McAuliffe Talks Energy, President Obama's #1 Issue

Terry McAuliffe provides a lengthy response to a diary at ArticeXI which questions comments he made on a recent radio program ("Hearsay" with Cathy Lewis). The ArticleXI diarist believes that McAuliffe contradicted his previous statement on the proposed Surry County coal-fired power plant, which was "If a new coal plant is built, it should be as clean as possible -- and from my understanding, the one being proposed for Surry County does not meet that standard." Now, the diarist writes, "His tentative support for the plant also appears to be in direct contrast with his previous statement." Here's Terry McAuliffe's response, with my comments.

Hey, my staff alerted me to this post. Sometimes I try to say so much so quickly in these short interviews that I ending up skipping over a few things and I just wanted to take a moment and clear up any confusion about where I stand on this issue.

Yes, anyone who's been around Terry McAuliffe - a man who makes Bill Clinton look taciturn and reserved (lol) - knows that he often tries to "say so much so quickly." :)

For the record, I stand by the statement you quoted - my position hasn't changed. When I'm governor, my focus isn't going to be on building new coal plants. It's going to be on finding ways to keep from having to build new coal plants.

Excellent, that's exactly what the focus SHOULD be on!

That starts with reducing the demand for energy by increasing efficiency. And it's not good enough to just tell folks that they need to cut back. When I'm governor, I want to make the Commonwealth of Virginia a national leader in energy conservation - starting with our government buildings. I've also called for high speed rail, and when I unveil my business plan for Virginia, I'm going to throw out a host of other proposals we can take to reduce our energy consumption.

Also, excellent, although just to clarify, "energy efficiency" and "conservation" are related but quite different concepts. "Energy efficiency" means producing the same output (or service) with less energy, or more output with the same or less energy. "Conservation" means reducing energy consumption and usually getting less outout (or service) in exchange. We probably need both, but energy efficiency is by far and away the one we want to be shooting at. (note: there's yet ANOTHER concept, called "energy intensity," which I can explain if anyone's interested).

Second, we need to make sure more and more of the energy we do use comes from renewable sources. I want to create a sustainable market for them here in Virginia, and bring more high-quality, green jobs to our Commonwealth than any other state in the nation. In his address to Congress last night, President Obama emphasized the importance of using our energy policy to turn the economy around. And I can assure you that when I'm governor, creating green jobs is going to be my priority.

Excellent. Last spring, I had a chance to sit down with Mark Warner, and we talked extensively about the potential economic and business opportunity that "clean tech" and "green jobs" brings to Virginia. This includes tapping into our tremendous research universities and educated workforce to become THE LEADER in the nation and possibly the world in the burgeoning "clean tech" sector. That could prove absolutely crucial to Virginia's economic future and we need to seize the opportunity, not miss it.

I was the first candidate in this race to call for making our voluntary renewable energy standard mandatory. It creates renewable energy jobs; it's good for our environment; and it helps the energy companies make money in the end. With the agriculture and forestry as our leading industries, we have tremendous potential to grow biofuels and create new markets for our farmers. When I'm governor, I'm going to partner with the federal government, the private sector, and our colleges and universities to help make that happen. Green jobs are the jobs of the future, and I'm going to work every single day to make Virginia a leader in creating them.

I'm very happy to see Terry McAuliffe reiterating his call to institute a MANDATORY Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) here in Virginia. What the RPS will be exactly is still not clear, but I'd say let's shoot for what California is doing, 33% by 2020 renewables.

But while we move into an energy economy that is more dependent on alternative fuel technologies and less dependent on coal, we need to make sure that we're not leaving folks behind - and that's the point that I was trying to get at on Cathy Lewis's radio show.

Right, we can't "leave folks behind," which is why we've got to retrain people in declining industries (coal employment in Virginia has plummeted (from around 10,000 jobs in 1990 to about 4,000 jobs now - 0.05% of the state's population) in recent decades) for the new jobs of a new energy economy. Let's hear more talk about that fact from all our gubernatorial candidates.

Look, we need to make some big changes toward creating a cleaner energy future now, because the current trajectory for our state and our planet is clearly unsustainable. But part of making those changes responsibly means making sure that we calculate the impact those changes have on everyone and work to do everything we can to minimize any damage.

