A fortnightly rant, FL-S style with h/ts to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and his staff and Hampton Univ. President Dr. William Harvey and his staff for staging the excellent Virginia Summit on Energy Opportunities.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner sponsored the Virginia Summit on Energy Opportunities at Hampton Univ. in Hampton, Va. (photo h/t Eileen Levandoski)
This past Friday, 500 entrepreneurs, activists, and people like me (entrepreneurs that are also activists) attended U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s Virginia Summit on Energy Opportunities at Hampton University in Hampton, Va.
Sen. Warner gathered a diverse group of professionals to discuss the near term and immediate green business opportunities available to Virginia entrepreneurs through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Speakers included: U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secy. Dan Poneman, state and local electeds including Virginia Beach State Sen. Frank Wagner, leaders in business such as CEO John Aker of Charlottesville-based fast-charge equipment manufacturer Aker Wade, and Rear Adm. Chris Mossey (U.S.N.) of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Atlantic).
Addressing the summit, Sen. Warner laid out five very important factors relating to the business of green energy:
- America is not currently positioned to take full advantage of green energy development. In the past 20 years, the U.S. has ceded ground to other nations like the world’s current solar energy production leader Germany (yes, Germany…home of the Black Forest);
- Changing America’s energy mix is indeed a national security issue and we have to rid ourselves of our dependence on foreign oil;
- We have to take on climate change. Shifting to renewable energy will help do that;
- We must make sure that Virginia gets its fare share of ARRA (stimulus) funding;
- And government and business must work in partnership so that these opportunities become reality, quickly.
In his keynote address, Secy. Poneman announced that Virginia was about to receive $37 million in ARRA stimulus funds for Virginia home weatherization. A subsequent ARRA infusion would bring Federal funding of the Virginia home weatherization program to $94 million. This is important because weatherization means lots of near-term “green jobs” creation in the Commonwealth. Also, homes and office buildings account for 40 percent of our greenhouse gases.
State Sen. Wagner advocated for a balanced energy economy in the Commonwealth that continues to include nuclear in its mix, a position which elicited some grumbles from environmental activists seated in the assembly.
Aker Wade CEO John Aker discussed how his company became the world’s leading fast-charge equipment manufacturer. The C’Ville based company builds technology to fast-charge electric vehicles (EVs). Currently, fast-charging an EV may take up to a half-hour but Aker Wade is working on ways to reduce the recharge time and adapt to smart grid technology. A very impressive industry-leading company headquartered here in Virginia!
Rear Adm. Chris Mossey outlined the U.S. Navy’s ambitious efforts to conserve energy. He indicated that currently the Navy consumes 34 percent of the Dept. of Defense’s energy and that 75 percent of the Navy’s energy is used offshore. However, he said that DOD has set an immediate goal of acquiring 7.5 percent of its energy load from renewable sources. By 2025, the goal would jump to 25 percent. He also noted that all future facilities to be built would need to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
Whether our future economic opportunities come from entrepreneurs like Aker Wade that are developing new green technology, green energy production (from solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, or biomass), grand-scale weatherization funded through ARRA, or through green/LEED-related government and military contracting, it is apparent to me that the Commonwealth of Virginia is very well placed to become a national green business leader.
I commend Hampton University for its own green leadership; University President Dr. William Harvey announced that Hampton will replace its legacy steam energy plant (which emits 50,000 tons of CO2 gasses annually) with a state-of-the-art zero-emissions geothermal energy power plant. Way to go, Hampton!
Last, Sen. Warner should be congratulated for his efforts to make Virginia a green business leader and for staging this very interesting and informative business summit. Under his leadership, Virginia will realize its bright green business future.
Whatever our political or economic beliefs happen to be, the reality is that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going to be the prime vehicle for making a lot of Virginia’s new green innovations possible, bringing them to market, faster. If we adapt to it and apply funding well, we win. If we don’t, (to paraphrase Thomas Friedman) we will be left in the dust.
Congressman Rob Wittman has signed on as a co-sponsor of House bill HR2937, the MRSA Prevention and Patient Protection Act. Wittman serves Virginia's First Congressional District which includes the Northern Neck and most of the Fredericksburg area.
Now, an update on my MRSA rant:
Late Friday afternoon, I received a call from Congressman Rob Wittman’s Chief of Staff Mary Springer who told me that Mr. Wittman agreed to sign on as a co-sponsor of Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s bill, the MRSA Prevention and Patient Protection Act (HR2937).
Springer indicated that Congressman Wittman’s son quite recently contracted MRSA at a Northern Neck hospital. The case has been very hard to treat, making this an especially harrowing experience for Mr. Wittman, his son, and the entire Wittman family.
We offer our very best thoughts for a speedy recovery and our gratitude to Mr. Wittman for the noble bipartisan effort to protect hospital patients from this often-deadly but highly preventable disease. Passage of this bill into law will save thousands of lives and billions in otherwise unnecessary hospital expenses.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor:
This is a no-brainer, and a good example of the common sense that 
Once again, for those just joining us, 
Or should I say: Bought From You by Wal-Mart.
