Welcome to ArticleXI.com!
We are a group of environmental advocates united in providing a one-stop source for Virginia's environmental news. We each focus on different issues, but share the vision of a Commonwealth that preserves and protects its natural resources. Please join us!
As one opposed to the soon to be built through NOVA Dominion power line, I've been primarily focusing on the low hanging fruit of demand side management, but recently have been reflecting on the progressive environmental perspectives that seem to put us mostly into the "party of no" column. No mountain top removal, no nukes, no new coal plants, no offshore gas or wind... These are all righteous, but leave us with out the capability to propose real solutions.
I've recently become quite the zealot on Feed-In Tariffs (FIT) as THE way for us to promote dramatic increases in our renewable energy resources as well as take some of the power away from Dominion. The FIT program internationally had proven to increase renewable power and in some cases even reduced the Kw hour costs! It's often been described as Democratizing energy production as so many individuals, small businesses, co-ops etc generate the power.
This program is very new to Virginia and I'm seriously thinking of starting a PAC to move the conversation in the Commonwealth to a different agenda. Would you be interested in helping in some way?
I know this stuff is new so I've got a link to two recent forums on the topic to get you up to speed and a LINK of the Washington Monthly article on the Rooftop Revolution.
I've also prepared and delivered a FIT briefing book for Deeds and Bowerbank.
FIT's have the potential to really separate us from the pack with real proposals to reduce our dependence on carbon based power generation, and with Obama's new 'smart grid' allow us to move much closer to a generation centric distribution system as opposed to a grid centric one that now requires all that cheap coal electricity being shipped from parts unknown (losing electrons along the way).
We've come a long way. Just a year ago, the idea of an offshore wind farm in Virginia was dismissed as too expensive, too difficult, and too darn futuristic for the cautious decisionmakers of this staid commonwealth.
Now all those concerns are just so last year. Suddenly it seems everyone knows that offshore wind farms can produce electricity at a lower cost to the consumer than a new coal plant; that the technology is already in use in Europe and will be used in projects that have already been approved in Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island and New Jersey; and that the clean energy future is actually here today.
Virginia, we've learned, has enough good wind resources off its coast to meet all of our energy needs someday. And for the near term, if we start aggressively building and installing wind turbines in the next few years, we can expect to provide up to 25% of our electricity from offshore wind farms by 2025.
The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC) has studied a site twelve miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Their research suggests we have one of the best locations on the east coast for a wind farm-and that taking advantage of it will mean not just clean, renewable energy at a competitive cost, but thousands of permanent, high-paying jobs for the commonwealth.
Residents of Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area will have two opportunities to learn more about offshore wind energy in the coming days. First, the City of Virginia Beach will be holding a community meeting to discuss offshore wind development on Thursday, May 14 starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Westin Town Center, 4535 Commerce Street in Virginia Beach. The meeting will be free and open to the general public. Click here to RSVP.
Then, on Tuesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m., NoVa residents are invited to the Crown Plaza Hotel at 901 North Fairfax, Alexandria, for a presentation by VCERC Director of Research George Hagerman on what offshore wind energy will mean for those who live and work in Northern Virginia. The meeting will be hosted by the North Old Town Independent Citizens Civic Association It, too, is free and open to the general public. Click here to RSVP.
(Great diary, Ivy! Yes we can! Virginia CAN meet that 25%! - promoted by Eileen)
Congress is considering legislation that would create a federal renewable energy standard of 25% by 2025. Far from imposing a burden on Virginia, this proposed mandate would help us take advantage of the enormous wind resources just off our coast. And developing these resources would bring jobs to Virginia, help stabilize our energy prices, make our air and water cleaner, support the development of other renewable energy technologies here in the Commonwealth, and relieve the pressure on our energy transmission grid.
Virginia has one of the best sites in the world for offshore wind. A shallow outer continental shelf extending many miles out, combined with ample Class 5 (excellent) and 6 (outstanding) wind resources, means we could potentially meet 100% of our total energy demand from offshore wind turbines. Other Atlantic coast states-Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware--already have plans underway for offshore wind farms and expect to have power flowing in less than four years.
