Author: CCAN Supporter

By Monique Sullivan and Chad Oba
Monique Sullivan is Field Director at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Chad Oba is Chair of Friends of Buckingham County. This piece also ran on the blog Blue Virginia.
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Last month, over the continuing objections of landowners, Dominion Resources filed its official application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build its proposed 564-mile, $5.1 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Now it’s FERC’s job to determine if Dominion’s pipeline serves a real public need and is the best option—given available alternatives—to satisfy that need.
Those are very important questions, especially when you consider that Dominion’s pipeline is the largest of four new gas pipeline projects proposed across the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. The 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline is expected to file its application with FERC any day now. If both projects move forward, Virginians will face an unprecedented expansion of natural gas infrastructure. But for what end?
We know the case Dominion will make: that we need a more than $5 billion pipeline for the energy and jobs it could bring to Virginia. Those are both real public needs. But is a massive new conduit for a dirty, volatile fossil fuel the best way to meet them? What if, instead, Dominion spent its billions on a build-out of clean energy alternatives? A recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network suggests this would be the far better deal for Virginia.
Using U.S. Energy Information Administration data and National Renewable Energy Laboratory modeling, we found that the more than $5 billion Dominion is proposing to spend on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline could conservatively fund the installation of enough solar panels [1] to power over 400,000 Virginia homes [2]. Installing and maintaining this solar industry would create 2,500 temporary construction jobs and support 216 permanent jobs annually [3].
This investment would leapfrog Virginia ahead of our neighbors, making us the number 2 state for cumulative installed solar capacity in the country, behind California. Right now we’re number 31.
If we invested the money in wind power projects, Dominion could fund the installation of enough wind turbines [4] to power nearly 500,000 Virginia homes [5]. Building this new industry would create over 7,000 temporary construction jobs and support 1,752 permanent jobs annually [6].
By contrast, the Dominion-commissioned Chmura analytical economy report predicted that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would support 118 permanent jobs annually. And we have no guarantees about how much actual energy Virginians would get from the pipeline. The project would have a spur into Hampton Roads and potentially to other proposed Dominion gas plants, but the pipeline’s ultimate destination is North Carolina.
What else do we get for Dominion’s $5 billion investment in natural gas? We’d get a 75-foot-wide permanent scar through family farms and the heart of the East Coast’s remaining wild landscape, including the George Washington National Forest and the Appalachian Trail. We’d get significant safety risks, like the pipeline “blowout” in Appomattox, Virginia in 2008 that reportedly created a 1,000-foot high fireball, injured five residents, and damaged 95 homes. We’d get emissions of methane leaked from the pipeline and from the process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” used to extract the gas. A growing number of studies show that reliance on fracked gas disrupts the climate on par with coal. So, we’d also get more climate impacts wreaking havoc on our families.
Investing that $5 billion in solar or wind power in Virginia would reduce carbon emissions [7] at a rate equal to taking over 600,000 or nearly 750,000 cars off the road [8] respectively. With rising seas already stranding Norfolk residents at high tide, freak flash floods damaging businesses in Roanoke, and weather extremes stressing our food supply everywhere, Virginia needs energy investments that will help stabilize—not further disrupt—our climate.
The comparison we’re making is not an abstract one. Buckingham County is at the center of this debate over Virginia’s energy future. The company Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC has purchased land to build a 41,000-horsepower compressor station—a facility that keeps the gas pressurized as it travels—in Buckingham County. Meanwhile, Virginia Solar LLC is applying for a permit to build a 20-megawatt solar energy facility just a few miles away. Scientific studies link air pollution from compressor stations to numerous negative health conditions. Add on groundwater contamination, unsafe noise levels, wildlife habitat loss, lowered property values and risk of on-site accidents, and the choice for Buckingham County residents is clear.
The choice should be clear for all of us. The clean energy alternative truly beats gas when you take the long view—which is part of FERC’s job. Wind and solar are mature technologies that are getting cheaper every day. In fact, utility-scale solar is now beating natural gas on price alone in many areas of the country. In applying for their permit, Virginia Solar noted that solar-generated electricity is rapidly becoming competitive with other forms of energy.
