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I wanted to take a few minutes now that the holidays have come and gone to update you on our project to build an environmentally friendly combined cycle natural gas power plant and what would be the largest solar array in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In late December, we went before the Loudoun County Planning Commission for a public hearing. As this article from one of the local newspaper's indicates, the public came out to support our plans. I cannot begin to explain how much it means to me personally to know that the citizens of Loudoun County are coming out to offer their support. I told friends and reporters after the public hearing that it was a very humbling experience for me. I want to thank you again for your support. I'm also excited to point out to you this editorial in the Leesburg Today. Titled "Still Making Sense," the paper editorializes that our plans could be a significant "economic jolt," to Loudoun County. It's not mentioned in the editorial, but our economic studies indicate that upon full operation the power plant will generate significant annual direct tax revenue to Loudoun County.
Here's more from the editorial:
Plans to build an $800 million power plant near Leesburg earned mostly positive marks during last week's public hearing. That is both surprising and not.
It is surprising in that no other significant application for a large industrial use, including two previous power plant proposals, have progressed so far in the regulatory review process without a determined faction of opponents.
Yet it is not surprising because the concept and the location make sense. If Loudoun, or Northern Virginia for that matter, is going to have a natural gas fuel power plant, it should be located on land with access to a natural gas pipeline (or two in this case) and power lines capable of feeding the generated power to the regional grid. It also should be in an area closer to industrial uses, like Loudoun's quarries, than to subdivisions.
Loudouners have been making a lot of fuss recently about power company plans to crisscross the county with lines transferring electrons from far-off coal plants to residents and businesses further up the East Coast. A plan for home-grown, greener power would seem to address those objections.
The editorial discusses our location as one of the reasons the project has received public support. You can read more about our location on our Web site here. We do believe that this location is the most unique in the county, as it is surrounded by other proposed industrial uses and can back-feed into the electrical grid to substantially decrease Loudoun's need to import power-usually coal power-from other jurisdictions.
For now, we plan to continue having a dialogue with Loudoun's Planning Commission and with the Loudoun community as a whole. We've enjoyed the back-and-forth and exchange of ideas. Please feel free to email us at anytime with any questions or thoughts you might have.
Best regards,
John Andrews
Managing Partner Green Energy Partners |
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There was an interesting article in The Washington Post over the holiday break that looked into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “get tough” approach to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Here’s a portion of the article. In the fall, the federal government outlined what it expects of the jurisdictions in the Chesapeake watershed, which are Maryland, Virginia, the District, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York. A computer model of the bay will be used to calculate a pollution "diet" for the Chesapeake -- and each state will have to reduce its pollution accordingly. Tuesday's letter explained what might happen if they don't. EPA officials said they might:
-- Object to state-issued permits for new sources of pollution, such as factories, sewage-treatment plants or suburban storm sewers.
-- Require states to offset pollution in one area by cutting it in another. If a state can't find ways to curb pollution from farms, for instance, the EPA could require stricter cuts from sewage-treatment plants.
-- Take tighter control of federal money that goes to states for antipollution programs, to make sure it is used to solve outstanding problems.
In Virginia, Natural Resources Secretary L. Preston Bryant Jr. said he thought that the EPA's threats might actually change the trajectory of the Chesapeake cleanup, by forcing states to take their obligations more seriously.
"This letter, and whatever follows up from this, is going to get people's attention," said Bryant, part of the outgoing administration of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).
But the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said the EPA's threats were not tough enough. William C. Baker, the foundation's president, said the EPA wants to wait for states to set new goals for cleaning up pollution late next year -- when it should instead hold the states to goals they've already set.
Oliver A. Houck, a Tulane University professor who studies water laws, said the EPA's threats don't solve a legal loophole that has bedeviled the Chesapeake cleanup since its beginning.
Clean-water laws make it easy to crack down on pollution that comes out of a pipe, such as treated sewage and factory discharges. But they give states less power to crack down on pollution that doesn't come from pipes, such as the fertilizer and animal manure that wash off suburban lawns and farm fields.