The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC), a consortium created by the General Assembly to study offshore wind and other renewable energy opportunities on our coast, has studied one area twelve miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Just that single area, they concluded, could produce enough wind energy to meet 15-20% of the state's demand for electricity, using the same technology currently in use in Europe.
Better yet, VCERC estimates that the cost of electricity from a wind farm there would be competitive with the cost of electricity from the coal-fired plant that Dominion Virginia Power recently began building in Wise County. Wind turbines require a higher up-front cost for every watt produced, but when the price of coal is factored in over the life of the facility, energy from the wind farm is cheaper. (The "fuel" for a wind turbine is free, after all.)
Developing Virginia's offshore wind resources would bring other benefits to the Commonwealth. VCERC estimates it would bring thousands of permanent, high-paying jobs to the Hampton Roads area and elsewhere. Already one manufacturer has moved its base to Virginia Beach and plans to begin manufacturing wind turbines in anticipation of growing demand. (See Virginian-Pilot "Three companies to inject jobs, money into Beach economy".) Moreover, Virginia's deepwater port at Norfolk, and the shipbuilding industry there, positions the state to build the specialized ships needed for transportation, installation and maintenance of turbines all along the East Coast.
Development of wind energy off the Atlantic coast would also relieve pressure on the power grid and prevent the need for new transmission lines. Generating power at the coast, where much of the population lives, makes transmission easier, more efficient and cheaper. Developing offshore wind resources in Virginia and elsewhere on the East Coast means we would not need expensive and controversial new transmission lines (like the proposed PATH line through Northern Virginia) to bring wind energy-or coal energy--from the Great Plains and the Midwest.
Offshore wind is not our only renewable resource, of course. Other technologies are under intensive development and improving rapidly. Promising new technologies that would advance with the help of a Federal mandate include wave energy, biogas from algae, and second-generation bio-fuels from non-food crops, all of which could be produced here in the Commonwealth.
And then there is solar energy. Electricity from photovoltaic panels has not been price-competitive in Virginia in the past (in contrast to solar hot water, which is), but NREL projects it will achieve grid parity in the next six years. Solar is the perfect complement to wind; it produces power during the day when wind often drops off, and is most productive in the summer when winds are at their seasonal lows.
Finally, it almost goes without saying that a renewable energy mandate would be good for Virginia's environment. Renewable energy, combined with an aggressive approach to achieving greater energy efficiency, will help us meet our goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. But the benefits go much farther. Currently, several areas of the state are out of compliance with the Federal Clean Air Act, including a large portion of Northern Virginia, the Richmond area, and the Hampton Roads area. Moving away from heavily polluting fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy will improve our air quality, reduce the health care costs associated with air pollution, and reduce mercury contamination in our streams and rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
A Federal mandate for renewable energy, far from imposing a burden on Virginia, would bring us cleaner air and water, new businesses, thousands of good jobs, and price-stable electricity. That's a mandate we can love.
Via Lowell's Blue Virginia, the Roanoke Times editorial board blasts presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell's "1950s" energy plan:
McDonnell needs to realize that if Virginia wants to become the energy capital of America, the commonwealth must look to the future of renewable energy. The state simply doesn't have huge reserves of fossil fuels.
Take coal, for example. The National Mining Association estimates that Virginia has about 770 million tons of recoverable coal. Compare that to the 17.6 billion tons in West Virginia, or the 75 billion tons in Wyoming.
Oil is perhaps worse. In an online chart of proven reserves published by the U.S. Department of Energy, Virginia doesn't even merit an entry. Even if the most optimistic estimates of offshore reserves prove accurate, Virginia would be a minor player.
Check out the coal and oil reserve maps at ShowUSA. Even states like Iowa and Alabama have better shot at being the "coal capital" than Virginia. And forget about oil -- Virginia vanishes from the top 25 altogether.
