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Javier Pomposo in 2012
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Javier Pomposo in 2011
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Anna Walentitsch of Neenach applauds First Solar jobs and the company’s safety record at the March 3 open house. The tent is used each month for safety rallies for the crews.
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Fairmont Town Council members and their families dine on catered lunch from Azteca, a new restaurant near the Antelope Acres grocery store.
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With just 25% of the construction underway so far, acres of posts and tilt brackets are already changing the landscape into an industrial grid.
Solar Begins to Win Hearts and Minds
By Patric Hedlund
Javier Pomposo was spitting fire one year ago. Pomposo, who lives in the Fairmont area, was stabbing the air with his forefinger at a meeting of the Fairmont Town Council, firmly telling a representative of First Solar, Inc. that he did not want his daughters to grow up in a region ringed by the 7-foot high chainlink fences topped with razor wire “like a prison” being planned for Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One (AVSR1).
By August both Pomposo and his wife had been hired to work for the company. Now he is a poster boy appearing in First Solar, Inc.’s local PR ads and “iVideo” clips. He works as a site supervisor. Sarah Pomposo is a “site buyer” creating purchase orders for AVSR1 supplies. First Solar builds its own solar panels in Perrysberg, Ohio, Malaysia and Germany.
Many others in the area are warming to the company’s efforts to communicate more effectively with their neighbors. Overall, solar is beginning to enjoy a kinder reception in the Western Antelope Valley than wind turbines.
Questions about water use during the construction phase are being met with data. Concern about landscaping to mask perimeter fences is being taken seriously. An alternative to the Joshua tree plan by L.A. County Planning and Zoning, which residents say is naive, is being developed. Hardy pomegranate bushes were proposed, along with other ideas. A consultant is being brought in March 15.
The best way to apply for a job, Project Manager Tony Perrino said, is at www. AVSR1.com.
This is part of the March 09, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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