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Clean energy bill to be introduced

Date published: 1/8/2008

By Chelyen Davis

RICHMOND-- University of Mary Washington senior Hilary Lufkin says college students are in some ways at the forefront of the go-green movement--agitating for sustainable energy on campuses, and agreeing to new fees to help pay for renewable resources.

So Lufkin--a member of the university's Ecology Club, the Rappahannock Sierra Club and the Virginia Climate Action Network--is backing a bill from senator-elect Chap Petersen to push Virginia to take the same clean-energy stance.

Petersen, a Democratic former delegate who won a Senate seat in November's elections, announced yesterday he will introduce legislation in the 2008 General Assembly session to mandate that Virginia improve its renewable energy usage.

His "Virginia Clean Energy Future Act" would have the state getting 20 percent of its power from renewable energy --things like solar power, wind power and hydroelectric power--by 2020. It would also mandate that the state reduce its energy usage by 10 percent by 2020. The bill provides for tax credits as incentives for clean energy development, and calls for a "sustainable energy fund" to pay for research and development into better ways of creating clean energy.

Currently, Petersen said, less than 2 percent of the state's energy comes from renewable sources. Instead the state's utilities rely on coal and other sources for power. The state is one of the fastest-growing polluters, measured by CO2 emissions, and Virginia ranks last in state investment in energy efficiency.

Petersen said he hopes his bill will "provide a vision and a road map in Virginia for climate change." He thinks that renewable energy sources are not only good for the environment, but are also good for the economy; he wants the state to invest in a "green jobs training program," directed at helping communities that would be hurt by a reduction in traditional fuels, like Virginia's coalfields.

Petersen said even a few years ago, when he was a delegate, legislation like this would be "a cry in the wilderness." He acknowledged that it will take several years to improve Virginia's use of renewable energy. But now is the time to start, he said.

"The world is waking up to these issues," Petersen said. "Let's see our state be a leader."

Gov. Tim Kaine has already proposed an energy plan of his own, which calls for energy-usage reductions and greenhouse gas emissions.

Petersen said his proposal is "a little bit more aggressive" because his proposals would be mandatory.

Petersen was backed by the Virginia Interfaith Center, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Lufkin, of the Virginia Climate Action Network.

"Global warming is a reality," Lufkin said. Climate change is "the largest and most complex issue that my generation is going to face."

Date published: 1/8/2008

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