Now look at the renewable energy map. The first thing you notice is that renewable resources are much more equitably spread among the states than fossil fuel deposits. The next thing is that while Virginia ranks 18th on the list, it's not a distant 18th -- and as a tech leader, Virginia is in much better position to take full advantage of the resources we have than other states ahead of us on the list. And if we do take advantage of Virginia's clean energy resources, we can create jobs, lower consumers' energy bills and preserve our planet.
Yesterday, the Richmond-Times Dispatch published an article that covered Larry Nichols' (an energy executive from Oklahoma City) recent speech to the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond in which he argues that Virginia needs to move forward on offshore drilling.
Here are a few excerpts and observations:
Nichols said oil and gas will remain key energy sources for a long time.
"I'm 100 percent in favor of alternative energy, but wind and solar and whatever else is out there are not very significant now and are not going to be very significant for decades to come," he said.
While wind and solar power are currently not being pursued in Virginia, that doesn't mean that these energy sources aren't "significant." In fact, oil reserves off Virginia's, and the rest of the Atlantic, coast areinsignificant. Developing the infrastructure for offshore wind will take some time (as it would for offshore drilling) but wind reserves are plentiful as can be seen in the map above and won't deplete over time(the red represents "Outstanding" wind reserves off of the Virginia, and much of the Atlantic, coast). The technology to develop wind energy off of our coasts is here. We just need to make the investment.
Offshore drilling has become an issue in the governor's race. (after the jump)
It is important that we pass meaningful energy efficiency legislation this year, because it is the cheapest, quickest and cleanest way for Virginia to meet its growing energy demands.
* CHEAP: It can help customers lower their end of the month electricity bills through weatherization, more efficient appliances & heating and cooling systems, lighting.
* QUICK: Utility programs can be rolled out immediately;
* CLEAN: Reducing electricity usage also reduces air pollution, including emissions contributing to climate change.
HB 2506 will be voted on in the Senate THIS WEEK! SB 1248 (Northam), which is now comparable to HB 2506, could be voted on in the House of Delegates as early as TODAY!
This is our last chance in 2009 to pass legislation to move energy efficiency forward in Virginia!
A report released [yesterday] by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy demonstrates that the Southeast has sufficient renewable energy resources to fulfill an aggressive national mandate for renewable energy.
"Yes We Can: Southern Solutions for a National Renewable Energy Standard" confirms that utilities across eleven Southeastern states can tap homegrown clean energy resources to meet a significant percentage of electric power demands. The analysis indicates near-term renewable energy resources can generate more than 15 percent of electricity demand by 2015 and achieve the proposed renewable energy standard (RES) of 25 percent by 2025.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists and other allies are looking for organizations, companies and individuals in the Southeastern U.S. that support a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Congress will consider an RES this year. This provision can help the Southeast:
• Reduce the $ billions of dollars spent every year importing fuels from other states and countries by developing local renewable energy resources;
• Support national and local economic development in the Southeast;
• Create thousands of manufacturing jobs and increase global export opportunities; and
• Reduce global warming pollution levels.
We hope you can join us in showing Congress that the Southeast is ready to contribute to our country's energy security.
We're looking for sign-ons by close of business Friday, February 20, 2009.See attached letter. If you would like to sign-on to this letter please email Colin Hagan at SACE at colin@cleanenergy.org. Please include name/city/state and affiliation if you are signing on on their behalf.
Thanks to Al Weed for the following analysis, which makes clear that a MANDATORY renewable portfolio standard (RPS) would be preferable to Virginia's currently VOLUNTARY RPS. In short, due to the "regulatory compact" which guarantees utilities full and timely cost recovery plus a reasonable return on equity for any expenses incurred in complying with their regulatory obligations, Virginia's voluntary renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is expected to cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars more than a mandatory RPS that would require utilities to purchase the same number and type of renewable electricity kilowatthours and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
As if this isn't bad enough, Al Weed reminds us that the 2007 "re-regulation" passed by Virginia's General Assembly "gave away the farm on renewable energy production and competition." As Al Weed writes, "the same 're-regulation' process set back moves to make available 100% renewable energy to all Virginia consumers." Wonderful, huh?
