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More than two years ago we had an idea. If Loudouners are reluctant to import coal power and scar our countryside with transmission lines, then as a community we needed to step to the plate and offer a solution. Our idea was to find a unique location where we could build the cleanest energy park to have an impact on our energy needs. We found a site that had access to two natural gas lines and the electrical grid, had enough room for a large solar field and had access to the electrical grid, so we could place the energy directly into the system on site. This week, those plans were approved unanimously by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. While we were convinced from the beginning that the plans made good sense, our success this week was in large part because of many of you who took the time to meet with us, ask us questions, offer ideas and eventually support our proposal by speaking at public hearings, talking to local decision makers or writing letters. I have no doubt that our victory, something I hope is seen as Loudoun’s victory, is in no small part because of the support we received from the Loudoun community. I cannot thank all of you enough for your support. From here, we move on to the various regulatory hurdles that lay ahead. We’re confident of success moving forward and we’ll work to keep you informed of our progress as we continue on this journey. And, as always, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Warmest regards, John Andrews Managing Member Green Energy Partners
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I would like to thank the many citizens of Loudoun County for taking the time to speak earlier this month in favor of our energy plans. During the public hearing in front of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, the local support for our energy plans was significant. Loudouners presented that the plant’s significant tax revenue and the hundreds of jobs created during construction would be a boon to the local economy. Speakers touted our plans to use natural gas, solar and plan to purchase the Town of Leesburg’s treated wastewater for steam generation. This reuse of effluent improves the quality of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay as it contains nitrates and phosphates, which are currently piped directly into the Potomac River. Some speakers also mentioned our unique location. Our site contains two interstate underground natural gas lines, access to nearby substations and overhead transmission lines. Some argued our location, next to a quarry, and a proposed water treatment plant, in a airport overlay district, bisected by natural gas lines and 140ft eclectic line towers makes the location desirable for industrial uses and undesirable for residential development. A good number of speakers discussed the need to create power locally to reduce the county’s needs to import power through overhead transmission lines. Here’s what one speaker said according to coverage in the Loudoun Times Mirror. “You want to keep power lines out, then reduce the need for them,” said Tim Powers, of Lovettsville. Another local paper, the Leesburg Today, quoted local environmentalist Malcolm Baldwin. “This plant qualifies as clean. It won't replace dirty coal, but it moves Loudoun toward reliance on renewable energies." The support of Loudoun’s public has been instrumental to our success. Previously, the Loudoun Planning Commission recommended approval of our plans 8-1 and Loudoun County’s professional staff have also recommended approval. I would also like to thank the many individuals that wrote emails and letters to the Board of Supervisors in support. All of us can make a difference in the quality of life in our community now and in the future.
John Andrews
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It’s been a long trip and you can help us get close to the finish line today. A couple years ago my father attended a fundraiser opposed to a proposed power line in western Loudoun County. At that time it dawned on my father that if Loudouners didn’t want to rely on coal power and didn’t want new high-tension power lines, then someone in the county had to propose a solution. That’s exactly what we’ve done. Today at 5 p.m. in the Board Room of the County Government Center our proposal to construct a combined cycle natural gas and solar energy plant, that would significantly reduce Loudoun’s needs to import electricity, is up for a public hearing. I hope you’ll find the time to come out this evening and express your support to the Board of Supervisors because there’s a lot to be excited about. Our location is one of the most unique in Loudoun County. Next to a quarry and a proposed water treatment plant, our site is perfect for industrial use. Loudoun County staff has agreed and is recommending approval of our plans. Our site contains two sets of existing high-voltage transmission towers that traverse the site containing three separate transmission lines that will allow ready access to allow power generated from the facility to be placed directly into the system. But it’s not just our location that has earned us support, including an overwhelming recommendation of approval from Loudoun’s Planning Commission. The commission specifically noted our desire to use treated wastewater that we’d purchase from the Town of Leesburg to create steam and for cooling. Using that effluent would mean the reduction of nitrates and phosphates from the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay because currently the Town pipes that water directly into the Potomac River. Chesapeake Bay activists have sought over time to decrease the amount of nitrates and phosphates being discharged annually into the Bay and its tributaries, and we’re proud to play a role in that effort. We also plan to build what would be Virginia’s largest solar array, which can serve as an educational and economic development tool for Loudoun County. We also agreed, after communicating with some Loudoun environmentalists, to allow for the transition to bio-fuels as they become commercially viable. And while we set out to address Loudoun’s energy needs, a byproduct of our efforts will be a stimulating effect on Loudoun County’s tax base. Our facility will generate significant annual tax revenues to Loudoun County. During the three years of construction, our efforts will inject about $183 million per year into the economy and create more than 1,200 jobs. And it’s estimated that our use of Leesburg’s treated effluent will bring the town an estimated $1 million per year for its Sewer and Water Fund. It’s for all of those reasons--and many more--we’re proud of this proposal and believe that it’s something that Loudouners will benefit from for decades to come. But we need your help to get us across the finish line. County Supervisors will hear from the public during its public hearing starting at 5 p.m. today. Please consider coming to tell County Supervisors that we can take control of our energy future. The County Government Center is located at 1 Harrison Street, S.E., in Leesburg. You can call in advance to sign up to speak at the Board's public hearing by calling the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at 703-771-5072 or 703-777-0200. Advanced sign-ups will be taken until 12:00 noon the day of the meeting. Citizens will also have the option to sign-up in person at the meetings. And if you can’t make it Monday night, please consider writing the Supervisors an email to
