Category: Environment
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The Compressor Station: Another Fact-Poor Debate
The State Air Pollution Control Board voted 4 to 0 last night to approve a controversial natural gas compressor station in Buckingham County that is crucial for the operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Pipeline foes had argued that emissions from the compressor station would create a health hazard for nearby residents, a majority of…
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At Last, a Green Tariff for APCo Customers
The State Corporation Commission has approved a proposal allowing Appalachian Power Company (APCo) customers to purchase electricity generated 100% from renewable energy. An average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would pay a premium of $4.25 a month. The Commission had rejected two previous APCo proposals for a 100% renewable energy tariff. In an…
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Coal Ash: How Much Risk Mitigation Does $5.7 Billion Buy?
Governor Ralph Northam has indicated his support for digging up 27 million cubic yards of coal ash, recycling some of it, and disposing of the rest in lined landfills far from Virginia’s rivers and streams. The cost has been estimated at $5.7 billion, adding an average $3.30 per month to the average household’s electric bill…
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Following the Dark Money: Bloomberg to NYU to Virginia’s OAG?
Here is a counter-factual mental exercise for you. Imagine that former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative skeptic of climate change, had applied for a grant from the conservative-libertarian Koch Foundation to cover the cost of hiring an AG staff member dedicated to litigating environmental groups. Then imagine that Cuccinelli’s office had to compete nationally…
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Hey, Lowell, Check Out This New Global Warming Post!
One of my goals in life is to drive Lowell Feld insane. From what I call tell, my insidious plan is working. Lowell, the hyperbolic publisher of the left-wing Blue Virginia blog, deems me a “climate denier” and an all-around right-wing whack job. A few days ago, he included several of my Bacon’s Rebellion posts…
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Fools Rush In: Coal Ash Scene Setter
“I hate to give out directions without knowing what the cost is going to be. There’s far too much of that in government.” That was Senator Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach expressing his deep reservations about various proposals to deal with the 27 million cubic yards of coal ash that Dominion Energy Virginia has collected…
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Let’s Keep All the Big Boys Honest
Clean Virginia, the anti-Dominion group dedicated to “fighting monopoly utility corruption,” released a study Monday asserting that Virginians pay excess rates of $254 a year on average due to poor state oversight. That study was duly picked up by the Washington Post, which duly repeated its findings (along with Dominion’s rebuttal). As far as I’m…
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Green Virtue, Certified By The Hour
Is it enough to be green and virtuous on a month by month basis, or must one be green and virtuous every hour of every day? That is a facetious version of a real question facing the State Corporation Commission as it considers the most recent effort by Dominion Energy Virginia to create a 100-percent…
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Dominion Energy: No More Mister Nice Guy
Dominion Energy executives are furious about the way environmental groups have portrayed State Corporation Commission’s recent rejection of the utility’s Integrated Resource Plan as a blow to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Dominion describes recent comments by spokespersons for the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and the Sierra Club-Virginia Chapter as deliberate “deception” and “lies.” While…
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Dominion Grid Plan Battered in Testimony
Two witnesses told the State Corporation Commission Tuesday that Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed grid transformation program will not bring the utility’s customers into the modern energy economy. Both Scott Norwood of Texas, an expert witness often used by the Office of the Attorney General, and Caroline Golin, an expert from Georgia hired by environmental groups,…
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Virginia’s Air Is Pretty Darn Clean
In the comments section on Steve Haner’s latest post, Reed Fawell provided an intriguing quote from Oren Cass, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute: Environmental Protection Agency regulations have grown so tight, he said, “that Brussels, the capital of the EU, would be the single dirtiest city in the US, if it were here.”…
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SCC Staff: Convert A Dominion RAC Into A PPA
“Facts are facts, and the SCC does a really good job of compiling them.” Former State Senator John Watkins of Chesterfield. After demonstrating that two solar energy facilities Dominion Energy Virginia has proposed in a deal with Facebook leave ratepayers holding all risks, reported already in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the State Corporation Commission staff suggested…
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Yes, “Blatant Fear Mongering” Is a Fair Description
A new report by the Southern Environmental Law Center finds that pollution from Dominion Energy’s Chesterfield Power Station may be leading to an increased health risk for some of the 200,000 visitors to the nearby Dutch Gap Conservation Area. States a press release announcing the release of the study: There are elevated noncancer hazards and…
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Yeah, Recycling, Landfilling Coal Ash Will Cost Billions
Under the gun to clean up its coal ash ponds, Dominion Energy hired a consulting firm to develop estimates of what various alternatives would cost. The alternatives preferred by environmentalists and activists — recycling the combustion residue and burying the rest in lined landfills far from rivers and streams — would cost billions of dollars,…
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Smart Cities Council Comes to Virginia
The Smart Cities Council recently held a “Readiness Challenge” workshop in Virginia. I’ve banged the Smart Cities drum on and off over the years, but gave up when I saw so little reader interest. But I’ll take one more whack with a percussion mallet because the “smart cities” concept seems to be gaining momentum. The…