Climate Action Alliance of the Valley
Working toward a sustainable future for all
Hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Energy at JMU
Saturday, October 2, 2021 | 10AM – 3:30PM
In the green space next to the Harrisonburg Farmers Market
The mission of this FREE event is to “Promote a Clean Energy Future for the Valley,” with the goal being to inform Rockingham County community members on their sustainable living options through energy-related programming.
The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley is pleased to provide Harrisonburg’s The Citizen with a monthly survey of energy and environmental news stories about Virginia.
With their permission, we are re-posting these pieces here after they appear in The Citizen.
The link to this piece as first published by The Citizen is HERE.
Statewide Environmental News Roundup for September 2021
Energy
Several Southwest Virginia (SWVA) communities have received funding to support “industrial, agricultural, community development, and tourism” economic development projects to help them transition from a dependence on coal. A Cumberland Plateau Planning District commissioner echoes the value of such projects, arguing that prior efforts have a good track record.
The Nature Conservancy and Dominion Energy are partnering to install large solar facilities on 1,700 acres, part of a reclamation effort on a former strip mine site; these projects will be developed within the Cumberland Forest Project. There may be additional, similar projects in SWVA and elsewhere, given the ubiquity of abandoned coal sites and Dominion’s need to meet Virginia Clean Energy Act solar energy requirements. RMI believes Appalachia ”could be the region to see the biggest economic benefit from the deployment of wind and solar projects over the next decade.”
Dominion wants to power 250,000 Virginia homes with solar plants. In recent testimony before the State Corporation Commission (SCC) about one of Dominion’s proposals related to the VCEA, an attorney representing Appalachian Voices said the proposal would not necessarily benefit customers because it “is predicated on a flawed analysis that exaggerates benefits and fails to consider numerous other options likely to deliver the same or similar benefits at a fraction of the cost.” In a separate case, the SCC’s staff said “Dominion Energy earned more than $1.1 billion above a fair profit from customers in Virginia in a four-year span…. [Because of state law, however,] “customers aren’t likely to see that much in refunds.”
Will solar+battery storage make a difference? Apparently, Dominion Energy wants to try this approach. What about the cost of the energy transition? A Virginia solar installer thinks it could lower costs quite a bit. Another solar advocate de-bunked 5 myths about solar.
A Virginia blogger points out that subsidies have long been part of the US strategy to develop energy resources.
Dominion Energy has inked a deal with the Portsmouth Marine Terminal that will provide a staging area for constructing wind turbines and other infrastructure. Dominion has also committed to working with unions on its wind projects.
Virginia is moving to electrify its school bus fleet; one question is, after the first round, where will the funding come from? A Chesterfield bank installed an EV charger for customer use at no charge while banking.
“Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport recently installed runway lights with LED technology. The fixtures … use less energy and throw off more light, an aid to pilots and navigation.”
SWVA “landowners [are] still fighting [the Mountain Valley] pipeline’s use of eminent domain.” Virginia Conservatives for Clean Energy believes the reluctance to allow farmers to rent their land for large-scale solar farms represents an attack on landowners’ property rights. Is pig waste, aka biogas, “renewable energy?” This article’s lead sentence suggests it is: “Surry County’s Planning Commission will hold public hearings Sept. 27 on two proposed renewable energy projects.” Can a gas plant reduce the stench from a landfill? Some Chesterfield County residents may find out. A Tennessee official wants Virginia “to do more to fix Bristol landfill’s malodorous emissions.”
Climate and Environment
A Virginia blogger says Virginia could learn some lessons about flood control from Louisiana. A Virginia representative introduced a bill to curb flooding, and stormwater runoff, on military bases. A Norfolk advocacy group, Mothers Out Front, wants more moms to step forward and call attention to the city’s serious and chronic flooding.
SWVA farmers and brewers envision “a new industry for the coalfields region” through a resurgence of “Appalachian Grains” such as barley. Recent Appalachian Regional Commission grants may help make this vision a reality while also supporting other economic development in SWVA and other Appalachian communities. “Can Southwest Virginia remake itself as a laboratory for renewables?”
Bedford County leaders want the USDA to issue a disaster declaration; this summer’s drought has devastated crops.
Fairfax County passed a 5-cent tax on disposable plastic bags. Alexandria and Arlington County did so as well. Virginia Tech’s project to reduce single-use plastic use and waste has made progress. An industrial plastics company will expand its operations in Rockingham County, adding 92 new jobs.
“Hampton Roads aquifer recharge project gets [a] $477 million EPA loan.”
Arlington now has county-wide curbside composting. The end-product will be “a nutrient-rich soil amendment that makes plants healthier. Finished compost will be available for free to county residents.”
Shenandoah Green, an environmental advocacy group in Staunton, received kudos from the Climate Reality Project for its great work in planting trees and engaging large numbers of community members to do it.
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The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) is a non-profit, grassroots group in the Central Shenandoah Valley that educates legislators and the public about the implications of the Earth’s worsening climate crisis.