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. Friends, we’re close, but we need your help today. I hope to see you tonight. Best regards, John Andrews Managing Member Green Energy Partners |
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We have great news! On Wednesday night Loudoun County took a first step towards taking some control over its energy future as its Planning Commission voted overwhelmingly to recommend approval of our plans to build a state-of-the-art combined cycle energy facility. Planning Commissioner Kevin Ruedisueli (At Large) called the proposal a “win, win, win” for Loudoun County. Commissioner Peggy Maio (Blue Ridge) noted the project’s environmental benefits. Commissioner Helena Syska (Sterling) said “this is a great project for the county.” Loudoun County citizens stand to benefit significantly from the proposed energy facility. Once online, the plant will reduce Loudoun’s needs to import power by about 20 percent. Loudoun currently imports 100 percent of its power, specifically coal power that enters the county through transmission lines. The project will generate significant direct annual tax revenue once operational. The Planning Commission’s recommendation of approval comes just days after county staff offered its own recommendation of approval. I took time after the Planning Commission vote to thank county staff and the Planning Commission. Working closely with the staff, commission and public at-large has made our project better. That’s how the process is supposed to work. Now we move forward to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors for a final action on our land-use approvals. We’ll be in front of the Board of Supervisors this Monday night March 8 at 5 p.m. for a public hearing. While we’ve had great success so far, it’s in large part because of your help. One commissioner noted that they had received an overwhelming number of letters from the public supporting our plans. I can’t thank all of you enough for your support. As someone who has done all of my work in Loudoun County, it means a lot to me to know that the public is behind me and my team’s efforts. But now’s not the time to rest on our laurels. If you are free Monday night at 5 p.m., please consider coming to the county government center in Leesburg to offer your thoughts on our application. We still need your support. You can call in advance to sign up to speak at the Board's public hearing by calling the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at 703-771-5072 or 703-777-0200. Advanced sign-ups will be taken until 12:00 noon the day of the meeting. Citizens will also have the option to sign-up in person at the meetings. And if you can’t make it Monday night, please consider writing the Supervisors an email to
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. And, as always, don’t hesitate to contact us directly at
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. Together, we’re going to get this done. We’re going to build Virginia’s largest solar array. We’re going to wean Loudoun County off of inefficient coal power. We’re going to build a smart, green and clean energy source near energy demand. We’re going to do our part to clean up the Chesapeake Bay by utilizing treated effluent that is currently piped into the Potomac River. I couldn’t be more excited. I hope you’ll join us in our efforts.
Best regards,
John Andrews Managing Member Green Energy Partners |
I wanted to take a few minutes to update you on our progress. We’ve been working diligently over the past weeks and months to earn the support of Loudoun County’s Planning Commission. We’ve worked through myriad issues and according to an article in this week’s Leesburg Today, our efforts are moving toward approval. Our plans for a 980-plus megawatt energy plant in Loudoun County taps natural gas resources, utilizes treated effluent that is currently piped into the Potomac River and proposes Virginia’s largest solar array. Once constructed, the plant would generate significant direct annual tax revenue to Loudoun County. This project will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Virginia and will create significant local economic stimulus to the area as shovels enter the ground during construction. I’ve attended some of the county’s budget input sessions recently, and I know that our project would be a significant economic jolt to the county. We believe this is the right project at the right place at the right time. Loudouners have fought for years against transmission lines that would run coal energy from other regions into Loudoun County. Our plant is uniquely located adjacent to the existing transmission grid between two of Loudoun’s major substations. This means that we won’t have to string lines from our location to meet Loudoun’s needs, and because of that location, we can back-feed the electrical grid and reduce by about 20 percent Loudoun’s needs to import energy. Today, Loudoun imports 100 percent of its energy needs and the state of Virginia is the second* largest net importer of power of all the states in the country. It’s precisely because our proposal makes sense that we’re gaining support from the Loudoun County Planning Commission. We expect that the Commission will make its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks. And we’re scheduled to have a public hearing with the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on March 8. Because of the pending decision by the Planning Commission and the subsequent public hearing, I’d ask for you once again to voice your support for our plans to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. You can send your comments to the Planning Commission via email to
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, as well as to the Planning Commission Clerk to
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. You can also send your thoughts to the Board of Supervisors at
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. As we move forward in the coming weeks, it’s paramount that our elected leaders hear from you. And it means the world to me personally that we’ve built so much support for our plans. I hope all is well with you and your family and we’ll be back in touch to share the details of the upcoming public hearing. John Andrews Managing Partner Green Energy Partners * Note that in an earlier version of this post we had indicated Virginia is the third largest net importer of power in the United States. Virginia is actually the second largest net importer of power in the country. We've updated this post for accuracy. |
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The facility is proposed for 80 acres just south of Leesburg, on property with two existing natural gas lines and two existing electric transmission lines. For steam cooling, the plant would use up to 5 million gallons a day of treated wastewater it would purchase from Leesburg. The treated water is now discharged into the Potomac River.
Green Energy Partners’ proposal to construct a 981 megawatt energy facility will be a boon to county coffers. It is estimated that this facility will generate approximately $12 million in annual local tax revenue. There won’t be any taxpayer-funded infrastructure needs.