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President and Chief Nuclear Officer of Dominion Nuclear, David Heacock, stated at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) briefing on Friday that Dominion found no damage that would prohibit the restart of North Anna Power Station's nuclear reactors.
After an August 23rd earthquake, whose epicenter was nearly 11 miles from North Anna's nuclear reactors, two of the nuclear reactors were shut down.
According to the NRC, the earthquake caused greater peak ground movement than what the North Anna plant was built for.
The earthquake and its aftermath demonstrated that nuclear reactors are not safe from unforeseen shutdowns and the devastating consequences that could follow.
If VA is to continue down the road of nuclear energy we must, at the very least, acknowledge and attempt to further understand the considerable risks involved in dealing with nuclear energy.
Our engineers don't have all of the answers, our politicians don't have all of the facts, and our environmental scientists cannot predict the future of natural disasters.
Given these uncertainties and the considerable risks posed by nuclear energy, it is absolutely essential that we don't sugar-coat the possibility of another Fukushima occurring in VA. The Japanese government downplayed the risks, and they will be paying for it for many years to come.
Virginia has abundant solar resources. This clean, renewable resource can help Virginia meet our energy demands while providing homeowners more choice in regards to how they power their homes. In 2011, the General Assembly passed legislation to establish a Voluntary Solar Resources Development Fund to help finance on-site renewable energy generation from solar power.
The Voluntary Solar Resource Development Fund establishes a revolving loan fund to be administered by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). The Fund will be fueled primarily by donations from customers of investor-owned electric utilities. DMME is also authorized to accept donations from other citizens and groups.
The Fund will create a source of money from which loans are made for eligible solar energy projects. As loan repayments are made, funds become available for new loans.
DMME is prohibited from issuing any loans until July 1, 2012. The first year of the program will be used to collect donations and grow the fund from which loans can be made, and to develop the loan program terms and conditions. DMME may delay the issuance of loans if there is an insufficient balance in the fund. Once the program commences, DMME is required to loan funds to applicants in the order that their completed applications are received.
What's the answer to meeting Virginia's energy demands over the next 10 to 15 years? The Virginia Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Green Jobs Alliance and Virginia Interfaith Power and Light are putting their money on offshore wind power.
These groups joined forces earlier today to layout their plans for a new campaign with a goal of moving Virginia's largest investor owned utility, Dominion Virginia Power, to invest in offshore wind. The groups all agree that Virginia needs to move forward quickly on offshore wind for our environment, our economy and the necessity of generating more energy.
Specifically, offshore wind would help the environment because it is a non-polluting source of energy. The wind does not combust, it does not burn, and it does not spew carbon dioxide. Transitioning to offshore wind will reduce our dependence of global warming causing fossil fuels.
Offshore wind can be a boon for Virginia's economy. Research has shown that development of Virginia's offshore wind capacity would lead to over 10,000 career-length jobs in the Commonwealth. These are jobs constructing and maintaining Virginia's offshore wind farms. Good paying jobs that can't be outsourced.
Finally, offshore wind is a critical component to helping meet Virginia's energy demand. Virginia's utilities and Virginia's state officials agree we must produce more energy over the next 10 years in the Commonwealth, or continue to import energy from other states. Offshore wind is a key ingredient in our ability to produce energy in Virginia for Virginians.
Look after the flip for the press release from today's launch.
Yes, it's that time of the year again, time for Dominion Virginia Power to throw more costs on the backs of its electricity consumers.
Dominion recently filed a request with the State Corporation Commission asking Virginia regulators for three separate rate increases to assist Dominion in covering its fuel and transmission costs as well as paying for a new power plant near Front Royal.
In Virginia, companies are allowed to bill customers for the cost of fuel used in the generation of electricity in addition to the power it buys to "serve" its customers.
Of course, there is still one last request. Dominion is also asking regulators to approve a surcharge for the construction of the Warren County Power Station near Front Royal as well as modifications to assist in paying for replacing old equipment and installing new infrastructure.