Our Changing Climate
Heat and fires
“A Hotter Future Is Certain, Climate Panel Warns. But How Hot Is Up to Us.” “IPCC’s starkest warning yet.” Question is: Are politicians and corporations paying attention? Many more stories attest to the seriousness of our collective situation: The Guardian, The New York Times,
Siberian Wildfires—Bigger than all the rest combined, worldwide. Even so, the huge western US wildfires are creating their own weather—and clouds that produce lightening that can spark new fires. The scale in the western US is almost unimaginable: 100,000 acres burned near Sacramento; make that “143.900 acres”; our smoke warning systems aren’t robust enough; “Our future [in the Sierra Nevada] might not look the same”; “Wildfire smoke claims more than 33,000 lives each year”, not counting “long term exposure”; the Dixie fire—nearly 1 million acres; “World’s largest tree wrapped in fire-resistant blanket as California blaze creeps closer”.
High temperatures are everywhere: Sicily, Pacific Northwest,
Methane emission reductions are imperative, says latest IPCC report.
Water: Drought, flooding, hurricanes, sea ice loss, sea level rise
Hurricane Ida’s damage to Louisiana—to the coast. Future prospects (not so good); to coastal residents; to electricity customers’ pocketbooks. Abandoned oil and gas infrastructure off its shores. Oil spills. Water crisis. Lawsuits against oil companies for damages. Keeping the lights on—National Geo weighs in.
Lots of flooding. Climate change help set up conditions for Tennessee’s recent problems (“walls of water”); also Germany’s and Belgium’s. Ditto for New York. The bad news? More coming.
“Drought pummels agriculture across the West.” It’s hard to grow cantaloupe when there’s no water. The US tied a 1936 Dustbowl record this summer.
Rainfall on Greenland’s ice sheet—a first in history. Mount Shasta is “nearly snowless.”
Fishing in North Carolina—Climate Change’s Burden—part of the Changing Tides series.
Plastics, chemicals, and waste
Humans have dumped unbelievable quantities of plastics into the ocean. Some of it (not enough) is being eaten by bacteria—thanks to the “‘plastisphere’: the synthetic ecosystem evolving at sea”!
Plants, animals, and wild places
A new measurement—“green status of species”—will help us understand how well, or not, we’re doing. Who knew some plants are voracious accumulators of precious metals?
Positive Steps—Some More Positive than Others
Policy Makers, Politicians, Media, Judiciary, and Scientists
Biden is improving car emission standards—but not enough. EV sales are increasing.
The President and some members of Congress continue to push for legislation. Can the Fed help? Lobbyists are putting in their two cents. Could there possibly be a bipartisan approach? What could a Climate Corps do; here are some answers?
Scientists in Oregon are studying a way to combat climate change’s “evil twin”, ocean acidification, with a de-acidification project in a bay. To give oysters a better chance, they’re buffering “incoming seawater with sodium carbonate” to reduce the acidity.
The UK’s “green economy” is four times larger than its manufacturing sector.
Can we rely on what we read and hear? Many think the oil industry willfully misled us. A House panel is investigating. Just how certain are we about the “existential threat”?
The IPCC and other reports are generating calls for urgent action on infrastructure and other efforts to address the crisis. RMI says we have solutions; we need to act. Several climate scientists’ advice: Don’t despair. Sometimes, it’s hard not to. Some activists ask: “Is this our last chance to pass meaningful legislation?” For example: Clean energy tax incentives. Local versus more distant solar? How about both—and fast?
A Federal judge puts a halt—at least temporarily—on the prior administration’s permit for a “project … to produce more than 100,000 barrels a day on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.” On the other hand…. “US to restart oil leasing with offshore auction this year”—by court order.
Others—People, Countries
A former “steak-eating bodybuilder”, now vegan, has “rewilded” his 1,000-acre estate in Ireland. Not to be outdone, a famous UK farmer wants to transform farming to save the planet and is doing it on his farm.
Like bananas? Puerto Rico is working to ensure we’ll have them around going forward.
Small towns: Sometimes you can move uphill. Sometimes not.
Saving California’s kelp forests—from zombie sea urchins.
“Indigenous resistance has staved off 25 percent of California and Canada’s annual emissions.”
Iceland has a carbon removal facility. So do the oceans, which have creatures called “siphonophores.”
Imagine 2200—Writers come up with 12 amazing scenarios.
Energy
Fuel Sources, Utilities, Electric Grid
Pipelines—their opponents, their effects—are still with us. In Minnesota. In Mississippi. In Ohio. In Tennessee. In Michigan.
Warnings that hydrogen may not be a “clean” fuel source appeared in a recent study. Turns out a big problem isn’t the gas itself; it’s the way it’s currently obtained. Hopefully new, cleaner, and scalable extraction methods for “green” hydrogen can be found to replace “blue” hydrogen’s dependence on natural gas. Georgia is betting on hydrogen; a hydrogen equipment company has located there.
Utility companies and solar companies haven’t always seen eye to eye. A large solar company just hired a former utility executive as its CEO. Utilities’ bottom lines are significantly affected by large weather events. One utility—and perhaps others—are looking hard at weather data using sophisticated analysis tools to help prepare for such events.
