From Gov. Kaine's office comes this news on SB 718:
Energy Conservation
Governor Kaine proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 718 (Puller) that would set a long-term energy conservation goal into the Code of Virginia. The bill requires investor-owned electric utilities to report annually on their efforts to conserve energy and their efforts to meet renewable portfolio standard goals, renewable generation overall, and relevant advances in renewable energy generation technology.The Governor's amendment would set as the official policy of the Commonwealth a goal of reducing the projected increase in energy use in Virginia over the next fifteen years by 40%. The 40% conservation goal matches the goal set by the Virginia Energy Plan, approved by the Governor last summer.
"Increased conservation must be a cornerstone of our strategic approach to energy in Virginia," Governor Kaine said. "Writing a 40% conservation goal into the Code will solidify our commitment to energy conservation measures, help ease the demand for more energy, and help address global warming."
On the one hand, "[w]riting a 40% conservation goal into the Code" seems like a good idea, at least at first glance. On the other hand, the proposed amendment only reduces "the projected increase in energy use in Virginia over the next fifteen years." That may sound good, except for one problem: reducing the rate of increase is NOT an actual reduction in energy consumption (although I'm nearly 100% certain the corporate media will report this wrong, as they have done so many times before on energy and environmental matters). Nor is it an actual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists have said we need to slash by 80% or more in order to stave off the worst effects of global warming.
In contrast, here's what they're doing in Maryland:
The legislation calls on the state Department of the Environment to devise regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent from 2006 levels by 2020. The bill would also set up a cap-and-trade system: The state would cap the amount of greenhouse gases that could be emitted and issue allowances to companies, which could then buy and sell those rights. Residents would be encouraged to participate as well, by, for example, reducing energy use. These regulations, which would be adopted starting in September next year, would codify recommendations of the Climate Change Commission that Mr. O'Malley formed last April.
That's exactly what we need to be doing here in Virginia, not just slowing the rate of increase in energy use.