The audacity of such requests is almost too ludicrous to be commented upon. Not only has Dominion rebuffed numerous efforts to swiftly shift to renewable sources of energy, it has clearly refused to even begin moving away from dirty sources of energy like coal in a truly meaningful way.
Despite the vast sums of money which will no doubt be spent on touting its "green" agenda, Dominion is still an electric company living in the past, beholden to nonrenewable and publicly unhealthy sources of energy such as coal and natural gas.
Dominion has to be held accountable, and it's up to each of us to do just that.
Today is the one year anniversary (Dec. 22, 2008) of the day when, as Treehugger writes, "2.6 million cubic yards (the equivalent of 525.2 million gallons, 48 times more than the Exxon Valdez spill by volume) of coal ash sludge broke through a dike of a 40-acre holding pond at TVA's Kingston coal-fired power plant covering 400 acres up to six feet deep, damaging 12 homes and wrecking a train."
Adds NPR today: "One year later, clean-up is going slower than expected and it's more expensive too." "Residents of area say nosebleeds, breathing problems part of life now" writes the area's Knoxville News Sentinel.
Nearly a year later, living near the ash spill disaster zone remains an unrelenting horror story, those residents say.
Neighborhoods are desolated, and the noise from trains and trucks is almost nonstop.
Coal ash dust is everywhere, and sudden nose bleeds and respiratory problems are grim facts of life.
"It's just a nightmare," said Gary Topmiller, who lives on Emory River Road in Kingston. "It's like being captive in your own home."
Meanwhile, the EPA's promised regulations to tighten down on the handling and disposal of toxic ash from coal-fired power plants has been delayed.
Industry groups argue that if coal ash is regulated as a hazardous waste (no, duh!), it "could force nearly 200 coal-fired power plants nationwide to close". And that's a bad thing?
"A national coal combustion products regulation will alter the technology and economics of coal-fired power plants," Ken Ladwig of the Electric Power Research Institute told a House subcommittee. "Some owners would decide to prematurely shut down rather than incur the costs of compliance, while others would convert their ash handling and disposal systems and continue to operate in the post-regulation market."
"It is impossible to imagine that the imposition of basic landfilling standards will bring down the U.S. power industry," shot back Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans.
"Generally, coal-ash is not subject to any concrete set of national standards to govern the safety of the impoundments or toxic pollution that leaches from them. Rules vary widely from state to state", writes Ken Ward in the Charleston Gazette.
(Richmond, VA) Lawyers for the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition told a state judge today that Dominion Power's 585-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Wise County violates the Clean Air Act on several grounds, and asked the court to invalidate the environmental permits.
During the four-hour hearing before Judge Margaret Spencer in the Virginia Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Cale Jaffe and John Suttles, attorneys with the Charlottesville-based Southern Environmental Law Center, presented a detailed explanation on how the permits fail to adequately limit emissions of (1) carbon dioxide, a chief contributor to climate change, (2) small particles of soot, which has been linked to lung cancer, heart disease, increased asthma rates, and premature death, and (3) mercury, which can cause severe neurological deficits in infants, fetuses and young children.
The State Air Control Board issued two permits to Dominion in June, 2008, one for hazardous pollutants including mercury and approximately 60 other toxics, and one for other emissions such as particulate matter. SELC, on behalf of the Wise County-based Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Sierra Club, challenged both permits.
Several residents of Wise County traveled to Richmond to attend the hearing, including Kathy Selvage, a coal-miner's daughter who has been the public face for the statewide effort to stop the coal plant, end the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining that is ravaging Appalachia, and compel Virginia to embrace clean energy sources, including efficiency and renewables.
"It seems no coincidence that Wise County was all over the news recently for the free medical clinic that drew thousands of people from my part of the state, many of them with breathing disorders. Coal dust from mountaintop removal mining operations hangs in the air every day, as does pollution from one of the oldest coal-fired plants in the state. Now Dominion is building another polluting power plant in our community. That's why we are in court today - to fight for the right to breath clean air, as well as to drink clean water and to keep our mountains whole, as God made them."
