Virginia needs a strong energy plan that recognizes the role that humans play in climate change and the need to mitigate it's effects. Here are just a few of the things that need to be included in the plan in order for Virginia to have a bright energy future in which our natural resources are protected, along with the health and housing of all Virginians.
· increase PACE financing, community solar, energy storage and delivery infrastructure
· follow lead of Falls Church city which set a target of 80% reduction in emissions from a 2005 level
· purchase electric buses and support EV charging (this is starting to happen I hear)
· DC has made solar financing and installation very easy, why not VA? why is it so much harder?
· break Dominion's grip on VA general assembly
· raise net metering cap to 2 megawatts for houses, 5 megawatts for gov't buildings esp. schools which also act as emergency shelters
· moratorium on new fossil fuel projects and pipelines, support Del. Rasoul's bill to end all fossil fuel investment by 2035
In 2013 Dominion purchased 2 offshore wind turbines to test, what happened? the site should support 300 turbines
· need transformational change, 100% renewable energy production by 2030 or 2035
90,000 people are currenlty employed in the clean energy fields in VA. That's more than the number of people who work in grocery stores in the state. Solar costs are now competitive with natural gas. Due to global warming and climate change there are now more incidents of heat sickness and Lyme disease. Cities like Norfolk are already experiencing the effects of sea level rise. The time to act was yesterday, so we can't waste another minute. Let's work together to advance a bold energy agenda that makes Virginia a renewable energy leader that can be emulated by the rest of the country.