Petersen and Clean Energy Suffer Setback
Posted by Chap at 2/11/2008 4:03 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
I just got back from the Senate Commerce Committee where my SB 446, the "Clean Energy Act" was briefly debated and then defeated on an 11-3 vote.
Thanks to Senators Herring, Miller and Edwards who voted "yes" to pass it.
Let me preface by stating that there are some very able and smart legislators on the Committee, both Republican and Democrat. There are some extremely skilled attorneys representing our energy utilities who have no reason to accept a legal mandate for renewable energy.
That being said ....
Our bill was a significant improvement over the current law which makes a tepid effort (at best) to address renewable energy, energy efficiency and global warming.
It put actual teeth in the state's requirements that 12% of our energy come from renewable sources and that we achieve a separate 10% reduction in energy efficiency. It created a market for "renewable energy credits" so that utilities could buy and sell credits, thereby using market forces to drive growth in renewable energy.
Our bill was knocked around by critics in Subcommittee, then represented as being "not in the proper form" to the full Committee. That's Richmond-speak for the INDUSTRY IS OPPOSED.
Since the bill was defeated, it leaves us with no pending legislation to promote renewables or efficiency. Just the good wishes and promises of the industry. That may be enough for some. It's not for me.
And I doubt it's good enough for the thousands (millions?) of Virginians that are following this issue.
Don't stop fighting. We're all behind you!
Irv
Chap, sorry for the defeat.
If reducing C02 is the main goal, why not focus instead on what Virginia has? Virginia and the mid-Atlantic for that matter, isn't blessed with the abundance of efficient renewable generation. Many point to on and in-shore wind potential, but the realities are against a wide scale usage, especially in the near and mid-term.
Instead, Virginia is blessed with some coal, some uranium and a tie for last place in the nation in terms of implemented energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) programs.
We should force state utilities to clean up existing coal plants with new coal technology, and expand existing plants if conversion of older plants is not feasible.
Nuclear produces is safe and nuclear by thorium produces a 1/3 of the waste as uranium.
EEC can increase capacity by ~20% and when grid expansion is unavoidable, EEC can reduce investment overlap which saves money. EEC also allows for greater capitalization of intermittent renewable generation decreasing the need for traditional fossil-fuel backup.
As for this state's renewables potential, we should let other states be our test lab. When technlogoy creates an efficient renewable source, we here in Virginia can develop it in-state or purchase it out of state. The market will move forward with it and not wait for Dominion or our General Assembly to act. In the meantime, perhaps we need to look at the potential of off-shore wind generation which the Univ. of Delaware speaks of. Off-shore wind is probably about 50% more efficient, and would have very litle impact, than our state's more sensitive in and on-shore wind fields.
I think our state laws should target what we have here in the Virginia, the lowest hanging fruit. When technology permits, Virginia can move forward with other renewables, but for now, I think if our focus is on C02 reduction, today we need to clean up coal generation, expand nuclear, implement EEC (especially smart meter devices on residential and commercial air-condition units - see NOVEC's load management program), and investigate an off-shore pilot wind farm.
Keep up the hard work.
These are excellent points. You are correct that VA doesn't have any natural resources (e.g. mountain snow pack) which can lead directly to renewables. In fact, my bill gave an investment credit to in-state generation but did not require it.
The "clean coal" and uranium ideas are political hot buttons but deserve a lot more study before being accepted or dismissed. We are blessed with substantial coal deposits. It's a geologic fact and I don't discount it.
Off-shore wind is an idea which may be around the corner. There are some pilot projects brewing in VA Beach. Either way, this issue is not going anywhere.
Chap, I found this interesting Jan 22, 2008 correspondence from NASA's James Hansen wrote to German PM Angela Merkel.
"...The only way to preserve climate resembling that in which civilization
developed is to phase out coal use except where CO2 is captured and sequestered..."
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/20080122_DearChancellor.pdf
Virginia needs state utilities clean up coal.
Nuclear by thorium is lead by a company right here in the state of Virginia, Thorium Power. http://www.thoriumpower.com/
Univ of Delaware report 300 GW windfield off the mid-Atlantic http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2007/feb/wind020107.html
The hot button exists because the realities of increase electricity demand are being ignored and misrepresented.
Getting off oil, let alone foreign oil, staying out of ANWAR (for as long as possible), reduction of petroleum fuel for autos and electrical generation will require the generation of yet more electricity, aside from increase use due to lifestyle changes and increase in population. Since we are not blessed with renewables, we can at least lead at "cleaning" the electricity we do generate with new coal tech, nuclear, and EEC.
Keep fighting and find a way to get the Republicans to join you.
So, what excuses did the opposition have?
“Clean Coal” sounds like a contradiction, with coal production peaking in the 2020s why invest in it?
Check out this article on coal depletion: http://www.davidstrahan.com/blog/?p=116
Chap; Keep up the hard work. I and many of the 4,000 strong members of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia would pitch-in and help you next Assembly.