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Virginia Conservation Network will present the 2010 Virginia Environmental Assembly conference, Sept. 17-18 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. This is the first time in almost decade that the annual gathering of conservationists, educators and activists has been held in Hampton Roads. View the full agenda at http://bit.ly/VEA2010
The weekend event will showcase some of the areas environmental achievements, including the energy efficient LEED renovation of Virginia Beach Convention Center, oyster restoration in the Lynnhaven River and research at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.
Environmental leaders will also examine some of the major environmental puzzles confronting Hampton Roads, including how to bring offshore wind power-and related manufacturing jobs-to the region.
A panel discussion on the future of the Chesapeake Bay will feature Anthony Moore, Gov. McDonnell's point man on Chesapeake restoration, as well as staff to Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, both of which have accused McDonnell's administration of foot-dragging on the issue.
Thomas Leahy, Director of Virginia Beach Public Utilities, will discuss the possible risk uranium mining poses to the region's water supply. Skip Stiles, director of Wetlands Watch, will discuss the increasing rate of sea-level rise and what can be done to minimize the risk of storm surges and flooding.
Registration is available online at www.vcnva.org or by calling 804-644-0283. Admission, which includes meals is $30 in advance, $40 day-of, $10 students. Scholarships are available; call to inquire.
Governor Bob McDonnell likes to talk about an "all of the above" approach to energy. The problem is, the only energy he seems to want to focus on is the old, dirty kind. Fans of offshore drilling had a big week last week when President Obama announced the opening of additional offshore areas (including Virginia) for potential oil drilling. Gov. McDonnell has made pushing for offshore drilling in Virginia a cornerstone of his first year.
Unfortunately, He doesn't seem to have the same commitment to offshore wind, which holds far more potential for long-term energy production, economic development and energy independence for Virginia and the United States. The Governor has pulled Virginia out of the bipartisan Governor's Wind Energy Coalition. The Governor is upset that the Coalition has backed a mandatory Renewable Electricity Standard. The Washington Post has more.
What the Governor doesn't understand is that the actions of Virginia with regards to offshore drilling and wind send the message that Virginia is committed to drilling but not to wind. If you are a wind energy company, are you going to invest in a state that hasn't shown the slightest commitment to helping you establish a market for your new and promising product? Answer: NO
Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter Director, Glen Besa, is in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change conference. Last week he had the opportunity to take a boat tour of Middelgrunden (Denmark) offshore wind farm. Glen recorded this 1 minute video interview with Jakob Lau Hoist with the Danish Wind Industry Association discussing wind energy jobs. The tour was sponsored by Wind Power Works. Enjoy!
Last week at its monthly Hampton Roads Planning District Commission meeting, a new organization, the Virginia Offshore Wind Energy Coalition, introduced itself and presented a report regarding the status of Atlantic coast offshore wind projects, the economic development opportunities for Hampton Roads, and their legislative strategies for the 2010 General Assembly. (Click here to read entire report.)
According to the report, the Department of Energy estimates long term offshore wind energy potential off Virginia's shoreline at 6572 megawatts. The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC) estimates the near term offshore wind energy potential at 3500 megawatts with a capital investment of up to $10 billion.
The Federal government's Mineral Management Services (MMS) released its offshore renewable energy development regulations in June this year. Already two companies have submitted lease applications for projects off Virginia's coasts.
Capital investment in the East Coast offshore wind energy industry for the coming 10 years is expected to be in excess of 15 billion. And everyone up and down the Atlantic seaboard wants a piece of this action.
New Jersey and Rhode Island head the pack with potentially the first commercial utility scale projects expected to be online as early as 2012. Procurement of wind turbines, installation vessels and other main components of these first projects will occur in the coming 6-12 months.
VCERC estimates $2.4 billion investment in the local economy. It is expected that more than 50% of offshore wind energy scope of supply will be manufactured locally. The thousands of jobs include engineering and fabrication of installation and service vessels, fabrication of towers and foundation monopoles and heavy turbine components. Amongst its East Coast neighbors, Virginia and specifically Hampton Roads with its deep water port and ship building industry, is envisioned as being the manufacturing hub for the industry.
With impending renewable energy standards and cap-and-trade requirements imposed by both the Federal and state government, Virginia's offshore wind will provide a clean energy source that keeps these carbon credits within the Commonwealth, instead of importing them from the Midwest wind energy sources which involves building more transmission lines.
The Mineral Management Services (MMS) is now open for business and accepting applications for renewable energy leases in the outer continental shelf (OCS)!
First up to bat will be New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island who already each have a developer in hand. Virginia will take the more conservative approach, hoping that all the early Guinea pigs work out all the kinks before they file. But I do predict Virginia to be fourth in line. Very exciting stuff!