Texas—There’s a “solar versus trees” battle of sorts happening. Some in the oil industry believe a change in their ways of operating is needed.
Louisiana—Despite the reluctance to embrace renewable energy opportunities, including solar farms, a University of Louisiana professor is studying what solar farms and other renewables could mean. State policy is hostile to distributed solar. Ray of hope? A tank farm wants to expand to handle renewable fuels.
North Carolina—Brunswick County Supervisors don’t want offshore wind, believing it would damage tourism. NC’s PBS ran a program about how solar and wind development can help rural areas—Episode 12, Renewable Energy in Rural Areas (I watched it while at the Outer Banks this week.). Not everyone agrees, including some residents of Gold Hill. A Virginia blogger’s take on development and sea level rise.
Florida—A Tampa utility’s hype about its reduction in its deployment of coal and increase in solar leaves out some important details (think: natural gas).
Colorado—Its Clean Heat Standard sets clean energy requirements for utilities; it’s potentially a model for other states.
Buildings and Transportation
Georgia is also betting on electric vehicles. It just paid millions for undeveloped land it hopes will be the home of an EV manufacturing facility. And it’s working with the USMC to support more EVs by providing some Level II chargers. A clean energy conference in August indicated some Georgians want to understand its possibilities.
California is taking carbon reduction seriously. It’s mandating solar and battery storage for some new residential and commercial buildings. The Feds want us all to use more energy efficient lighting and is proposing to require that light bulbs don’t waste energy through heat output.
If the cheapest energy is what we don’t use, then improving our energy efficiency may be the next best alternative. ACEEE says Congress can give us all a standard to show the way.
If EVs are part of the solution, we need to figure out how to pay for their accompanying infrastructure—charging stations.
Problem: “EVs, Solar, & Energy Storage: Ignoring The Science That Will Save Us”
Ideas, Entertainment and Information
Canary Media put together a climate playlist on Spotify. It also showcased En-ROADS, a climate simulator. Use it to compare “positive” actions (like adding solar) and not-so-positive ones (like continuing to build natural gas plants). Example, how much does it matter that renewables now account for 25% of US installed generating capacity, but renewables are still second to natural gas?
Trees can help slow climate change. What if we made sure to protect the trees we have? Unfortunately, Amazonian deforestation is continuing apace.
This map “tells the Story of Two Americas: 1 parched and 1 soaked.”
Time article: “In the Face of Climate Change, We Must Act So That We Can Feel Hopeful—Not the Other Way Around”
Finding “green” cleaning products. Tips for “greening your laundry routine”—remember clothes lines?
Lovely story about growing a garden on a building’s terrace in the shadow of where the World Trade Towers used to be.
Could we possibly be at “peak car” levels?
Ever heard of “Captain Planet”—TV show from the 1990s? What about these?
Gorgeous pix of glacial caves.
Real time climate action tracker.
Late night show hosts will tackle climate change starting September 22.
Joy Loving
CAAV Steering Committee
By Joy Loving
Augusta Free Press, Sunday, Sep. 12, 2021
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative is proposing an unjustified rate increase that will disproportionately harm low income customers, those on fixed incomes, and those whose electricity use is low. If approved, the increases will make it harder for all customers to control monthly electric bills through smart investments in energy efficiency and rooftop solar.
SVEC wants the Virginia State Corporation Commission to approve a 20 percent increase in the basic monthly customer or ‘connection’ charge. Plus, it wants a new ‘demand charge’ that will further increase monthly bills for residential customers. The proposed increase is the latest in recent years for SVEC customers. SVEC’s basic monthly charge went from $13 to $25 within the last 18 months; SVEC now proposes to raise it again to $30.
So, SVEC customers would pay basic connection charges up to three to four times more than their neighbors who have electric service from other utilities. Dominion Energy customers pay a $6.58 basic monthly charge; neighboring Rappahannock Electric Co-op members pay $14/month. Neither has a demand charge for residential customers.
Approval of the proposed increase will mean nearly a third of the average residential monthly bill will be a fixed charge–one a customer can’t reduce through energy conservation or greater efficiency. Higher fixed charges give customers less ability to reduce monthly bills with smart investments in solar or wind energy, which create jobs and build clean, local energy in our community.
Extensive testimony to the SCC reports that about 17 percent (~14,800) of SVEC’s households would qualify as low‑income (meaning an average yearly income of $16,206). These households tend to be lower energy users. SVEC’s higher fixed charge would affect these members most, because their homes use the least energy.
You have an opportunity to stop SVEC’s proposal. If you’re interested in fair electric rates, you can oppose this increase even if you’re not an SVEC customer.
On Oct. 6 at 10 a.m., the State Corporation Commission will hold a virtual public hearing on SVEC’s proposal. Anyone can submit written comments through Sept. 29. If you sign up to testify at the hearing by Oct. 4, you’ll get five minutes to give oral testimony. You do not need to file written comments to speak on Oct. 6.
Are you interested in helping protect low income, retired, and low use SVEC customers? Want to send a message to the SCC about high electricity bills? If yes, ask the SCC to deny this rate increase.
Story by Joy Loving from the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley.