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Available to download, print and post:

Offshore Wind "Roadshow" Presentation

Top 10 Things to Know About Renewable Energy in VA

Offshore Wind Fact Sheet

VA4Wind Petition to Dominion

Petition the SCC, Dominion

SCC Fact Sheet

Online Petitions:

SCC, Dominion Petition

Clean Energy Volunteer Form

Quick Talking Points for Renewable Energy in Virginia

Here's a few of our best quick talking points supporting renewable energy in Virginia.  Pick your favorite and develop it into a letter-to-the-editor (LTE) or drop a few into that two-minute "elevator speech" supporting renewable energy.  They're each packed with a lot of punch!

Also, check out these documents for more clean energy messaging:

Top 10 things to know about renewable energy in Virginia

Clean Energy Message Box

Offshore Wind:

• Developing just the one area that the federal government has already proposed for leasing off Virginia could add over 3,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity and supply 10% of our electric demand by the end of this decade—enough to power over 700,000 homes.

• Development of just this leasing area would create about 10,000 career-length jobs right here in Virginia.

Onshore Wind:

• 1,000 MW of wind energy in western Virginia would bring $2.7 million annually to local landowners and over $9 million in property tax revenues for local governments, and create thousands of new jobs.

Solar:

• Virginia could meet almost 20% of its electric demand from solar energy. Today the figure is much less than 1%.

All Virginia Renewables:

• Virginia’s voluntary renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is meaningless. Because of loopholes, the stated target of 15% by 2025 could actually be met with less than 5% renewables. Even worse, the energy doesn’t have to be produced in Virginia, so utilities can meet the target by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) from out of state.

• Renewable energy could compete on cost if the playing field was level, but it’s not. Virginia hands out almost $45 million in taxpayer subsidies for coal mining. Fossil fuels also cause pollution and illnesses like asthma that aren’t accounted for in the price we pay. Renewable energy also offers price stability because the fuel for wind and solar is free, but regulators don’t value this.

Be sure to check back regularly for new talking points and feel free to offer your own by emailing us today!  

The Two-Minute "Elevator Speech" for Renewable Energy

Every activist needs this in their arsenal.  It's timed to two minutes because that's how much time you have with someone in an elevator.  It's the quick remarks you give to someone asking about the VA4Wind bumper sticker on your car.  It's the comments you give when "New Business" comes up on your green meeting agenda. 

Here's an great example from Susan Stillman, our terrific Membership Chair:

"Electricity generated by off shore wind is so cool, I mean really cool.  It creates a new highly technical (read engineers) industry (read manufacturing) in Virginia where we already have the right skill set.  We even have the best port for deploying the manufactured turbines and monopoles.  Once manufactured and deployed these wind turbines need to be maintained (more jobs) and best of all the energy that makes the electricity is unlimited and the price of fuel is always $0. 

Off Virginia's coast the turbines will not be visible from the shore without your binoculars.  They'll be placed out of the bird flyways so as to do little harm,.  You'll have to take a boat out to see these very cool turbines.  In other countries off shore wind turbines are a tourist attraction.

Speaking of tourist attractions, unlike drilling off our coast for oil and natural gas wind farms will attract tourists not drive them away after a spill.  There is just nothing to spill."

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