Over the last several years, the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition has raised a host of concerns about the Wise County coal plant, including air pollution and the health of the local community, water quality, mountaintop removal coal-mining, and the impacts of global warming. They were joined by 42,500 Virginians from across the state who signed petitions and sent letters and comments to state and company officials opposing the project.
"The sustainability of our economic development successes are dependent on having a reliable energy source," -- Delacey Skinner, Gov. Tim Kaine's communications director, talking about coal-fired power, March 31, 2008
I think of that quote every time I hear about how our continued dependence on coal-fired power is hurting consumers and businesses and leaving Virginians in the dark.
The only thing dependable these days about coal-fired power is that it keeps getting more expensive. And the only thing reliable is Dominion's guaranteed profits:
RICHMOND, March 31 -- Dominion Virginia Power is seeking to raise electricity rates 6.9 percent during the next 14 months to pay for equipment, salaries, plant construction and conservation projects. [...]
Dominion said incremental increases proposed for Sept. 1 and Jan. 1 will pay for operating costs, power plants in Buckingham and Wise counties and conservation programs. The increase also includes a 13.5 percent profit for the company and its investors.
At a time when Virginia businesses are laying off workers, Dominion is asking them to divert more money away from their payrolls and towards Dominion's payroll and profit.
Banding as a community trust, nearly 400 residents living near the Battlefield Golf Club will today file a lawsuit claiming over $1 billion in damages in Chesapeake Circuit Court.
As reported in today's front page of the Virginian-Pilot, what the plaintiffs are saying is that Dominion, the developer of the golf course, and Dominion's "coal-ash management consultant" "moved forward with using 1.5 million tons of fly ash to contour the course despite warnings from environmental consultants about the potential long-term risks to nearby wells."
"The 12-count suit's demands include the removal of all fly ash from the site; installation of public water and sewer service; the cleaning of the aquifer under the course; compensation for lost property values and personal injury; and the establishment of a fund for medical monitoring and treatment costs. It accuses the companies of committing conspiracy and fraud; battery; negligence; infliction of emotional distress; and the creation of a nuisance."
--
"The suit alleges that Dominion and the developers moved forward with the project despite warnings from environmental consultants in 2001 and 2003 - not shared with the city or the state until several months ago - about the potential long-term risks to nearby wells."
Following two separate "hydrogeologic investigations" (Sept. 2001 and Dec. 2001), Dominion was made aware of findings that 'resulted in predicted concentrations in groundwater above applicable drinking water standard', and indicated risk to nearby wells from the dumping of the coal fly ash. "These results included the drinking water standards for arsenic," the suit states.
Tests by city consultants announced last summer found arsenic in groundwater samples from the course at eight times the municipal drinking water standard.
This lawsuit will bring to light just how shady Dominion is - perhaps too late for the Wise County coal-fired power plant, but not too late to shed light on the enormous risks to life, limb and property that the Surry plant, sitting within 50 miles of these same Chesapeake residents will present.
From the CCAN Blog.
In what could be a major victory for Virginia's mountains, the Clean Water Protection Act was introduced in the Senate today with a record 115 co-sponsors. The act would outlaw the act of dumping mining waste into streams, a crucial and destructive step in mountain top removal mining.
In the wake of Dominion Virginia Power's 18 percent rate increase due to higher fuel costs, the Washington Post reported on Friday that this winter "the utility shut-off service to 93,890 customers for nonpayment, a 15 percent jump from 2007." Last month, the Virginian-Pilot reported Dominion has added a 1.4 percent fee to all electricity bills to finance construction of its new $2 billion coal-fired power plant in Wise County.