When it comes down to it, Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline is far from a necessary or prudent way to meet our energy needs. FERC must factor in the readily available alternative path to laying hundreds of miles of new gas pipeline through Virginia, and ultimately deny Dominion’s application. And Virginia’s leaders, especially Governor Terry McAuliffe, should stop stumping for it.

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Sources:
1. “Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 8.0.” Lazard. Sep. 2014. <http://gallery.mailchimp.com/ce17780900c3d223633ecfa59/files/Lazard_Levelized_Cost_of_Energy_v7.0.1.pdf> Slide 11 estimates that the capital cost of utility-scale solar PV is $1,500/kilowatt.
2. U.S. Energy Information Administration. “2013 Average Monthly Bill- Residential.” 2014, <http://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/pdf/table5_a.pdf> Based on capital costs assumptions, and a median 20.3% capacity factor, we assume a solar output of 5,631,220 megawatt-hours. The average monthly electricity usage in Virginia is 1,156 kilowatt-hours.
3. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “About JEDI Photovoltaics Model.” N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/jedi/about_jedi_pv.html>. Calculated using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Jobs and Economic Development Indicator (JEDI) “Scenario_PV_Model_rel._PVS3.24.14”
4. “Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 8.0.” Lazard. Sep. 2014. <http://gallery.mailchimp.com/ce17780900c3d223633ecfa59/files/Lazard_Levelized_Cost_of_Energy_v7.0.1.pdf> Slide 11’s high estimate of the capital cost of wind energy is $1,800/kilowatt.
5. U.S. Energy Information Administration. “2013 Average Monthly Bill- Residential.” 2014, <http://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/pdf/table5_a.pdf> Based on capital costs assumptions, and a 30% capacity factor, we assume a solar output of 6,935,000 megawatt-hours. The average monthly electricity usage in Virginia is 1,156 kilowatt-hours.
6. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “About JEDI Photovoltaics Model.” N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/jedi/about_jedi_pv.html>. Calculated using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Jobs and Economic Development Indicator (JEDI) “Land-based Wind Model rel. W07.08.15”
7. Lucas, Kevin. EmPOWER and RPS Progress Update. Maryland Energy Administration, 21 May 2015. <http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Marylander/Documents/MWGHandout3MEA05212015.pdf>. Slide 15 estimates, based on the EPA 111(d) Base Case analysis that “PJM” — the electricity grid region in which Virginia is located — will have a carbon intensity of 1,124 lbs per megawatt-hour.
8. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “GHG Equivalencies Calculator – Calculations and References.” N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www2.epa.gov/energy/ghg-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references#vehicles>

This is the week many of us have been waiting for. Pope Francis landed in DC last night with a warm welcome from President Obama. By now, he’s already chipping away at the busy schedule of his multi-city American tour. The few days that the Pope is present in the District marks a historic moment, one that I hope we all remember as groundbreaking for the climate.
These next few days will be hectic to say the least, but they will be bountiful in progress. This morning, in his first address to the American public, Pope Francis applauded President Obama’s efforts to curb emissions. And the Pope’s inclination to pontificate about climate action during his U.S. tour probably won’t stop there.
For the first time in history, a Roman Catholic Pope will be addressing a Joint Session of Congress. What makes this phenomenon more significant is that Pope Francis will speak on the heels of releasing a powerful teaching on climate change that holds no patience for the polarized politics of Congress. It’s a moral call to save our common home.
Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, calls on all men and women of good will to take a stand for the future of the home that we all share, not to mention to take a stand for each other.  Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue. It is a moral one. With so much opportunity to transition to clean energy, it is a shame that federal action on climate is largely at a standstill in the U.S. Congress. This is why we must come together to stand with the Pope and #FollowFrancis in his call for widespread, robust climate action across the political realm.
The Pope’s visit to D.C. has spurred action across the city. This week climate, social, faith and environmental activists alike have hosted a number of actions to call upon our leaders to take charge on addressing the injustice of climate change.  CCAN’s very own National Campaign Director, Ted Glick, has now been fasting with fellow Beyond Extreme Energy members for 16 days in a call to halt the approval of any new permits for fossil fuel projects by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Tonight the Franciscan Action Network is hosting an Interfaith Overnight Prayer Vigil where faith and civic leaders will offer inspiring messages of hope, justice and peace in light of a changing climate.
