Giving the gift of wind

Today we gathered in front of the Governor’s Mansion to bring Governor McDonnell an early Christmas present- $400 in renewable energy credits (RECs) to power the mansion through 2011.
Outside of the governor's mansion

Back in October, I met with the governor’s energy advisor, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources, Maureen Matsen, to discuss what the McDonnell administration had been doing to promote offshore wind. During that conversation, I asked her if the Governor would make a symbolic gesture of his commitment to renewables by purchasing the RECs himself. Ultimately, he refused to make this commitment, so our members made it for him. CCAN supporters in Virginia chipped in $10 or more to purchase the RECs to demonstrate their support for clean energy sources like offshore wind.

As CCAN Executive Director Mike Tidwell, stated during his speech at the Governor’s mansion, “It’s time for Governor McDonell to take concrete action to bring offshore wind to Virginia.” The Governor should take unequivocal action of supporting a mandatory renewable portfolio standard (RPS). If he does not act quickly, Virginia could be left behind as other states prepare to move ahead with offshore wind.

Maureen Matsen was on hand for the delivery and you can see her back and forth with Mike here.

Frustrated Virginians Give the Gift of Wind Power to Governor McDonnell

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    
December 15, 2010
 
CONTACT:
Lauren Glickman
504.258.7955
lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org

FRUSTRATED VIRGINIANS GIVE THE GIFT OF WIND POWER TO GOVERNOR MCDONNELL

Energy will Power Governor’s Mansion for One Year 


RICHMOND – Environmentalists gathered in Richmond today with an early holiday present for Governor Bob McDonnell— $400 in renewable energy credits to power the Governor’s Mansion through 2011. Weeks ago, representatives from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) asked the governor to make a personal investment in renewable energy by choosing to power his home with renewable energy credits, but he refused to commit. In response, CCAN supporters in Virginia chipped in $10 or more to purchase the energy credits and demonstrate their support for clean energy sources like offshore wind. Maureen Riley Matsen, the governor’s Senior Advisor on Energy was on hand to accept an oversized certificate in honor of the purchase.

“It’s time for Governor McDonnell to take concrete action to bring offshore wind to Virginia,” said CCAN Executive Director Mike Tidwell. “Governor McDonnell claims to support an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy plan, but he seems more interested in complaining about the federal government’s drilling ban than taking positive steps towards harnessing the clean, offshore power that is available—wind.”

The “gift” arrived with an urgent ask for Governor McDonnell: taking the unequivocal action of supporting a mandatory renewable portfolio standard to show that he is serious about bringing offshore wind to the Commonwealth. A few weeks ago, the Department of the Interior announced that it intends to compile a short list of states that are most prepared to move forward on offshore wind. If Governor McDonnell does not act quickly, Virginia will be left behind.

State Senator Donald McEachin said, “”I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Governor for accepting this gift. I very much appreciate this acknowledgment that we need to do all we can to provide alternative energy and not just fossil fuels. I would hope this is the beginning of a sincere and long-term investment by his administration to bring alternative fuels to the Commonwealth. We can start this new direction by exploring the use of wind power off the coast. Rather than wasting time and energy on offshore drilling, which would be detrimental to the Chesapeake Bay and its ecosystems, let’s work together to ensure that Virginia is one of the recipients of upcoming government initiatives in wind energy.”

CCAN called on the Governor to take steps towards repowering Virginia with clean energy by committing to powering the mansion with renewable electricity for the rest of his term and supporting a renewable portfolio standard. Across the Commonwealth, Virginians are calling for clean energy. More than 4,500 Virginians signed CCAN’s pledge in support of offshore wind rather than offshore oil drilling.

Tidwell said: “The longer we delay, the more jobs Virginia is sending to its neighboring states, who are more poised to welcome the growing American wind industry. Virginians are tired of waiting for the clean, homegrown energy sitting off their coast.”  

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Our mission is to amass undeniable grassroots power in this unique region surrounding our nation’s capital to call for state, national and international policies that will put us on a path to climate stability.

Check out a video of the delivery at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q5IdV0ijUs.

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Drought Disaster

Governor McDonnell and Attorney General Cuccinelli are making a name for themselves on the national climate denier scene. They’ve engaged Virginia in a lawsuit against the EPA and have gone as far as accusing leading scientist Michael Mann of fraud by seeking public funding for his research. So the irony was not lost when Gov. McDonnell yesterday announced that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designated 59 counties as primary natural disaster areas because of the excessive heat we’ve seen in 2010. Farms in this area Continue reading

Where's Bob on Wind?

Hey, Governor McDonnell, are you serious about renewable energy sources like wind and solar, or are you just pulling our leg? I mean, you won’t even commit just $400 to power the Governor’s Mansion with renewable energy in 2011. What’s the deal??

