Dominion is implementing solar on the roof of it’s riverfront parking garage this week after staging materials last week. Though some solar advocates cheer, it deserves more scrutiny.
While there is widespread support for solar in the neighborhood and elsewhere, this installation comes after repeated complaints that it will block more of the historic public view of the James River from Oregon Hill. And in the big picture it is part of a disturbing pattern from Dominion and the City.
That Dominion is ignoring neighborhood residents should come as no surprise. The company has a history of deception and betrayal. In 1999-2000, Dominion and the neighborhood were in bitter contention over plans to build a high rise office complex on the riverfront. The neighborhood worked with outside groups to try to hold Dominion more accountable, even though City Council and Planning Commission notably did not. Ancient history, maybe, but note that Dominion still clings to its City-given legal right to build something taller.
In pushing themselves onto to the riverfront location, approval was given in part because they promised to move their operations center with “hundreds of jobs” from the county to Tredegar Street. But of course they lied and that did not happen.
And in the process of trying to smooth things over, Dominion met with different community representatives about riverfront plans. At the time, traffic was brought up as a chief concern, and Dominion assured City Council that existing roadways could serve the additional traffic created by its development. They lied again. Ten years later, Dominion insisted on a new road while at the same time saying it had no plans for new development “at this time.” And then came Venture Richmond’s push for an amphitheater. It was very sad to see Richmond’s historic riverfront get this corporate driveway treatment. Many trees were cut down and wildlife displaced, and the historic canal was again cut into. When this new road was proposed, Oregon Hill residents suggested extending Spring Street to 5th Street instead. They were ignored.
Getting back to solar and the present day, it’s very important to note that when Dominion did build its complex on the riverfront, the architects created a huge, south-facing, sloping roof for it’s ‘Enron-like’ energy-trading floor FOR solar. PV panels could be put flush to that roof and have little to no impact on the historic river view from Oregon Hill. Despite this long-existing option, Dominion is building more height on top of its parking garage. Once again, Dominion purposely ignores citizens and alternatives.
So what, some solar advocates say. They don’t care about this historic neighborhood or even the riverfront. So what if this parking garage array is mostly a prop for the Dominion executives and politicians to point to during protests, it’s still more solar.
Maybe, but consider that, above all, this is more energy that Dominion OWNS, not the government, and certainly not citizens.
Case in point- the City’s Department of Public Utilities is beginning to re-roof the Byrd Park reservoir. Planned for many years, this project is a perfect opportunity for the City to make its own investment in renewable energy by copying what other localities all over the world have done and add solar to the new reservoir roof. The energy produced there could be invaluable for emergency/disaster recovery operations. Citizens have asked for it. The Byrd Park Civic Association asked for it. Yet there is NO mention of solar whatsoever in the planning. When our previous Councilperson, Parker Agelasto, asked for it years ago, the DPU head at that time (now PROMOTED by Stoney’s administration) deflected by saying it would violate agreements with Dominion.
Certainly, there are other examples where ‘muni-solar’ opportunities been discouraged and stomped on by Dominon. More ‘solar schools’ was one of the goals of the ‘Put Schools First’ movement– remember how the previous Dominion C.E.O. suddenly inserted himself in school board politics? Now, instead of fixing up old schools (and adding solar!), the local corporate media tells us that City Council and School Board are too busy fighting over the building of a NEW George Wythe High School.
Let’s look at the statewide level. Recently, Aaron Sutch, the Virginia program director for Solar United Neighbors, highlighted Dominion’s “bogus arguments” in regard to state policy and solar OWNED by communities and citizens. Even when ‘big box’ out-of-state corporations have asked to ‘go solar’ in Virginia, Dominion has discouraged it. It’s reprehensible given the opportunities. Coming back to local, recognize that Stone Brewing continues to expand here but does not ‘go solar’ here, despite having lots of solar at its California facilities. They know that Dominion and government discourages it. Dominion overall does not want distributed rooftop solar, they would rather have ‘utility-sized’ solar that THEY CONTROL installed as Virginians argue about ‘solar farms’.
The point is that Dominion will continue to pretend to ‘go solar’ while ignoring citizen and neighborhood concerns and doing all it can to discourage anyone else from competing with them for energy production. Indeed, this is why Dominion took over so much of Richmond’s riverfront in the first place. Government, captured by corporate money, will not stand in Dominion’s way. This is detrimental to not just Virginia citizens, but for humanity, as we face more climate change.
