Virginia's Commitment

Sounding a warning for tomorrow's SCC public on a new coal-fired plant in Wise County, VA, The Bristol Herald Courier’s Andrea Hopkins calls Dominion Power’s plans for a new coal plant a”devil’s pact” sacrificing public health and the environment for the promise of jobs southwest. The paper’s opinion editor says times have changed and “it appears that coal’s ship has sailed.”

She writes:

The Bristol Herald Courier has come out against Dominion’s proposal to build a new dirty power plant in Wise County (VA). The paper’s editorial staff asks why residents of Southwest Virginia should risk their health just so that Northern Virginians can get more power.
The state’s dominant power company once again is trying to sell regulators and the public on the idea that yet another fossil-fueled generator is necessary all because Northern Virginia continues to grow.

Over the past two decades, Virginia has gained the well-earned reputation as the best place in America for business. Our focus on good jobs, high-technology and a forward-thinking business environment has made the Commonwealth the choice for thousands of new employers.

As Virginia continues to build on its success, more and more business and community leaders are demanding an even greater focus on the future when it comes to transportation, housing and energy policies. They want Virginia to maintain its reputation as a modern place to do live and work.

Yesterday I received the following email from a Fairfax County citizen …

"Mr. Jeffers,

Your site contains more "gobbledygooky Gummint-Speak language" than my tired old brain can handle at this stage. Can you please give me your group's bottom-line REAL answer to what your guys, the state bureaucracy and dominion are all about that us simple folk can understand ... in every-day simplistic terms, please, if you don't mind!"

I replied with the following response …

As we enter the last five weeks of the year, 2007 is turning out the tipping point for investment in new energy alternatives. How ironic it is then to be the year also that Dominion Power has been best known for proposing one of the nation’s most antiquated approaches to power generation and transmission.

Yes, the company continues to throw a few dollars around and posture, somewhat weakly, about its environmental strategies. We wrote about it yesterday, on the opinion page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in letter to the editor titled “Is Dominion Committed to Carbon Research?”

Believing Dominion’s proposal represented the wrong direction for the Commonwealth, Virginians for a Sensible Energy Policy (VSEP) was organized to work in opposition to the power company’s transmission line plan.

We received word earlier today that the Prince William County board of supervisors was planning to put the transmission line on its agenda this afternoon. We're awaiting word on how the discussion may have gone (if you have information, please post a comment on this blog entry).

In advance of the meeting, we delivered a letter to the supervisors, offering technical assistance on any element of the issue for which the County supervisors and staff may need additional information.

We are encouraged that the Prince William Board of Supervisors plans to discuss the transmission line issue at upcoming meetings. As the county's popularity as a business location continues to grow, parts of Prince William will take on a whole new look in the coming decade.

County Executive Craig Gerhart says burying the lines could enhance property values as well as protect the county's important scenic and historic resources.

"What's the alternative?" That's the most common question asked of Virginia's Commitment. It's a good question. However, the premise behind the question is flawed. It assumes that there is a problem to solve in Northern Virginia as large scale as the project Dominion Power proposes.

Four months ago this week, Fairfax County signed a declaration that it would help lead a national effort for counties to reduce global warming emissions 80 percent by 2050, an average annual reduction of 2 percent.

According to the American Institute of Architects, buildings account for one-half of all greenhouse-gas emissions.