As you may remember the County Board recently approved a deal with Dominion whereby Dominion would spend $100 million connecting its high voltage transmission lines in Alexandria with the Ballston-Rolsslyn corridor. Much of the power delivered to the B-R corridor over these new power lines will be generated from coal, including 'mountaintop coal' from southwest Virginia.
What the County Board does not want to talk about is the deal it made with Dominion for the power grid upgrades. The County Board agreed to no renewable energy on any but a few public building rooftops, no promotion of residential renewable energy, and promotion of the streetcar option on the Pike and Potomac Yards (powered by electricity generated from burning coal). Dominion agreed to a laundry list of political contributions, a green energy program consisting of selling a miniscule amount of 'green' power generated out-of-state and heavily marked up, and grants, gifts, and consulting contracts with the County Board's pet people and special interests.
So if you wondered why rooftop solar is appearing everywhere but Virginia, there's your answer. BTW, 'Green Energy' is just another County Board charade, Dominion derives 57% of its electrical energy from burning combustible materials and 42% from nuclear reactors.
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