Perhaps one of the more crowd-attracting actions will occur tomorrow morning, September 24th, on the National Mall as the Pope addresses Congress. Thousands of people, from near and far, will gather on the Mall early tomorrow morning for the Moral Action for Climate Justice rally to follow Pope Francis’ lead and underscore the moral imperative of the climate crisis. Featuring prominent musical artists and over forty-five speakers, this rally will vocalize the immense support for action before our Congressional leaders as they listen to Pope Francis’ words.
As citizens of the United States, we have the power to exercise our civic duty and call upon our leaders to advance smart climate policies now. Our duty is more than just civic though – it is ultimately moral. The United States has such great untapped power to catalyze the clean energy revolution. Together we must ensure that America accomplishes a large-scale transition from a dirty fossil-fueled economy to one of clean power and minimized externalities. United together, we can step in that direction today.
Take action now by emailing your U.S. Representative and urging him or her to cosponsor the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act. This bill would force polluters to pay for the emissions they spew into our common home, while cycling 100% of the revenue back to American households. CCAN will be out on the National Mall tomorrow morning, rallying up support for this bill which would take on the biggest job on the planet – getting rid of carbon. Email your legislators now and then join us on the National Mall tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM to showcase your support for climate action. A carbon-free future is one that we deserve and we have an immense opportunity to make that future a reality. Let’s act now, together. The future is in our hands.

As a member of Free Your Voice, Destiny Watford has been a leader in fighting to prevent the nation’s largest waste-to-energy incinerator from being built in her Curtis Bay community in Baltimore.
After four years of organizing and countless actions, the company’s plans are indefinitely stalled. Earlier this year, the students of Free Your Voice successfully pressured both Baltimore City and Baltimore City Public Schools to vote to terminate their energy contract with the company, Energy Answers.
Free Your Voice, along with United Workers, is now pushing the Maryland Department of the Environment to give control over the proposed incinerator site back to the community, so they can pursue sustainable Fair Development alternatives.
Click here to watch the powerful video and sign the petition to the Maryland Department of the Environment!
Your name: Destiny Watford
Your age: 20
Where you live: Baltimore, Maryland, in a small community named Curtis Bay.
Where you go to school / what are you studying? I’m a junior at Towson University. I major in English, with a concentration in writing and Mass Communications, with a focus in P.R. and Advertising.
Why did you decide to get involved in taking action on stopping the incinerator?
I’m a member of Free Your Voice, a student led human rights group based out of my old high schooI, which is located in Curtis Bay. I was born and raised in Curtis Bay and, although we have a long history with air pollution and harmful developments that put our lives at risk, Free Your Voice decided as a group that enough is enough.
Just because Curtis Bay has always been treated as a dumping ground — a story similar to many other communities across the nation — doesn’t mean that the community has to stay voiceless. We can change the fate of our community.
What has inspired you most working in your community of Curtis Bay?
Curtis Bay is a community just like any other. My family, my friends, my teachers and neighbors all live and/or go to work in the community. My life is very much rooted in Curtis Bay. To have an incinerator that would be burning 4,000 tons of trash per day, emitting 240 pounds of mercury and 1,000 pounds of lead into the air every year — less than a mile from where I play with my baby nephew on the playground, where my little brother goes to school, and where so many of my family members work — is a perfect example of failed development. I wanted to have a hand in changing that.
What has impacted you the most in this fight?
The power of art, community, and youth. Art has played a very crucial role in our campaign. Throughout our fight to stop the incinerator we have expressed our concerns through a kaleidoscope of mediums – we wrote speeches, poetry, two of our group members wrote a fantastic rap about our struggle and our fight for clean air. And, without our neighbors and community members working together to change the fate of our community, we wouldn’t have made the progress that we did.
How do you plan to continue fighting the incinerator and fighting for Fair Development in Curtis Bay?
Well, our fight against the incinerator is still going strong. We have experienced major victories in our struggle. Due to pressure from the group, it was revealed that Energy Answers, the company building incinerator, had violated the Clean Air Act.
We’re making a transition in our campaign. Although we will still continue to fight the incinerator, we’re now exploring positive alternatives to the proposal. The incinerator site is 80 acres. We’re calling for community control of the land to develop truly green alternatives. Thus, breaking the cycle of failed development.