Who does Virginia's current power company "regulation" (to use the term loosely) system benefit? I'll give you one guess, and the answer isn't "consumers." In fact, according to Al Weed, "since large industrial users are exempt from these surcharges [on "voluntarily" produced renewable energy], average families will pay the largest share of the bribe. Needless to say, this situation is truly outrageous and needs to be changed ASAP.
Does Renewable Energy in Virginia Have to Gouge the Public?
Al Weed
Virginians want immediate government action to reduce green house gas emissions. A recent survey by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia found that 55% of Virginians who see carbon emissions as a man-made problem, "strongly support" requiring electric utilities to produce sizable amounts of renewable power. This would be power from sustainable sources such as solar, wind, biomass among others.
Public support for renewable energy has led, in state after state, to mandatory renewable energy goals. Compared to other states, where utilities are leading the charge towards cleaner energy, our power companies are dragging their feet, when not actively obstructing progress.
Back in 2007 it had become clear that regulation was not going to bring lower cost energy to consumers. Wary of another Enron, Virginia's legislators reversed moves to open our energy market. They passed a bill that "re-regulated" the production and distribution of electricity in the Commonwealth. As always under regulation, utilities would be guaranteed to be able to charge enough to receive a fair rate of return on their investments. Yet, legislators, influenced by the state's utilities, approved a bill that gave away the farm on renewable energy production and competition.
The U.S. and China are now locked in a race for the top of the global wind industry. Just yesterday, the AWEA announced that the U.S. has passed German to become #1 in the world with wind power installations. Meanwhile, China's total capacity has doubled for the 4th year in a row.
- The massive growth in the US wind market in 2008 increased the nation's total wind power generating capacity by 50%. The new wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 42% of the entire new power-producing capacity added in the US last year, and created 35,000 new jobs, for a total of 85,000 employed in the sector in the US.
- Global wind energy capacity grew by 28.8% last year, even higher than the average over the past decade, to reach total global installations of more than 120.8 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2008. Over 27,000 MW (27 GW) of new wind power generation capacity came online in 2008, 36% more than in 2007. The 120 GW of global wind capacity in place at the end of 2008 will produce 260 TWh and save 158 million tons of CO2 every year.
- Wind energy is now an important player in the world's energy markets. The global wind market for turbine installations in 2008 was worth about 36.5bn EUR or 47.5bn US$.
User comments or postings reflect the opinions of the responsible contributor only, and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Sierra Club and/or the League of Conservation Voters. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters accepts no obligation to review every posting, but reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete postings that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate.
ArticleXI.com is paid for and authorized by
Virginia League of Conservation Voters PAC, 530 East Main Street, Ste. 410, Richmond, Virginia 23219, (804) 225-1902 and
Sierra Club VA PAC, 422 E. Franklin Street, Suite 302, Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 225-9113.
We've come a long way. Just a year ago, the idea of an offshore wind farm in Virginia was dismissed as too expensive, too difficult, and too darn futuristic for the cautious decisionmakers of this staid commonwealth.
Congress is considering legislation that would create a federal renewable energy standard of 25% by 2025. Far from imposing a burden on Virginia, this proposed mandate would help us take advantage of the enormous wind resources just off our coast. And developing these resources would bring jobs to Virginia, help stabilize our energy prices, make our air and water cleaner, support the development of other renewable energy technologies here in the Commonwealth, and relieve the pressure on our energy transmission grid.
Via Lowell's 
It is important that we pass meaningful energy efficiency legislation this year, because it is the cheapest, quickest and cleanest way for Virginia to meet its growing energy demands.
... as a clean energy leader!
Thanks to 
The U.S. and China are now locked in a race for the top of the global wind industry. Just yesterday, the AWEA announced that the U.S. has passed German to become #1 in the world with wind power installations. Meanwhile, China's total capacity has doubled for the 4th year in a row.