It's outrageous that Virginians are losing their heat because they're being asked to pick up the tab for our Commonwealth's refusal to break - or even ease - our addiction to coal. Now Virginia faces a triple threat - our energy crisis is deepening our economic crisis while our climate crisis continues to go unaddressed.
Fortunately, the same solutions can take steps towards solving all three crises at the same time. We can save consumers money by making their homes more energy efficient, strengthen our economy by creating thousands of green jobs, and preserve our environment for our children and grandchildren by cutting Virginia's global warming pollution.
Our leaders in Richmond need to give Dominion new incentives to begin the shift away from coal and towards renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. We'll need bold action from Virginia's new governor and our next General Assembly to chart a new course towards clean energy.
There's something about the word "pollution" that Dominion just doesn't get. And while they may have certain legislators in their hip pockets, they can't dodge the long arm of the law.
In a decision Friday, Richmond Circuit Court Judge Margaret Spencer ruled that Dominion's water quality permit violated the federal Clean Water Act. "The state for 30 years has wrongly allowed Dominion Virginia Power to discharge hot wastewater into Lake Anna from its nuclear power plant near Richmond, a judge has ruled", writes the Virginian-Pilot.
Since 1978, the state has considered a 3,400-acre section of the lake closest to the nuclear plant a "waste treatment facility," not a public body of water. As such, this westerly section, known as "the hot side," has been exempt from state water-quality rules.
About two-thirds of the lake - "the cool side" - is regulated as a public waterway and hosts a state park. ..[C]ool parts of Lake Anna, a central Virginia landmark known to eclipse 100 degrees on summer days.
Environmentalists hailed the decision as possibly leading to the first-ever regulations of atomic wastewater. "This is huge," said Louis Zeller, science director for the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. "We and lakeside residents have long believed that Dominion is guilty of thermal pollution." Such pollution, he said, threatens human health, property values and aquatic life.
Zeller also said Friday's ruling has "dealt a blow" to the power company's plans to build a third reactor at the plant.
In the death throes of the Bush administration, then-EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson put the agency on record stating that CO2 is not a pollutant that should be regulated by the Clean Air Act. This week, the current EPA administrator Lisa Jackson announced her intent to overturn that memorandum, putting the EPA on the path toward regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
As a result of this decision, coal plants are dropping like flies. The latest victim comes out of Oklahoma. Opposition groups cite the EPA decision and public outcry, but the reps from the company building the plant say it's "purely a business decision." With more and more planned coal plants biting the dust due to "business decisions," how much longer can coal companies insist that building new coal plants our best option?
But this hilarious video from 2006 reminds us that the fossil fuel industry isn't confined to the truth when defending its turf. (No, it's not a spoof. It's real.)
State Senator Frank Wagner (SB 1348) and Delegate Terry Kilgore (HB 2531) are sponsoring legislation that will raise your electric rates, enrich the utilities at your expense and make our air dirtier.
Utilities already see an economic benefit in shifting demand for electricity during peak demand times like the hot days of summer. For example, they might get an industrial customer to run a process in the early morning hours when residential and commercial users are less likely to be running air conditioners, washers and dryers. These actions save utilities money because they pay less for electricity during these low-usage times.
Unfortunately, this legislation by Wagner and Kilgore would allow Dominion and other utilities to charge you for the same actions they are already taking to save money on electricity during peak demand times; in effect double dipping at your expense.
We get dirtier air in the deal too!
The bill also pays industries to use big, dirty diesel generators as back up generators in the summer time to meet peak demand, polluting our air on the same days when we are likely to be under air pollution alerts.
This makes no sense. Click here to get details on how to take action to stop double dipping by Dominion and other utilities at your expense!
By an equally razor thin margin, that very same Senator Saslaw voted WITH Republicans in an evenly divided Commerce and Labor committee just last night. Regarding Senator Donald McEachin's Energy Efficiency bill (SB1447), the committee was divided along party lines with 7 Democrats for and 7 Republicans against. Senator Saslaw cast aside his party, embraced the lobbying efforts of pay-to-play politics of coal loving Dominion Power, and cast the deciding vote AGAINST his own party. The only vote that crossed the aisle.