So, now we’re calling upon the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to enforce the law and hold Energy Answers accountable so that we can move forward towards Fair Development.
To do this, the group created a video made up of friends, allies, and community members that have been involved in stopping and/or concerned with the incinerator project. (Sign our petition to MDE here.)
What do you like to do when you’re not advocating in your community?
When I’m not racing to finish a 10-page essay, scrambling to identify the square root of ‘x’, or trying to memorize need-to-know terms for finals, I could be found playing board games with my family and/or friends, binge-watching the latest netflix-craze, or reading.

“I thought you all would be taking long vacations this summer!” exclaimed a CCAN supporter, when I called to invite her to an organizing meeting happening this July in her community regarding the future of fracking in Maryland.
She was referring to the big news coming from Annapolis this April, when concerned citizens across the state pushed elected officials to pass the first legislative moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the country. But this significant win will only last for two years, which means every Marylander — parents, students, business owners, concerned citizens — has two years to organize and secure permanent, statewide protections against fracking.
The passage of a legislative moratorium was a huge testament to the power of public participation in government. As WBAL reported on the Friday that the bill first passed the Maryland Senate, “opponents of fracking seem to have out-demonstrated, out-lobbied and outdone those who support the controversial process.” Indeed, the “Don’t Frack Maryland” coalition, comprised of over 200 groups across the state, turned out more calls and emails than legislative offices had ever seen on the fracking issue. And nearly 400 constituents came to Annapolis over the course of 3 months for lobby meetings, rallies, press conferences, and to deliver information to legislators.
While the moratorium guarantees that no fracking permits can be issued in Maryland for two years, it was drastically altered from the bill our advocates wrote. A provision establishing a new panel to review health and economic studies was cut. The final version also requires the Maryland Department of the Environment to adopt regulations for hydraulic fracturing by October 2016, which would then be effective as soon as the moratorium expires in October 2017. Simply stated: the next two years is not a time to wait and see what happens. It is a hard deadline on a frack-free Maryland. By the end of 2017, our state could open for business in the eyes of the gas industry.
That’s why CCAN is building a groundswell of support across the state, engaging Maryland residents in campaigns to enact permanent measures to ban fracking in their own communities.
In Prince George’s County, CCAN and our allies are working with Councilwoman Mary Lehman to introduce a county ordinance to ban fracking. Southern Prince George’s County sits on top of the Taylorsville gas basin. A Texas-based company has already leased land for fracking just across the Potomac River in the Virginia portion of this same basin, making Prince George’s one of the most vulnerable counties outside of Western Maryland to potential gas extraction. More than 70 county residents packed the Greenbelt Public Library last Tuesday night to learn about the threat fracking poses to Prince George’s County. Hundreds have already signed a petition to the council, and CCAN volunteers are hitting the streets to secure support from small businesses and other community leaders. Meanwhile, in Baltimore City, Councilman James Kraft has introduced a resolution endorsing a statewide ban.
This is our game plan: Where there’s gas, we’ll pass local laws to keep it in the ground. Where there isn’t gas, we’ll pass resolutions telling our state legislators they need to prohibit drilling statewide and KEEP IT IN THE GROUND, all building momentum toward passing a permanent statewide ban.
We know that fracking poses dangerous threats to public health, with more damning scientific evidence coming out every passing month. Fracking causes real estate values to plummet and puts an enormous strain on rural infrastructure like roads and bridges. Idyllic, pastoral communities all over the United States have been scarred and abandoned in fracking’s wake. The drilling process takes hundreds of millions of gallons of fresh water and leaves behind irrevocably polluted land, air, and waterways. There is no proven way to regulate this process to protect humans and the environment from these harms.
We also know that the gas industry has shown time and again that it does not care about the havoc it wreaks.
We have a powerful movement putting wind in the sails for a permanently frack-free Maryland. But we’re going to need to keep educating, inspiring, and bringing new voices and communities into this movement to ultimately win.
Want to get the latest updates, and learn how you can get involved this fall? Join us on September 9th at 7:00pm for the Maryland activist conference call. CCAN organizers and volunteers across the state will come together to discuss our big campaign plans this fall — including building the movement for clean energy alternatives to fracking — and how you can get involved!