300 people at the Lancaster plant and elsewhere in Southern California, he said. BYD's buses were the only ones with wireless on-routing charging approved by Washington officials, the company said."Electric buses are no longer a science fair project. With BYD now producing a long-range bus in nearly every category we have proven the technology is here to stay," Macy Meshati, BYD Coach & Bus vice president of sales, said in the company's announcement. BYD has a contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for up to 25 buses, and a 10-bus contract with Long Beach Transit. The first five Metro buses were delivered in May.The Antelope Valley Transit Authority also plans to buy 29 electric buses beyond the two BYD buses it already has. BYD officials in May 2013 dedicated the Lancaster plant, which is the first Chinese-owned vehicle plant in the United States. BYD officials are talking with city officials about doubling the plant's size, not only to accommodate increased bus production but to build electric delivery trucks as well, Parris said. More expansion could follow that, he said. Parris said the firm's local employment is expected to reach 700 in two years. "BYD is going to be bigger than aircraft (employment) has ever been," Parris said. In January, GO-Biz, the state's economic development office, allocated $3 million in tax credits to BYD. The credits will be given provided the company meets certain employment and investment milestones. Under the tax credit agreement, BYD must ramp up its workforce to at least 243 workers in 2016, to 388 in 2017 and to 625 in 2018. BYD must pay a minimum annual salary of $27,040 and an average annual salary of $44,110 by 2018, under the agreement, and is required to make investments of $51 million by 2018.

China firms sign deal for high-speed Las Vegas-Los Angeles rail link ahead of Xi's U.S. visit

Press Release regarding High Speed Rail from Las Vegas to Los Angeles BEIJING | BY BRENDA GOH A unit of China's CRRC Corp, the world's biggest train maker by revenue, on Thursday joined a group of its domestic peers in agreeing a deal to help build a high-speed link from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, underlining the rail giant's lofty overseas ambitions. Announced in a joint statement by the Chinese firms and U.S. partner XpressWest at a government forum in Beijing, the deal is the latest in a series of deeper Sino-American business ties to be unveiled before President Xi Jinping visits the United States next week. Computer maker Dell Inc said it will invest $125 billion in China, and new bilateral investment treaty offers have been exchanged. CRRC, formed from a state-driven merger of China's two largest train makers, is among a large group of the country's rail firms that has inked an accord for the project with XpressWest, a venture set up by Las Vegas-based hotel and casino developer Marnell Companies. Investment terms weren't disclosed. Gary Wong, a Hong Kong-based analyst at brokerage Guotai Junan, estimated that the project could be worth $5 billion. He said that although it would likely offer the many Chinese firms involved little financial benefit, it was significant for their long-term goals. "If this opens up the U.S. market for them, opportunities for future expansion will increase. And if (their technology) is used in the United States, it will be easier for them to sell to other countries," he said. CRRC is leading China's aggressive pursuit of overseas high-speed rail deals in competition with traditional suppliers such as Germany's Siemens AG and France's Alstom SA. Beijing recently clinched contracts in Russia, although it has faced hurdles in Mexicoand Indonesia due to bureaucratic flip-flops in those countries. US POTENTIAL The United States is a key target for China's rail industry, even though policymakers have been split over the need for high-speed rail and some have taken a dim view of Chinese involvement in potentially strategic deals. Most of a dozen or so U.S. projects lined up have struggled to gain traction, leaving the country far behind Europe and Asia in this area. XpressWest won the green light for the 230-mile high-speed line linking Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 2011 and applied for a federal loan in 2010, according to the company's website. It did not say whether its loan application had been successful. The U.S. company didn't respond to calls or emails seeking comment on the project after the partnership deal with the Chinese firms - grouped in a Nevada-based venture called China Railway International U.S.A. - was announced. XpressWest and the Chinese firms said in their statement that the accord would help accelerate the project without disclosing details of how it would achieve that. Additional regulatory approvals will be required before the construction begins, expected early as September 2016. "The United States market is huge because the fact is that their railway tracks and facilities are aging and need upgrading," Cao Gangcai, CRRC's vice chief economist, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, before the XpressWest deal was announced. The company plans to grow its share of revenue from work overseas to 30 percent within the next five years, he said. Having completed its merger in May, it booked first-half revenue of 91.8 billion yuan ($14.42 billion), only 12 percent of which was booked overseas. "We want to attain the position we deserve in the global market...There is no other company on earth that is able to simultaneously research and produce high-speed trains, electric multiple units, subways," he said.

Housing Tentative Tract Maps Denied and One Requesting Extension

The city of Lancaster is looking into an one year extension of a tentative tract map for zoned R-7000 at 60th West at J-8. It is a 12.6 acre lot and the proposal is to build 49 homes on the site. The tentative tract map applicant Royal Investors Group is requesting a one year extension. This group is not a home builder but a map builder, so it is not likely that any homes will be on this site anytime soon. United Engineering groups tentative tract map at 30th East at Ave K was approved to deny the request for a one year extension based on lack of findings in the staff report. This subdivision was set to be on 26 acres with a proposal to build 45 single family homes on the site. It is currently zoned R-10,000 or one house per 10,000 square feet. So no money or interest in building new homes hear. This is on top of the report today that the National Association of Home Builders index rose 1 point to 61, its highest level since November 2005. The builders or the map builders have been planning for housing development in Lancaster, but not anytime soon or at least for these two mappers. We have reported housing development about a year ago, but it looks to be still over the horizon for some builders.

