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Floyd County nears decision on banning wind turbines
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In just a couple weeks, county officials will decide the fate of commercial-scale wind energy in Floyd County. In recent months, several major wind energy companies have scouted the area for potential sites to build large-scale wind farms. But, now county officials are considering a law that would effectively ban such development. Floyd County is [...]
Sens. Warner & Webb repeat call for offshore drilling in Va.
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In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, last week Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb renewed their push for ending the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of Virginia. In the letter, the Senators argued that opening up the Atlantic coast to drilling would “attract well-paying jobs and hold significant [...]
Gov. McDonnell directs agencies to draft uranium mining regs
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Governor Bob McDonnell announced yesterday that he has directed state agencies to develop draft regulations for uranium mining by December 2012. The Governor tasked the Secretaries of Commerce & Trade, Health & Human Resources and Natural Resources to form a Uranium Working Group to both draft the regulations and conduct an environmental impact analysis at [...]
National Academy uranium mining study addresses environmental issues
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The National Academy of Sciences released its study on uranium mining in Virginia Monday, providing a clear path forward for safely developing the state’s uranium resources. Click here to read the full report. “The study shows that major technological and regulatory advances over the past 30 years have dramatically improved the environmental and public health [...]
Self-Sufficiency: Returning the U.S. and Virginia to Greatness
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Virginia Tech Geosciences Professor Dr. Robert Bodnar wrote an insightful Op/Ed in Sunday’s Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star about America’s reliance on foreign countries for our most vital resources and manufactured goods. Dr. Bodnar urges Virginians to embrace the sense of shared responsibility and purpose espoused by his parents’ generation and issues a clarion call for America to [...]
Socioeconomic study: Uranium mining a major economic windfall for Virginia
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This week the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission released its official study of the socioeconomic impacts of uranium mining in Virginia, predicting a major economic windfall for Southside and communities across the state. The study showed that Virginia and Southside would benefit economically from the Coles Hill project while having negligible impacts on the environment, [...]
North Anna reactors restart this week after safety review
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Friday gave Dominion Virginia Power permission to restart its two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County. The two reactors have been shut down since the August 23rd 5.8 magnitude earthquake tripped them offline. The company has begun the restart of unit 1 which [...]
Leaders criticize exclusion of Va. from offshore drilling plan
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The Obama administration’s new 5-year offshore drilling plan announced today excludes Virginia and other Atlantic states from any drilling activity until after 2017. The Interior Department’s plan outlines all federal offshore waters that will be eligible for oil and gas leasing from 2012-2017. Despite estimates of approximately 130 million barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion [...]
Roanoke wind turbine ordinance unchanged after Board meeting
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A Roanoke County Supervisor’s motion to consider reducing the maximum 60 decibel limit for commercial wind turbines was denied Tuesday night by the rest of the Board members. Supervisor Ed Elswick hoped the board would lower the maximum decibel limit to something quieter, arguing that the 60 decibel limit is more appropriate for industrial areas [...]
Federal loan awarded to Virginia energy company for South Boston biomass plant
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Last week, The United States Department of Agriculture announced that Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative has been awarded a $90 million loan to help finance a 50-megawatt biomass electric generating facility in Halifax County. The plant, which will be located in South Boston, will burn wood byproducts to generate electricity. The roughly 600,000 tons of wood [...]
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