The first sentence here is excellent; a clear recognition that the path we're on now is unsustainable. The second sentence is not the way I'd put it; this isn't about "minimizing the damage" of moving to a new energy economy, it's about seizing the amazing opportunity offered for transforming our state and our nation (while protecting the planet from devestating climate meltdown) in years to come.

The fact of the matter is that there are lots of people in our Commonwealth who are employed in the coal industry, and for the most part, they're located in some of the most economically distressed parts of the state. Jobs in these areas don't come easy, even when the economy isn't in a serious decline nationwide.

It's true that jobs don't come easy in places like far southwestern Virginia, where almost all the 4,000 coal-related jobs in Virginia are located. The problem, once again, is that employment in this industry has plummeted over the past few decades and does not represent any kind of future for southwestern Virginia. To the contrary, that area needs investment in human capital (education), communications technology, probably tourism infrastructure if it's going to thrive moving forward. In short, SWVA needs a vision for economic development moving forward, given that coal jobs almost certainly won't be there forever...

So when someone comes along saying they're going to open a plant - like the proposed coal plant in Surry -- that will provide a couple thousand much-needed jobs, there is an economic impact to stopping that plant. I visited Surry, and I talked to the folks in that community. And all I was saying on that radio show is that, in this economy, I don't want to take an action that will prevent job creation unless I feel confident that I can replace those jobs.

Another issue is that when a federal cap-and-trade bill passes Congress, this year or next year, it's going to cause the price of coal to rise relative to other energy sources, and also cause coal's market share to decline indefinitely into the future (barring a major technological breakthrough on Carbon Capture and Sequestration technology). With this in mind, Virginia needs to prepare itself so that it gets ahead of the curve (and benefits from doing so). If not, it will suffer the consequences of failing to do so, and there will be a lot more jobs to be "replaced" than there are now!

The transition to renewable energy sources is going to take some time, and I want to make sure that -- in addition to developing new clean coal technology -- we're also reviewing our rules and regulations to ensure that any new coal plants that are built use every available technology to produce energy as cleanly as possible. The plant in Surry is still just an idea at this point and I plan on taking a much harder look at the specifics of the proposal - including what type of technology is going to be used -- and hear from all of the folks who have a stake in the outcome.

Actually, the transition to renewable energy sources (and energy efficiency, which actually should be first) can and will move very quickly if we get the pricing right by internalizing market "externalities" through cap-and-trade (or a carbon tax).

That brings me to me final point. I also want to hear from you. Good ideas come from all corners of the Commonwealth, not just Richmond. I've received some really great ideas - both in the economic roundtables I'm holding across the state, and online. I'm going to end up incorporating quite a few of them in the very detailed business plan for Virginia that I'm going to unveil in the coming weeks.

So if you've got an idea about how to reduce energy consumption, encourage alternative energy development, or make the transition away from traditional sources of energy less painful for folks who work in the coal industry, then I want to hear about it. So please, come to my website and drop me a line.

Thanks

Excellent, I'm very glad to hear that, and would encourage a meeting with the groups listed on the left-hand column here (Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Virginia LCV, Environment Virginia, etc.). In general, I'm very excited that we have all three of our Democratic gubernatorial candidates talking about the need for energy efficiency and renewable energy. I'm seeing strong signs that all three seem to "get it" on this vitally important area. I'm amazed that, unlike a few years ago, you almost can't listen to a Democratic statewide candidate in Virginia and NOT hear talk about energy and the environment. Heck, even Republicans (e.g., Rep. Randy Forbes) are talking about a "New Manhattan Project to Tackle Energy Dependence". And of course Barack Obama just finished a speech to Congress in which he made energy and "green jobs" Job #1.

In other words, on the energy and environment front, it looks like things are finally (FINALLY!) moving in the right direction after 8 long years of inaction, and I couldn't be happier to see this (anyone out there who STILL believes that elections don't have consequences?!?). Just the fact that Terry McAuliffe felt the need to respond in detail - and so quickly - to a diary challenging him on a Virginia environmental blog speaks volumes. And, of course, Brian Moran has laid out an excellent energy plan, while Creigh Deeds bill (SB 1212) to help Virginia homeowners save money by converting to green energy systems passed unanimously in the Virginia Senate the other day. It's a great day in Virginia when we've got gubernatorial candidates competing on who's STRONGEST regarding energy and the environment. At this rate, maybe even Bob McDonnell will get behind "creation care" one of these days? :)