Large Solar Power Facilities Underway on the West Side

This will take up 1191 gross acres bounded by Ave K, 80th Street West and 105th Street West down to the aqueduct. The first phase will be 104 acres from Ave K to Ave K-8 and between 90th Street West and 100th Street West. Then there will be another 600 acres from 95th Street West between K and L generally. They will follow up with another 322 acres between 80th and 90th West from Ave L to Quarry Ridge Road. The last phase is 95 acres from 80th to 85th West between L and L-8. This plan is being undertaken by sPower or Sustainable Power Group according to the City of Lancaster records. The city is changing the zoning from Specific plan and other zonings to RR 2.5. This will allow a 150 megawatt facility in the RR 2.5 zone. The Conditional Use Permits were adopted and approve in late July. There has been some building out there already, but large area encompasses a great deal of land and takes up a lot of APN 3248. It appears that the solar company has secured a great deal of this land already and applied for the permits with the City of Lancaster. So the adage buy land and wait has paid off for these long and even short term investors as a developer has come and is developing at the current extreme city limits of Lancaster. If your not familiar with the city of Lancaster then you have missed the solar gold rush. But the city of Lancaster and Palmdale (Antelope Valley) are situated in the most norther part of Los Angles County. This developing facility is about 8 to 10 miles west of Hwy 14 and just north of the aqueduct that runs via the the southern portion of Antelope Valley. Some of the solar panels are visible via google maps or aerial mapping. Stay tuned here for more news.

High Desert Corridor Hwy and Railway Has Completed its Environmental Report. Can this Boom the Far East Side of Antelope Valley?

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR) for the High Desert Corridor is now available for public review according to the High Desert Corridor website. The final report was to be completed this spring 2015. The overall plan is to build a highway link from Hwy 14 in Los Angeles County to Hwy 18 in San Bernardino County. This potential toll road would cross Hwy 395 and Hwy 15 in Victorville area. The project is expected to cost $4 to $8 Billion. It seems that nothing is cheap in California. The reason to build it is that there is projected to be a great deal of growth in Palmdale, Lancaster, Apple Valley and Victorville in the future. While growth in LA proper may decrease. The project is expected to have a toll road which seems to be vital to the funding and a bike lane. The proposal also includes a potential light rail line or at least a connection to the Metro link, so a person can ride by train from Victorville to Downtown LA. There has been planning’s and meetings and a great deal of discussion on this proposed project. It would at minimum increase land sales along its proposed route which is the far east side of Antelope Valley and also land on the far west side of San Bernardino County. Currently land in these areas sells for under $1000 an acre and even $300 per acre. Check out the proposed route and contact us if you looking for low price land in this area. An interactive map of the project and other information can be viewed at No comments:

Problems with the Hyperloop

We continue our input on mass transit in Californian and the alternative to the currently approved High Speed Rail, which is only partially funded. Like issues with the Cal High Speed Rail and we are sure there were issues with the US highway system that was introduced in the 50’s. There are a few major issues that would have to be addresses with the Hyperloop. The Hyperloop will as all mass transit has land rights issues. Getting right of ways locally and regionally. That is an avenue that can be addressed if the system is more than a science project. There will certainly be environmental issues as any development has to address. Two big issues though may make it an unsound idea. If it proves to be sound as a prototype then practical issues would need to be overcome. The Cato Institute says a big one is how much energy the Hyperloop would require. The linear propulsion system and the air pressure pumps for the tubes would probably need much more energy than would be provided by the solar panels Musk proposes installing on the tubes and the energy recovery system he envisions having at the end of the route, said Roger Goodall, a maglev train expert and a professor of control systems engineering at the United Kingdom's Loughborough University. Another big issue is that the Hyperloop would have to go straight. If this vacuum tube runs at 800 miles per hour or more, then scientists say a human could not take a bend at that speed without deposited their lunch or breakfast on the seats or other passengers. The force of moving a human body at such speeds a few feet left or right or up and down over a hill maybe too much for a passenger. It is likely unrealistic to think you can have a straight shot from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There would have to be bends in the plan. If this can be overcome then maybe there is hope for a $20 one way ride, not including your car. But is there enough energy to do it with just solar? And will the development costs far exceed the construction costs. Things to consider.

Oar Fish washes up on California Shore and San Andreas Movie’s Debut?

New reports indicate an oar fish ran ashore off the California coast near Catalina Island. The movie San Andreas is about a major earthquake in California on the San Andreas Fault. So what do the two have to do with one another? Japanese legend says an oarfish coming ashore is an earthquake indicator. This folklore goes back centuries. News reports say this oarfish has no major injuries, so why did it come up from the deep. The Japanese myth has some science behind it. The oarfish is a deep water fish and it rarely if ever comes to the surface according to marine biologists. The oarfish comes ashore because he is sick or dying, or they feel tremor under the sea. So if an oarfish swims to the surface then you should run to the hills. Now this fish may actually be sick and if there is only one found ashore then it may just indicate this one needed a doctor. But if more come ashore then we need to ask the scientists if there are tremor readings in the Pacific. “ What science tell us about warnings from the earth. The Iquisitr news article quotes: When an earthquake occurs there can be a build-up of pressure in the rocks which can lead to electrostatic charges that cause electrically-charged ions to be released into the water,” Dr. Grant explained. “This can lead to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which is a toxic compound. The charged ions can also oxidize organic matter which could either kill the fish or force them to leave the deep ocean and rise to the surface. The geophysical processes behind these kinds of sighting can happen before an earthquake.” The oarfish found on Catalina Island was sighted on Monday. As it just so happens, the USGS reports an earthquake occurred on Tuesday within the same general area, although it was centered further north within California. Coincidence? End Inquisitr article. So the earthquake may have already happened and in this case it only affected this fish and other not seen yet. But if you live in California and or you own real estate then earthquake have to be a concern. If you own land then it is less of a problem unless it is the “big one”. Either way it is something to pay attention to and it is great free press for the San Andreas movie.