Here's press on NJ, DE and RI efforts:
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 12 (UPI):
Rhode Island may have first offshore wind
"Rhode Island lawmakers recently signed an agreement to develop an offshore wind farm.
The agreement took months to negotiate, and now Deepwater Wind and the state will be able to build an offshore wind farm, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri told the Providence Business News.
The wind farm will include 100 turbines with the capacity to generate 1.3 million megawatt-hours of electricity per year. That is estimated to be enough to provide 15 percent of Rhode Island's electricity demand."
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The Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2008:
N.J. Awards Grant for First Offshore Wind Project
New Jersey regulators Friday selected Garden State Offshore Energy to develop the state's first offshore wind farm, in a move to spark development of a clean power source that has met resistance in other states.
Garden State Offshore Energy, a joint venture between a unit of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and wind-power developer Deepwater Wind, was selected by the state Board of Public Utilities from five firms vying for state support and a grant of up to $19 million. The state program provides aid for up to 350 megawatts, or enough continuous power for about 125,000 homes.
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Associated Press, Tues., Sept. 9, 2008
Delaware leads race to build offshore wind farm State clears hurdles, hopes to have construction completed by 2012
WASHINGTON - Visitors to Rehoboth Beach, Del., soon may be greeted by more than sand dunes, seagulls and beach umbrellas. If offshore wind advocates have their way, scores of 140-foot blades will be spinning in the ocean breeze nearly a dozen miles away, barely visible to the sunbathers.
Local small-business leaders and residents of Hampton Roads gathered at Solar Services Inc. in Virginia Beach to learn more about the potential for expansion of their businesses and further job creation as a result of investment in a clean energy economy, as could be provided with passage of a strong American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act.
The event was organized by MoveOn and the local Sierra Club group. Participants also included a representative from Congressman Glenn Nye's office. Hampton Roads citizens are calling on Senators Warner and Webb and Rep. Nye to pass a strong clean energy jobs bill.
As I pointed out in my remarks, the ACES Act presents an opportunity to not only clean up global warming pollution by holding polluters accountable, but to also simultaneously and very quickly drive a shift in U.S. energy production toward cleaner, cheaper sources, like wind and solar, which are key to solving both our environmental and economic crises.
More specifically we here in Hampton Roads stand to reap a tremendous amount of benefit with passage of a strong ACES Act with both its investment in renewable energy production and its curbing global warming pollution. Hampton Roads is blessed with ideal offshore wind energy potential. Meanwhile, of all the places in the U.S., the effects of climate change are felt hardest here in Hampton Roads with $ billions of our assets vulnerable to sea level rise and greater and greater storm surges battering our coast.
Damn! I'm speaking on the same program as Stephen Walz! See agenda on the flip.
With funding support from the state, the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC) has studied the engineering feasibility, cost, and economic development potential of Virginia's offshore wind resource.
VCERC has identified large areas of powerful Class 6 winds located in relatively shallow waters beyond 12 nautical miles offshore on the outer continental shelf off Virginia Beach. These areas are suitable for installing commercially proven monopile-based offshore wind turbines sufficient to meet at least 20% of Virginia's annual electricity demand. The immediate commercial opportunity would entail a 20-year build-out, ensuring new career-length jobs in the Hampton Roads maritime industry, and creating thousands of new jobs throughout the state, with a cost of energy less than that from a new coal-fired generating plant.
Learn more at this community meeting:
When: Thursday, May 14, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Westin Town Center, 4535 Commerce Street, Virginia Beach
Sponsors: City of Virginia Beach, SAIC and VCERC
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.
Mention coal and all of a sudden everybody gives a crap!
This AP article published in the Daily Press entitled "Can offshore windmills replace coal for power?" was quite the talk of a number of listservs yesterday and showed up independently in my Inbox three or four times. Today's "in" article making all the rounds is "Wind Officially Employs More Than Coal Industry" from EcoGeek.
But hello Virginia?!? Wind could also be our ticket to getting Virginia's offshore drilling Lease Sale 220 postponed. Anybody wanna get excited about that idea?!?
Luckily Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is paying attention. Not only did he push back by 180 days George Bush's original deadline for public comment on the 2010-2015 program for offshore oil and gas development, but he also tasked MMS and the USGS to produce a report on all offshore energy resources. That report was published in time for presentation at the 4 regional meetings (one each for the Gulf Coast, Pacific Coast, Atlantic Coast, and Alaska) that Sec. Salazar also ordered.
Thus I arrived in Atlantic City, NJ bright and early Monday morning where the Atlantic Coast meeting was held.
