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In a recent legislative update, Virginia Beach Delegate Joe Bouchard outlined his priorities for the session, which includes "implementing the Climate Change Commission's recommendations with programs that create new jobs in the growing clean energy industries".
I have four bills implementing the Climate Change Commission's recommendations with programs that create new jobs in the growing clean energy industries. I served on the Climate Change Commission and saw several studies showing the tremendous economic opportunities for Virginia in renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. Initiatives in this area not only help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they contribute to economic growth and help reduce our dependence on imported oil.
The most important of my bills (HB 2562) would exempt purchases of renewable energy systems, including solar energy systems (photovoltaic panels and solar heating) and wind-powered electrical generators of less than 10 kilowatts from the state sales and use tax. This will help stimulate sales of this equipment and attract interest from manufacturers in investing in Virginia. Sales of these systems today are very small, so this tax exemption will not significantly reduce state tax revenues.
I have two other bills increasing the ability of local governments to permit solar energy systems in new housing developments and preventing them from being prohibited where they are currently allowed.
Another bill I introduced (HB 2420) expands the authority of the existing Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment to identify integrated transportation solutions covering all transportation modes that promote economic development, intermodal connectivity, environmental quality, accessibility for people and freight, and transportation safety. Currently, highway, rail and transit plans are developed independently, leaving gaps in transportation capacity in some areas and redundant capacity in others. HB 2420 addresses this problem by having the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment coordinate actions of the agencies of Virginia's Transportation Secretariat to develop and implement a comprehensive, multi-modal transportation policy, establish standards for the coordination of transportation investments and land use planning to promote commuter choice and transportation system efficiency, establish goals, objectives and priorities in the Statewide Transportation Plan covering at least a 20-year planning horizon, in accordance with the federal transportation planning requirements. These changes will help ensure that taxpayer dollars invested in transportation are spent wisely, resulting in optimum enhancements across all transportation modes.
The momentum to pass a meaningful energy efficiency bill in Virginia is growing at a rapid pace.
Last Monday, more than 200 people from across Virginia traveled to Richmond to meet with their state delegates and senators as part of our Grassroots Energy Efficiency Lobbying Day.
And hundreds of supporters of Wise Energy for Virginia have sent emails to let decision makers in Richmond know that the support for energy efficiency in our state is strong.
Now, we're hearing indications that an energy efficiency bill is likely to move forward in the state capitol soon.
That's why we're building on the growing momentum with a Statewide Call In Day this Wednesday, January 28th.
There are competing bills that are likely to move forward in Richmond. We need every legislator to know that their constituents support true energy efficiency in Viginia.
Will you just take a moment to call your delegate and senator in Richmond on Wednesday? Tell them:
*To support the McEachin, Herring, and Pollard energy efficiency legislation. This legislation calls for a 19% reduction of energy use below 2025 levels while rewarding utilities for their efficiency investments, and creates jobs while lowering electricity bills. (See bill numbers below.*)
* To oppose the Wagner and Kilgore so called "efficiency" legislation. The Wagner-Kilgore bill would actually roll back efficiency measures and make it easier to pollute our air.
For additional information on what to tell your legislators, click here.
To find your legislators' phone numbers, click on this link.
If all of us take action by calling on Wednesday, we can light up the phones in Richmond -- and brighten the prospects for a clean energy future in Virginia.
Thank you for taking action this Wednesday.
Kathy Selvage
Wise Energy for Virginia
*Bill numbers to Support (Click here for full phone script explaining the bills.)
Support Herring SB 1440
Support McEaching SB 1447
Support Pollard HB 2506
Appalachia has been mining coal for 150 years, exporting more wealth in the 20th century than almost anywhere else in the world. But prosperity never came to these hills and hollows, and the communities within these ancient mountains remain some of the poorest places in the United States.
Coal production in Virginia - like the rest of Appaachia - has peaked, and is plummeting.
With the faucet almost dry on Virginia coal and the work increasingly done by enormous machines, mining employment in Virginia - like the rest of Appalachia - is plummeting even faster.
As we head into the 2009 Virginia General Assembly session, a new report dominates the stage and unites much of the environmental community's current work in Richmond.
Commissioned by the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, the report produced by Abt Associates, an independent, global research firm whose clients include the U.S. EPA, the Department of Energy and other major U.S. corporations, compares the same investment in energy efficiency instead of Dominion's Wise County coal plant in meeting the same electricity demand.
It's a slam dunk for energy efficiency!
"[T]he Energy Efficiency Alternative would be both less costly than the [Wise County] Plant for ratepayers, and substantially more beneficial to the Virginia economy in terms of Gross State Product (GSP) and job effects," the report concludes. (Read full report here.)
"According to the study, energy efficiency instead of the Wise County plant would boost the state economy by at least $228 million to $323 million each year between 2012 and 2025. It would also lead to at least 2,600 more permanent jobs than would exist if the investment were made in the Wise County coal plant.
The report finds even greater benefits if the federal government implements 'cap-and-trade' regulations on carbon dioxide, the main contributor to global warming, which will increase the cost of electricity from coal, according to the report. The Abt researchers estimate that, if such regulations are enacted, efficiency will boost the State Gross Product by up to between $483 million and $675 million annually between 2012 and 2025, as compared to the coal plant. It would result in a net gain of between 4,000 to 6,000 permanent jobs during the same period".
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In a recent legislative update, Virginia Beach 
From 
As we head into the 2009 Virginia General Assembly session, a new report dominates the stage and unites much of the environmental community's current work in Richmond.
