Fmr. VA Del. Mark Keam: “What happened in Fairfax County…is something that I am very proud of, and I believe a great example of how government is supposed to work.”

Great job by former VA Delegate Mark Keam (D-Fairfax); as he explains in his Facebook post, “Turning this underused property in Lorton to generate clean renewable energy makes so much sense, and yet, it was not possible because, at that time, Virginia’s energy laws were extremely outdated…But in 2020, when my party took power, I was able to pass the ‘Solar Freedom Act,’ the most comprehensive solar energy legislation ever implemented in Virginia…Change is hard, but it is possible if enough of us continue to keep the faith and act for the right reasons. And one more thing. Elections do have consequences.” Well said by former Del. Keam, and great work – thanks!

What happened in Fairfax County [yesterday] morning is something that I am very proud of, and I believe a great example of how government is supposed to work.

Several years ago, I learned that my home county wanted to install solar panels over public land that wasn’t being used for anything productive other than its current role as a landfill.

Turning this underused property in Lorton to generate clean renewable energy makes so much sense, and yet, it was not possible because, at that time, Virginia’s energy laws were extremely outdated.

I don’t want to go into the long history of public utilities in Virginia using their political clout to write laws favorable to their monopoly status. I’ve spoken out and written about that for years, which you can look up if interested.

Anyway, the issue with Fairfax County was that our state laws prohibited a county from installing and operating solar arrays across non-contiguous property because the landfill site and other county owned property are split by a highway.

State laws also limited the amount of power that the county could generate, as well as capping net metering and credits that made such a project economically impractical.

I practiced environmental law since I first became a lawyer in the mid 1990s, so I was familiar with these issues. So, I worked with the county and environmental advocates to draft legislation which I introduced in the Virginia General Assembly.

That effort failed, as did all of my clean energy bills for the next few legislative sessions that I was in the minority party.

But in 2020, when my party took power, I was able to pass the “Solar Freedom Act,” the most comprehensive solar energy legislation ever implemented in Virginia.

My House Bill 572 included a provision that provided Fairfax County with the legislative authority to proceed with its Lorton project, which ultimately became reality today.

As noted in this local NBC news story, the innovative new solar farm will provide about 5% of Fairfax County’s energy, or an estimated savings of $12 million in energy costs.

I was honored to participate in today’s ribbon cutting to officially activate this clean energy site.

I was also grateful that Congressman James Walkinshaw and others recognized my legislative efforts to make this possible. But the credit goes to residents and advocates who worked for many years to educate policymakers about issues like this, and to hold them accountable for delivering results.

I know that this is a trying time for those in government and in other institutions. I recognize that people are disheartened by the way norms and traditions are being destroyed, and the toxicity and corruption in politics that seem to grow even worse each day.

But moments like today in Fairfax County reminded me of why I chose public service in the first place, and why I will continue to have trust in our government and the democratic process.

Change is hard, but it is possible if enough of us continue to keep the faith and act for the right reasons. And one more thing. Elections do have consequences.