I was one of the lucky few actually called upon by Sec. Salazar to speak. (Below the fold are my remarks.) Yes, the virtues of offshore wind were greatly extolled by Salazar, Governor Corzine, Sen. Menendez, 3 or 4 Congresspersons, and other electeds - all voicing opposition to offshore drilling and all very heavily noting the potential and current pursuits being done in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New Jersey. Meanwhile, Virginia has the more prime location for offshore wind. I talked briefly about Virginia's potential in my remarks to Salazar, and he directed follow up questions to me on this. My sense is that the idea of Virginia looking at wind power is new to Salazar - something we already plan to fix.
But I spoke mostly in hopes that Salazar will do as Gov. Kaine has requested in postponing Virginia Lease Sale 220 for offshore drilling. I mentioned Virginia's great wind potential as one other reason for this postponement. For Salazar is very interested in taking a very comprehensive approach to development of ALL of the Atlantic's offshore energy resources. We need to push the point that there is no reason to exclude Virginia from this comprehensive approach, especially with the great offshore wind potential that Virginia brings to the Atlantic Coast table!
So maybe I can get a little company with the offshore drilling fight now that it involves indirectly our fight against coal?!?
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms in his "State of the City" speech yesterday announced that 3 new businesses were moving to the Beach. One of them, The Carraro Group, an Italian manufacturer of gears and axles for earth-moving equipment, will move its North American headquarters to the Beach and eventually begin producing turbines for wind energy farms.
"We're very excited to see this happening," Sessoms said. "If you look along the East Coast, there's very little of wind energy occurring. We need to make it happen here on the East Coast, and preferably off the coast of Virginia Beach."
Proximity to the port of Hampton Roads and one of the company's biggest customers, Caterpillar Inc., which has facilities in North Carolina, played a role in the company 's decision to move its North American headquarters to Virginia Beach, said Tiziana Votta, Carraro's senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales.
"There is so much interest right now in alternative energy," Votta said. "We believe the industry is going to grow relatively quickly. Our type of products are well suited for off-shore applications."
Carraro plans to begin production of the wind turbines in the next two years after adding a new building to its site, also near Lynnhaven Mall.
"Virginia Beach is one of the best places on the East Coast to manufacture wind energy," Votta said. "It makes perfect sense to expand our operations to include manufacturing components for wind turbines here." (Source)
Yes, congrats to the City, but also big congrats go out to VCERC (Virginia Coast Energy Research Consortium), specifically Neil Rondorf with SAIC. The VCERC crew has slowly but surely been winning the hearts of many Virginians to all the glorious potential held with offshore wind.
The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC) continues to explore the potential of Virginia to supply a major portion of our electricity with offshore wind farms. Put in perspective, consider that a wind farm using available technologies that covers an area equal to that of Virginia Beach could satisfy 20% of the electricity demand of the Commonwealth.
Very exciting stuff! Beats the hell out of energy production from dirty fossil fuels from offshore drilling and Surry coal plants.
Celebrating Darwin's birthday yesterday just a little bit differently than did Del. Jeff Frederick, Governor Kaine and British Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald signed a global warming pact, pledging as the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes, to "work together to reduce greenhouse gases, research low-carbon, renewable energy technologies and raise public awareness on the global issues of climate change".
While similar pacts have been signed with California, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan, what makes the Virginia partnership different is the fact that the UK is the largest foreign investor to Virginia's economy, providing as many as 10,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in defense industry related goods and services to the UK.
The partnership will also hopefully teach Virginia a thing or two about going greener...
"The island nation produces more energy from offshore wind generation than any other country", writes the RTD. Their leadership in clean energy hasn't always stood true. "Once a mainstay of its energy generation, coal accounts for only 10 percent of its current energy supply."
Kaine admitted that the U.S. and Virginia had a long way to go to be as successful as the UK has been with its clean energy generation. He mentioned again that none of the 10 largest solar energy companies are in the U.S. And as we all know unfortunately all too well, clean energy bills are facing a tough time in the Virginia General Assembly, especially in Del. Jeff "Diss Darwin" Frederick's House of No.
But there is one little glimmer of hope for Virginia. From the RTD...
In response to a question, the governor said yesterday said he had "not seen enough to make me believe" that a proposed new coal-fired plant in Surry County is necessary.
Clean energy is just that, Gov. Kaine. It's the definition of "clean" as embraced by the science now making a come-back. Please don't be afraid of it any longer!
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The Mineral Management Services (MMS) is now open for business and accepting applications for renewable energy leases in the outer continental shelf (OCS)!
Local small-business leaders and residents of Hampton Roads gathered at 
Damn! I'm speaking on the same program as Stephen Walz! See agenda on the flip.
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.
Mention coal and all of a sudden everybody gives a crap!
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms in his "State of the City" speech yesterday announced that 3 new businesses were moving to the Beach. One of them, The Carraro Group, an Italian manufacturer of gears and axles for earth-moving equipment, will move its North American headquarters to the Beach and eventually begin producing turbines for wind energy farms.
Celebrating Darwin's birthday yesterday just a little bit differently than did 
