Bringing New Power to the Old Dominion in 2014

By making energy efficiency a priority and investing in renewable energy sources we can bring New Power to the Old Dominion.

New Power for the Old Dominion has kicked off 2014 in a strong way, hitting the road to illuminate the path toward clean energy development and engage Virginians from across the state in the movement to turn the commonwealth to cleaner energy.

In recent weeks, our New Power tour visited Front Royal, Staunton, and Christiansburg, and found overwhelming community support for safe, reliable, affordable electricity. To those who attended recent presentations, thank you for engaging in our discussion with your honest reactions and probing questions! If you belong to an organization you think would like to hear about the New Power campaign, however large or small your group is, get in touch with Hannah at hannah@appvoices.org and set up a date!

For someone like me who follows Virginia’s energy sources day in and day out, it’s exciting to unwrap and reveal the surprising truth of where Virginia gets its energy. Around Virginia, folks seem to share a belief in making electricity safer, more reliable, and more price-stable, and they want to hear more about renewable energy sources. Most people we talk with are already aware of our utilities’ current reliance on coal, but they’re often dismayed to learn that Dominion Virginia Power would keep solar and wind development at a marginal scale in Virginia for another 15 years. What I enjoy the most is painting a picture of the abundant clean energy resource potential we have in wind, solar, and energy efficiency and how local residents, businesses, universities, and counties are already proving that clean energy works here in Virginia.

Our presentations have taken place against the backdrop of recent disasters related to the fossil fuel industry — a chemical spill in West Virginia followed by a coal slurry spill and the third largest coal ash spill in U.S. history in North Carolina. These calamitous events bring home the risks associated with our reliance on burning coal for electricity — from mining, to processing, transporting, burning and lastly the disposal of coal ash. Imagine if we relied as much on wind and solar as we do on coal what the worst-case scenarios might be: whoever heard of a city’s water supply polluted by a sunshine spill?

Looking ahead for the New Power for the Old Dominion campaign, we have stops in Roanoke, Winchester, Price’s Fork, and back to Front Royal, and we’re constantly adding more visits to civic groups, as well as presentations at area campuses, and discussions with church groups.

Request a presentation by emailing hannah@appvoices.org and we’ll keep the New Power tour rolling your way!

About Hannah Wiegard

Hannah is a life-long Virginian and serves as the campaign coordinator for Appalachian Voices' Virginia program.