The alternative to coal: Community power

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on June 22. It is reprinted here because it is relevant to Southside Virginia and this week’s town hall meeting in Ringgold with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy. They will be in the Dan River Region as part of a nationwide rural tour organized by the White House. The stated purpose for the Ringgold event is to “Discuss green jobs and a new energy economy, with a focus on weatherization and carbon sequestration.” Weatherization and carbon sequestration are valuable topics, but what the government should recognize are that green jobs and a new energy economy in Southside will revolve around are agricultural communities. This is a moment when we should pull on our strengths, look forward and seize a great opportunity.

Virginians need electricity. We need a lot of it. In recent years, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s demand, for example, has in-creased more than twice the national average. Conservation and energy efficiency efforts continue to slow this trend, but are unlikely to be the entire solution. This is not just a problem, it is also an opportunity. We can use this need for electricity as a way to create jobs and investment in Virginia — and revitalize our rural communities.

The solution is a series of community-sized, regional biomass powered facilities spread across the state. These plants will productively use both the electricity and heat they create through a technology called Combined Heat and Power.

Energy suppliers have traditionally met our needs through large, fossil fuel plants (500-plus megawatts). In fact, the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative has a controversial proposal to build a new 1,500-megawatt coal-fired genera-tor in Surry County. This model has provided us with reliable energy, but at a cost. Due to their remote locations and large scale, these facilities cannot use the heat they generate, making them only 30 percent efficient. Such plants use energy and precious water to cool the excess steam, and the fossil fuels they burn are costly and destructive to mine. The environ-mental concerns around burning these fuels are backed more and more by alarming scientific data. This old model is out of date. There is a better way, and it begins on Virginia’s farms and in her woodlands.

The strength and ingenuity of Virginia farmers has always been part of our heritage. There was a time when much of the common-wealth’s identity was defined by profitable crops like tobacco and Virginia peanuts. But our rural communities are hurting, and have been for years. The growth of the wine industry is a lesson we can build upon. A new cash crop has created jobs, investment, tourism and national attention. Biomass crops can do all this and more.

There is enough acreage in Virginia to produce crops — primarily warm season grasses — that could power 30 50-megawatt biomass facilities. Farmers could sign long-term contracts with energy providers, ensuring consistent income for the farm, reliable fuel for the energy provider and stable costs for the energy customer. The annual woody residue left over from logging and milling could power an additional 14 50-megawatt biomass facilities. This unique combination of crop potential and woody biomass reserves will provide Virginia with ample feedstock.

The technology for base load biomass energy is commercially proven and growing more advanced every day. Combined heat and power technology allows for dramatically increased efficiency by capturing the thermal energy traditionally wasted in large fossil fuel plants. Due to the small scale of community sized facilities, the output would always match demand. In other words, there is no risk of energy customers paying the mortgage for unneeded capacity in a multi-billion dollar facility. 

A biomass energy economy will create thousands of jobs, bring millions of dollars into our rural communities and position the commonwealth as a leader. Energy providers and customers will save untold dollars by profiting from increased efficiency. They will also avoid inevitable carbon pricing and be prepared to meet renewable energy standards. Community-sized facilities using local, sustainable fuel will provide secure, reliable energy and provide a foundation for future economic development. Additionally, each plant should take up no more than five acres and will have great environmental benefits.

We have the need, the land, the farmers, the wood and the political will. Now the energy suppliers need to step up and lead us into a prosperous future. The state could start by putting biomass powered CHP technology in its facilities, saving tax dollars and stimulating local economies. Richmond could get the ball rolling, but the greatest opportunity today is with the ODEC. The co-op could supplant the need for the proposed 1,500-megawatt coal facility by focusing on regional biomass plants with CHP technology.

This is an opportunity we cannot miss.

Gleeson is the project director for Public Policy Virginia’s Community Power Initiative. PPV is a Charlottesville-based advocacy group focused on climate change and rural development issues. Gleeson can be reached at .