The first three paragraphs from a CCAN press release (Feb 10, 2009) says it all:
RICHMOND-The only efficiency bill in the General Assembly that would mandate a reduction in electricity demand was killed Monday by one vote. Senate Majority leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax) cast the deciding vote to kill SB 1447, Senator McEachin's bill (D-Henrico).
"Senator McEachin's strong efficiency bill would have ensured reduced rates for consumers, boosted Virginia's economy, and created jobs," said Lauren Glickman, Virginia Campaign Coordinator for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. "Last night Senator Saslaw voted against the best interest of his constituents in Fairfax, and the best interest of Virginians across the commonwealth."
The McEachin efficiency bill was opposed by Dominion Virginia Power, the largest utility in Virginia. Senator Saslaw received $85,000 in donations over the last three years from the utility. Until Senator Saslaw's vote, the Committee was split along party lines, with seven votes in favor and seven against.
It's great that Virginia is taking strides to be more energy efficient. Considering Virginia spent just $84,000 statewide on efficiency measures in 2006, compared with $400,000 in Alabama and Mississippi and $3.8 billion in North Carolina, we certainly need to be stepping up our commitment to efficiency.
It's also great that this is a "major step." Let's see what that means:
The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) and power supplier Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) donated the 4,200 bulbs valued at $18,000.
"This is the equivalent of removing 94 cars per year from Virginia's roads or adding 134 acres of forested land," Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. said.
Ninety-four cars!?! This is a major step forward?
Right now, Dominion Virginia Power, with Governor Kaine's blessing, is building a 585-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Wise County. This power plant will spew out as much pollution as nearly a million cars, roughly the same number of cars driven in the metro Richmond area. Calling the removal of 94 cars-worth of emissions a major stride for Virginia is, well, ridiculous.
Adding the equivalent of 134 acres of forested land hardly constitutes a step forward either. Mountaintop removal mining is devastating Appalachian communities - 29 mountains have been wiped out in Wise County alone, the site of Dominion's new coal plant. If we took the areas being strip mined in Wise County and put them together, there would be enough land to rebuild the city of Roanoke -- twice.
That's just looking at Virginia right now. If we start to look into the future, this gesture becomes even more insignificant.
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) - one of the co-ops that donated the light bulbs yesterday - has proposed building a massive $6 billion coal plant in Surry County. This plant could be a 1500-megawatt facility, nearly three times the size of the Wise County coal plant. When comparing ODEC's light bulb contribution, which will take about 94 cars off the road, to its plans to build a massive coal plant, which will add nearly 3 million cars to the road, it just seems like we're tripping over our own feet rather than moving forward at all.
It's not to say that changing incandescent light bulbs to CFLs is a bad thing, it's surely not. It's just not the leaps and bounds Gov. Kaine is trumpeting. It's also intriguing that the same day Governor Kaine sent out a release applauding Virginia's co-ops for helping achieve his administration's goals of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, he also eliminated one-fifth of the state's air pollution inspectors -- who police everything from massive power plants to neighborhood dry cleaners. Instead of being able to review 1400 sites annually, inspectors will now only be able to make it to less than 800 sites.
Governor Kaine has called this the "Year of the Environment." Let's hope his promise amounts to more than just a couple of light bulbs.
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Today is the one year anniversary (Dec. 22, 2008) of the day when, as 
P R E S S * R E L E A S E
Banding as a community trust, nearly 400 residents living near the Battlefield Golf Club will today file a lawsuit claiming over $1 billion in damages in Chesapeake Circuit Court.
There's something about the word "pollution" that Dominion just doesn't get. And while they may have certain legislators in their hip pockets, they can't dodge the long arm of the law.
Windfall profits at your expense!
In a display of political skill today in Richmond, Senator Saslaw reportedly 
Yesterday 
