Roanoke Times: "Billions in savings beats 40 coal plants"

For those out there who continue to doubt the potential for energy efficiency, I strongly recommend this morning's Roanoke Times editorial, "Billions in savings beats 40 coal plants". Here's an excerpt:

To meet energy demand over the next 20 years, Virginia and the dozen other Appalachian states have two choices: build 40 new coal plants or adopt policies that encourage energy efficiency.

An "Energy Efficiency in Appalachia" report released last week by the Appalachian Regional Commission determined the region would use less power by 2030 than it does today if each state mandated tougher building codes, increased weatherization programs, offered incentives for businesses to retrofit heating and cooling systems and encouraged the purchase of super-efficient appliances. In doing so, customers would save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs would be created.

If the states fail to respond, energy consumption is expected to rise 28 percent by 2030.

The choice is clear. Why, then, would any state choose inaction?

In short, this is as brain dead a "no-brainer" as there could possibly be. Either choose a win-win-win situation whereby consumers save money, thousands of new jobs are created, and carbon emissions are reduced (by harvesting the "low-hanging fruit of energy efficiency), or continue on the same-old, same-old path towards economic and environmental disaster (by building more coal-fired power plants). Only in the world of a Richmond dominated by Dominion Power money and coal company lobbyists could this even be a question in anyone's mind. Duhhhhhhhh.

P.S. I continue to call on all candidates for higher office in Virginia this year to pledge not to take any money from Dominion Power, unless and until Dominion agrees to change its ways (e.g., via accepting ambitious, mandatory renewable portfolio standards). So far, only one candidate for governor (or, to my knowledge, LG or AG) has done so; where are all the other ones?