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DEQ’s effort to end the solar wars ends up making lemons out of lemonade
It’s a problem that divides communities and stymies lawmakers: Virginia’s transition to clean energy depends on building thousands of acres’ worth of large solar facilities, but a backlash from some rural neighbors makes siting projects increasingly difficult. Most of the objections are aesthetic – few people prefer to look at rows of solar panels if […]
Will Virginia’s residential solar market survive the coming year?
When the Virginia Clean Economy Act became law in 2020, solar advocates celebrated. In addition to creating a framework for a transition to a zero carbon electricity sector by 2050, the VCEA and sister legislation known as Solar Freedom swept away multiple barriers to installing solar in Virginia. Among the new provisions were some that […]
Virginia can still meet clean energy goals
Following the General Assembly’s failure either to rein in the explosive growth of power-hungry data centers or to remove obstacles to increasing the supply of renewable energy in Virginia, a lot of people are wondering where we go from here. Dominion Energy Virginia’s answer, as described in its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), is “build […]
Now what the heck do we do about data centers?
Virginia’s 2024 legislative session wrapped up last month without any action to avert the energy crisis that is hurtling towards us. Crisis is not too strong a word to describe the unchecked proliferation of power-hungry data centers in Northern Virginia and around the state. Virginia utilities do not have the energy or transmission capacity to […]
In Virginia’s legislature, climate progress requires more than a Democratic majority
Climate advocates felt hopeful last fall when Democrats won control of both the Senate and House with promises to protect the commonwealth’s climate laws, including the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and the Clean Car Standard. It seemed possible the General Assembly might pass much-needed initiatives modest enough to avoid a veto from a Republican […]
In this arms race, the public loses
A year after Dominion Energy suffered its biggest legislative loss in decades, Virginia’s largest utility is back as the most powerful political force in Richmond. Its influence appears to be greater than ever, powered by campaign donations so large that they warp what it means for legislators to serve the public. As recently as 2017 […]
As Youngkin takes an axe to the deep state, what could possibly go wrong?
The letter landed in email inboxes Monday morning like a grenade tucked into a plain manila envelope. In keeping with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Directive Number One requiring agencies to eliminate 25% of government regulations “not mandated by federal or state statute,” the administration planned to take its axe to the building code. Yes, the […]
To be or not to be a clean energy state, that is the question
For the third year in a row, a tug-of-war is going on in the General Assembly over whether Virginia stays the course of the energy transition laid out in 2020 and 2021, or rolls it back hard. Democrats remain committed to a renewable energy future to address pollution, high electricity costs and the causes of […]
Leaf blowers disturbing your peace? You’ve got company – and now, reason for hope
Fifteen years ago, when my husband and I expanded our snug 1970s-era house, we added a screened-in porch where I hung a hammock swing. In good weather I carry my computer and coffee out to work from what I call my “summer office.” Except on Wednesdays. On Wednesdays my neighbor’s landscaping crew descends, and then […]
Solar for schools and nonprofits is under siege. Fortunately, there’s a simple fix.
In 2019, Ruth Amundsen and Alden Cleanthes formed a company with a mission to bring the benefits of rooftop solar to low-income communities. Targeting development in Qualified Opportunity Zones, Norfolk Solar installed solar at the historic Wesley Union AME Zion church in Norfolk, the Southside Boys and Girls Club, a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and […]
A 5-point plan for Virginia’s data centers
None of the sessions at last month’s Virginia Clean Energy Summit (VACES) in Richmond were devoted to data centers, but data centers were what everyone was talking about. Explosive growth in that energy-hungry industry has everyone — utilities, the grid operator, and the industry itself — scrambling to figure out how Virginia will provide enough […]
Houses can be built to use much less energy. Why aren’t they?
Every three years, a nationwide group of building safety professionals known as the International Code Council (ICC) publishes updated model building codes that form the basis for most U.S. state and local building codes. ICC codes address essential features like structural integrity, fire safety, plumbing and energy use. As technologies improve, so do the model […]