A series of unWise energy decisions and projects are moving forward in Virginia. Whether the unWise Power Plant or a high-power transmission line to connect Northern Virginia with polluting out-of-state coal-fired electricity, Dominion Virginia Power is working its truthiness magic in the halls of Richmond to foster a fossil fool future for Virginians that will cost more money while wrecking more havoc on the environment.the decision also comes among heightened environmental awareness, especially about global warming. Opponents of the line have proposed a combination of demand-response programs, which help consumers monitor and reduce their electricity use, and small-scale cleaner power plants to alleviate the need for the line. They also have accused Dominion of exaggerating the need and seeking to profit by selling excess energy to New York and New Jersey.
And, there is zero examination of the legitimacy of these comments even though several weeks earlier the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE) had released a report detailing how energy efficiency could obviate the need not just for the power line but also the unWise coal-burning power plant.
By investing in energy-efficient technologies, the Commonwealth of Virginia can reduce its electricity needs by one-fifth; deliver cleaner, less-expensive power to Virginia consumers; create thousands of new jobs; and better position the state to more cost effectively meet its future energy requirements
The report,
Energizing Virginia: Efficiency First, provides an 11-point strategy for "meeting" 20 percent of electricity requirements via efficiency, cutting utility bills by about $15 billion, and creating about 10,000 jobs. (Hmmm ... a program for job creation that would save tax payers money ... should sound good to everyone, no?)
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The energy savings from these efficiency policies can cut the electricity bills of customers by a net $500 million in 2015. Net annual savings grow nearly five-fold to $2.2 billion in 2025. While these savings will require some public and customer investment, by 2025 net cumulative savings on electricity bills will reach $15 billion. To put this into context, an average household will save a net $5 on its monthly electricity bill by 2015 and $20 per month by 2025. These savings are the result of two effects. First, participants in energy efficiency programs will install energy efficiency measures, such as more efficient appliances or heating equipment, therefore lowering their electricity consumption and electric bills. In addition, because of the current volatility in energy prices, efficiency strategies have the added benefit of improving the balance of demand and supply in energy markets, thereby stabilizing regional electricity prices for the future.
As Virginia (and the nation) faces a serious economic crises, we must seek paths out that will solve multiple problems at the same time. We have a fiscal crisis, a resource shortage crisis, a global warming crisis: focusing a good part of near-term energy policy on the fast return of energy efficiency is a winner across all three of these challenges.
As ACCEEE comments,
The Commonwealth of Virginia finds itself at a juncture with respect to its energy future. The state can either continue to depend solely upon conventional energy resource technologies to meet its growing needs for electric power as it has for more than a century, or it can chose to slow-or even reduce-future demand for electricity by investing in energy efficiency and demand response. As this assessment documents, there are plenty of cost-effective energy efficiency and demand response opportunities in the state. However, as this report also discusses, these opportunities will not be realized without changes in policies and programs in the state. We suggest a wide array of energy efficiency and demand response policies and programs that have proven successful in the past, and can meet 90% of the increase in the state's electricity needs over the next 18 years, and 120% of the increase in peak demand. These policies and programs are already proving themselves in other states, delivering efficiency resources and reducing consumer electric expenditures. And, these policy and programs can accomplish this at a lower cost than building new generation and transmission, while at the same time creating nearly 10,000 new, high-quality "green collar" jobs by 2025.
The unWise power plant, the high-voltage transmission line are not just unnecessary, they are the more costly option for Virginia's rate payers. At what point will Virginia's elected leaders look past Dominion Virginia Power's contributions and look after the best interests of the Commonwealth's citizens ... current and future?