Category Archives: energy

Dominion Power and HB 657

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Having written about Dominion Power and renewable energy on this site before, there is simply no reason to let up.

Here’s the latest, including a solution for the General Assembly in the form of HB 657:

Virginia’s “voluntary” renewable portfolio standard is voluntary for utilities, but it’s mandatory for ratepayers. Utilities charge citizens for the energy they buy to meet the goals, and then they get to charge citizens again for their bonus under the law. The idea behind the law was to incentivize utilities to buy renewable energy, but utilities have treated it as an entitlement program for their shareholders and are doing the minimum possible to earn their profit.

Everyone thought the 2007 law setting up the renewable energy incentives would result in Virginia-made wind and solar energy. That hasn’t happened, and yet utilities are collecting their full bonus amounts just as if they had made a real effort.

Dominion Power ran advertisements in 2010 claiming they were building wind farms “to power Virginia’s energy future.” Those ads misled everyone into assuming they were doing just that. But they have built no wind farms in Virginia.

Dominion talks a good game about renewable energy, but the reality came out in its rate case this fall, when it had to reveal the energy sources it was using to meet Virginia’s renewable energy goals. Almost all of it consists of old conventional hydroelectric plants from dams. None of it comes from projects built after 2000, and none of it is wind or solar.

Legislators should support HB 657 (Rust), the RPS reform bill, in its current form, including the provisions for Virginia-made wind and solar energy. If the final bill does not incentivize wind and solar in Virginia, the RPS law should be repealed rather than charging ratepayers millions of dollars extra.

The Virginia-made requirement makes sure that the ratepayers who are paying for the renewable energy are getting the benefits of it. Building wind and solar energy in Virginia is important to create new jobs here for Virginia’s young people, to increase energy supply without adding air pollution, and to give Virginia a stake in these fast-growing industries.

Coal In Their Stocking- Dominion’s Permit Has Expired

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Speaking of Special Use Permits, local citizen watchdog C.Wayne Taylor has been just as concerned about the latest flurry of riverfront planning as Oregon Hill neighbors.

He has started asking some very pertinent questions and has come to the conclusion that, despite what local officials may or may not say, Dominion Resources’ riverfront SUP has legally expired:

In 2001, City Council approved a special use permit for the Dominion Resources headquarters on Tredegar Street. The permit increased the maximum allowed building heights within a sloping “envelope” that extended from 60 feet above ground level to 160 feet above ground level.
Under the terms of the permit, it would automatically expire if certain conditions were not met. The city maintains that the conditions were met and that the permit is “still valid.”
The facts indicate that the permit expired. The property owner failed to meet the deadline for using the special use permit. The development that occurred on the property complied with the zoning regulations and did not require the special use permit.

Look for Dominion to try to quietly go behind the scenes and change things to their advantage. After all, this is what they do. And continue to do.

And don’t look for the local corporate media to cover it, after all, this is what they they won’t do. Why is it up to this little neighborhood community news site to mention the local connection to the MF Global story, where a former United States Congressperson and Governor “doesn’t know” where over a billion dollars went?

Citizens, remain vigilant!

Within Sight Of Dominion’s Headquarters

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I did not realize it at the time I wrote the previous Irene recovery post, but most if not all of the Overlook condos have also lost power due to Hurricane Irene and still do not have the utility. It is somewhat frustrating because they can literally see the Dominion Resources headquarters, which does have power.

One Overlook resident remarked on her FaceBook page:

I can see the power HQ 200 feet from my house. They have power! Who has a really long extension cord I can borrow? :0)

Speaking Truth To Power: Solar for Disaster Recovery

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While many Richmond residents are still without power after Hurricane Irene this past weekend, a few residents have access to their own produced energy (without noisy generators) due to their previous investments in solar arrays. This should come as no surprise, for after Hurricane Katrina, pre-existing solar arrays were the only power sources for a period of time in New Orleans after the fossil fuel supplies ran out.

I understand that President Obama may come to the area and meet with Governor McDonnell today, in part to survey the damages left by the storm. If I could meet with those two leaders in person, I would strongly suggest to them that distributed, scalable solar (in addition to conservation, of course), is the best way to make the country and Commonwealth stronger- economically, environmentally, and in case of disaster.
Not only that, but despite what people like Duke Energy CEO Rogers say, solar is proving safer and more cost-efficient.

Look for a press release from the Virginia Solar Energy Association on this very subject later today.

(and come back when I have more time to supply some even better informational links for this post).

Late notice: Gypsy Band Plays In Monroe Park This Afternoon

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The Petrol-Free Gypsy Carnival Tour are in Richmond right now and they are playing in Monroe Park at 4 pm during the Food Not Bombs meal. Click for Facebook event page.

From the Tour’s website:

The Petrol-Free is a bicycle-powered music and art tour to promote peace, social justice, and a healthy planet. On the tour, musicians carry only the essential instruments from city to city on their bicycles. At each venue, amplifiers and other large or heavy equipment are provided by a local band.

Scenes From the Keep It Cool Event

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Scenes from the Oregon Hill Keep It Cool event at the Jacob House this past Saturday:

One part of it was a presentation on the varying temperatures of materials.

Another portion was a small workshop on adding shade cloth to exterior window screens. Imagine how much air conditioning energy could be conserved if every Oregon Hill house used shade cloth.

Thanks to Commonwealth Solar for lending their expertise.
If you missed this event, there is already talk of holding another one soon.

Busy Saturday Morning

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This coming Saturday morning, there is an Oregon Hill Energy Efficiency/Home Cooling workshop at the Jacob House, the City’s The Clean City Commission is partnering with the 2nd Precinct MPACT Co-Chairs to host the 4th Annual Civic Association Community Workshop, the Better Housing Coalition’s Center for Neighborhood Revitalization has a FREE Renovation Lending Workshop, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is having a workshop on lobbying for offshore wind.

That last item might sound a little out of place, but since the redistricting, Oregon Hill is likely to change representatives from the pro-renewables McEachin to Chesterfield developer and recent French nuclear tourist, Watkins.

Scenes From The Launch of RVA GREEN

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The sun literally came out…

More photos on the Sierra Club Falls of the James’ blog site.

And now for some editorializin’….

With this, Mayor Jones shows that he gets it.

As with stormwater and bicycle initiatives, the City of Richmond is leading the whole region.

Yes, there are always be a need for tweaking plans and there will be hiccups that need addressing (including moving from “Big Energy” to “Local Energy“), but today a lot of folks are proud to call themselves Richmonders.

Flying Brick Presents Ciclovida

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From the Flying Brick Library website:

We are excited to host the crew from Ciclovida: Lifecycle, who will be stopping in Richmond to present their documentary and to host a workshop!
On April 20 at 3 p.m. Ciclovida will host a workshop on Pedal and Solar Powered Projection systems!
On April 21 at 7 p.m. we will host the first backyard movie screening of 2011 with the presentation of the documentary, Ciclovida: Lifecycle.
The film pedals alongside a group of subsistence farmers from Brazil who bicycle over 6,000 miles across the South American continent in search of natural seeds.
This feature-length documentary is made up of moving stories from landless peasants, indigenous communities, and small farmers that expose the devastating effects of industrial agriculture destined for agrofuels. Filmmakers and protagonists will be here for both events!