Whats wrong about the Marinwood SolEd project? A Twenty Year Mistake at up to SEVEN TIMES cost

At last, the ground has broken for the Marinwood CSD Solar Project.   The proposal was submittedd by a former Marinwood CSD director, Cyane Dandridge who personally profits from the project.  After a series of secret negotiations,  a bidder who had been in business for a few months won the project over well established competitors.  Two years of delays due to financing difficulties and a stubborn will by a new Marinwood CSD to NOT PUT THE SOLAR CONTRACT out for competitive bids, resulted in a twenty year commitment with an unknown company from New York, NY.    

It hardly seems possible that all over the current Marinwood CSD board (Izabela Perry, Jeff Naylor, Justin Kai, Leah Kleinman-Green and Bill Shea)  could be so naive but they voted for the project unanimously in 2016.  Justin Kai even INCREASED the size of the project.  They think the project is "FREE".

All of the Marinwood CSD directors believe the project will "cost nothing" since it is paid from a twenty year commitment to purchase electricity at up to SEVEN TIMES the cost of similar solar system until 2036.

How could they be so feckless?  Simple.  No independent analysis was undertaken outside the board.  Former Marinwood CSD Director, Deana Dearborn was very skeptical of the proposal and recommended against the project but she left office before the final vote.

The Marinwood CSD directors won their solar project.  It was similar to the one cancelled by the City of St Helena just weeks in November 2015 before DUE TO BREECH OF CONTRACT by the SolEd Benefit Corporation.  They all cite the virtues of solar while ignoring the obvious error in locking us into a proposal that will produce energy at seven times cost of similar systems for twenty years. 
(published on 9/13/16.  Justin Kai since resigned and moved to Oregon. Despite the essential solar panel being completed in September 2016, they are not active.  The Marinwood CSD manager claims that delays by PGE were the cause.  Some believe that the financial backers either did not have the capital to complete the project.  No long term financier has ever been identified.  This gross incompetence on behalf of local taxpayers is not acceptable.)