Yes, you read that right. We asked the Governor to buy renewable energy credits as a symbolic gesture that he was leading the Commonwealth towards a future that includes an increased emphasis on clean energy, but he won’t do it. Continue reading

Virginia State Senator Argues for Renewables

Chap Peterson, Virginia State Senator of the 34th Senate District of Virginia, has been a long-time supporter of clean and renewable energy, so it was no great surprise when he attended Saturday’s Northern Virginia Climate Action Network (NOVACAN) meeting. The NOVACAN coalition is made up of a number of environmentally-focused Northern Virginia organizations, including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, with the aim of educating and empowering Northern Virginians to advocate for policies to curtail climate change.

After the meeting, State Senator Peterson reiterated his thoughts on renewable energy on his blog, reposted below. Continue reading

Virginia Must Move To Clean Energy

This letter to the editor appeared in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch.

At Gov. Bob McDonnell’s energy conference, the participation spoke for itself. Virginians want renewable energy. As an attendee at the conference, I was struck by the fact that the sessions covering renewable energy topics were relegated to tiny meeting rooms, while the sessions about traditional fossil fuel sources were granted huge spaces similar to a college lecture hall.

The irony of this? The renewable energy sessions were jam-packed while the fossil fuel sessions were nearly empty. After the first day, event organizers moved the “dirty energy” sessions into much smaller spaces, but a common theme emerged during the three-day conference: We want clean energy but the state is falling behind the pack.

Presenter Cody Nystrom from SJF Ventures noted that companies located in states with mandatory renewable portfolio standards (RPS) have a much greater chance of receiving funding for clean energy projects than non-RPS states like Virginia.

Meanwhile, McDonnell claims to be fully committed to his “energy capital of the East Coast” idea. If he’s serious about that, he must not sit idly by and continue to allow surrounding states to reap the benefits of tax revenue and jobs from new clean energy projects.

Following the conference, it became more clear than ever that Virginia is ready to move beyond dirty fossil fuels and we have the strong economic incentives and necessary support from state energy professionals to make this overdue shift. It’s high time McDonnell and the General Assembly stopped planning energy conferences and started acting to give the burgeoning clean energy sector the support it sorely needs. We’re ready.

Chelsea Harnish
Richmond

Wind's moving forward – Let's keep pushing!

It’s been a great week for wind power, with the signing of the first permit for offshore wind in the U.S. and, more locally, Northrop Grumman’s announcement that they will be building offshore wind turbines in Hampton Roads. Unfortunately, the only down side is that these developments are such big news in the U.S. While exciting developments, they also go to show how far behind we are in the global clean energy economy. Last year, China doubled its wind power capacity, accounting for a third of all new capacity around the world. Their market grew over 100%, while the U.S. market grew by less than half that.

That’s why Virginia is welcoming Northop Grumman’s announcement and the jobs it will bring to the Hampton Roads area. Even Gov. McDonnell praised the project as a source of new jobs for Virginians. The best part? It is just the start of what offshore wind can offer the state.

According to the Virginia Coastal Energy Resources Consortium, developing offshore wind in Virginia would create over 10,000 jobs. There’s enough wind potential off Virginia’s coasts to replace half a dozen of your average, dirty coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, when over 100 coal plant proposals have been taken off the table since 2001, developers are actively pursuing investing in offshore wind in Virginia.

From individual climate activists to big-time businesses like Northop Grumman, support is growing for offshore wind. We’re getting to where we need to be, but not nearly fast enough. That’s why this Sunday, supporters from Alexandria to Virginia Beach will be erecting mock wind turbines with a united message: It’s time to get to work promoting offshore wind and a clean energy economy! At this crucial time for wind power, will you join us?

CO-OPting the Power

In the climate movement, we often find ourselves butting heads with utilities, fighting their resistance to investments in energy efficiency and renewables and constantly working to match their financial influence on policy with people power. Usually, customers are powerless to the energy decisions of their utility and don’t have much of a say in whether their electricity comes directly from a dirty coal-fired power plant or clean alternatives such as wind and solar.

However, that story is changing in Virginia and across the country as electric cooperative members, where ratepayers are also part owners of their utility, are building power and making changes in their coop. In electric cooperatives Continue reading

RealClimate: Cuccinelli goes fishing again

This is a cross post from RealClimate.

In keeping with our role as a site that tries to deal with the science of climate change rather than the politics, we have specifically refrained from commenting on various politically-motivated legal shenanigans relating to climate science. Some of them have involved us directly, but we didn’t (don’t) want to have RC become just a blog about us. However, the latest move by Ken Cuccinelli, the Attorney General of Virginia, against Mike Mann and UVa is so ridiculous it needs to be highlighted to the widest audience possible.

For background, Rosalind Helderman at the Washington Post has covered most of the story. The last installment was that Cuccinelli’s attempt to subpoena 10 years of emails between 39 scientists and Mike Mann and