President of Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition Demolishes SCC’s “Shoddy Work”
Somehow I missed this op-ed in my morning news roundup, but it’s a must-read for anyone who cares about Virginia’s energy and economic future. The following are a few key points by Virginia Advanced Energy Industries Coalition (VAEIC) President Francis Hodsoll regarding the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC)’s recent “analysis” (using the word VERY loosely!) of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Note that the mission of VAEIC is to “[promote] open markets for clean and secure advanced energy technologies in order to create jobs and position Virginia as a magnet for talent and innovation in the advanced energy sector.”
*”[N]eighboring Mid-Atlantic states [have] created 290,000 clean energy jobs while Virginia [has] stood still.” Crazy.
*Even crazier is that the Virginia SCC is now “aggressively trying to block the creation of entire new clean energy industries” in our state. What on earth? To put it mildly, this is “a strange position for an agency with a mission that includes improving public service and providing objective, timely and expert assistance.”
*The SCC’s recent “analysis” of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan is, among other things, “inexplicably flawed and error-filled” (e.g., “the SCC assumed that Virginia would cut pollution in the most expensive way possible – building a new nuclear plant, with a price tag above $20 billion”).
*How flawed is the SCC’s analysis? Example: their “analysts” falsely claimed “that the EPA ignores the costs of retiring old, dirty power plants that will be retired anyway.” In fact, “over 60 percent of that [coal-fired] generation capacity – 1,796 megawatts – was already going to be mothballed” anyway. And, Hodsoll adds: “The remaining retirements represent just 4 percent of total state electricity needs. That’s something basic energy efficiency and clean energy can easily replace.”
*The SCC also ignores a few important facts: ” Solar modules costs have plunged 80 percent since 2008. Wind turbines costs are down 29 percent. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates solar dropping another 12 percent this year.” That’s why corporate America is scrambling to build solar power – “because it makes economic sense” right now (and even more so every year that goes by).
*Now here’s the truly insidious part. “Not only did [the SCC] ignore the facts, its staff aggressively publicized this ‘report.’ The only rationale I can assume is this anti-growth, anti-business community ‘report’ was meant to force Gov. Terry McAuliffe to turn away from a $1 billion a year opportunity to create jobs and save consumers money.” It’s truly outrageous, and the SCC “staff members who wrote this document should be called to account.”
I’d just add that the corporate media, with a few exceptions, has utterly failed on this one. Instead of just parroting a deeply flawed “analysis” by an agency “led” by a bunch of pro-coal Republicans, the media should have done its job and critically analyzed this hit job by a deeply politicized agency with zero credibility. As for Gov. McAuliffe, he should file the SCC’s “analysis” where it belongs – the ol’ “circular file.”
The dust has settled over the Commonwealth after election day 2014, and Mark Warner will survive to serve out another six years in the Senate … assuming he stays that long. But there’s no end to campaigns in Virginia, which because of our odd-year election cycle hosts heated elections every calendar year. For instance, with newly elected Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, there will soon be a special election for the 34th House of Delegates district. Other special elections will be held in the 4th district (Southwest Virginia, to replace newly elected State Senator Ben Chafin) and the 63rd district (Petersburg, to replace newly elected State Senator Rosalyn Dance) — but don’t expect any surprises there. Here’s a preview of what to look forward to in Virginia politics.
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, November 10.
Does that headline seem far-fetched? Crazy even? It certainly would have seemed far-fetched, if not crazy, a few weeks ago. But how about today, after Gillespie nearly pulled off one of the biggest political upsets of the year, and possibly the greatest in Virginia political history (I’d rank Dave Brat over Eric Cantor at the top of the list in recent history)? How about after Comstock not only defeated, but utterly crushed (by 16 points) a well-funded, popular Democrat in a “swing district?” A few points to consider.
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, November 9.