We’ve been paying close attention to efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and as we planned our energy project we took note of Chesapeake Bay activists who have stated that one thing we can do to clean up the Chesapeake Bay is to reduce the amount of nitrates and phosphates discharged into the Bay from sewage treatment plants. This 2003 study released by the Chesapeake Bay foundation cites “wastewater discharged from sewage treatment plants is the second largest source of nitrogen pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.” Our proposed combined cycle natural gas and solar energy facility could use treated wastewater that would be purchased from the Town of Leesburg. The effluent, which is currently piped into the Potomac River, would be used to create steam and for cooling and would remove 5 million gallons per day of Potomac. |
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Next Thursday, December 17 at 6 p.m. there will be an opportunity for citizens to speak at the Loudoun County's Planning Commission public hearing on our project. Area residents will be given up to 5 minutes to make comments to the Planning Commission about our proposal to build an approximately $800 million hybrid energy facility. This facility has been designed to utilize proven technology that in part would use treated effluent water from the Town of Leesburg sewage treatment plant to create steam. This water is currently piped directly into the Potomac River that then flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The turbine fuel is natural gas, the same that people use in their homes. In addition is a proposal to construct the largest Virginia's largest photovoltaic solar array. The facility would generate 900-plus megawatts of energy that could be tied directly into the grid on site and significant annual in direct tax revenue to Loudoun County. The primary goal of our facility is to locate the cleanest energy source close to the users. Virginia is the 2nd largest power importation state in the country after California. Loudoun County has a unique opportunity to provide an alternative to the importation of coal power that is delivered by high-tension power lines. We'd be honored if you'd join us at the Planning Commission public hearing to speak in favor of our project. But we also want to make sure you're as informed about the project as possible before doing so. With that in mind, here are a few links that give a broader description of what we're proposing. Here's a basic overview of the project. And there's much more information on our Web site at www.loudounpower.com. If you're inclined to support us publicly in front of the Planning Commission, there are a few things you need to know. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday December 17th at the Loudoun County Government Center in Leesburg in the Board of Supervisors' meeting room. There are six items on the agenda that evening and we are the last item. We anticipate our hearing to start no earlier than 7:30pm. Those wishing to speak will need to sign up the night of the meeting or call the Planning Commission Clerk at 703-777-0246 and request to sign up to speak. Additionally, if you can't make the Planning Commission public hearing but would like to be heard nonetheless, you can email your comments to the Planning Commission to
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as well as the Planning Commission Clerk to
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. In any email correspondence you should include a mention of Green Energy Partners in the subject line of the email. Please also email us with any questions, thoughts or comments you have by responding to this email or sending to
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. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you Thursday. Best regards, John Andrews Managing Partner Green Energy Partners |
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Over the past several months, we have worked to reach out to meet with and listen to the thoughts of many interested stakeholders in Loudoun’s community. We’ve listened to your ideas and brainstormed many of the issues relating to energy with you. We did this because we feel that anytime there is a proposal in the community it is our responsibility to initiate the ability to communicate. This project is especially important one that would reduce Loudoun’s need to import energy and create significant annual tax revenue—the residents of the community deserve as many opportunities as possible to weigh in. The series of meetings we’ve had have been very beneficial and I’m proud to announce today a significant change to our proposal that came to fruition through meetings with some of Loudoun’s stakeholders. We’ve been told throughout this process that our 10 acres of solar is a step in the right direction. And we’ve been told by many that they like the idea of reusing treated wastewater that is currently just being piped into the Potomac River. We’ve also been told that Natural Gas, our main fuel source, is an improvement upon coal power though perhaps ideally as a bridge fuel to the future. We agree with that assessment. Because we hope that some years down the road bio-fuels will become commercially viable, we’ve amended our proffers to allow us eventually to take advantage of emerging energy sources. This was the right decision to make from an energy and environmental perspective and it also happens to make tremendous business sense. I want to personally thank Loudouner Tom Pfotzer, among others, who came to us with this idea. The willingness of others to have an open dialogue and exchange of ideas made our project better. As we continue down the path towards approval, I encourage all of you to contact us with your thoughts, questions and ideas. You can email us at
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. We’re a local company with local roots and offices in Hamilton. Our doors are open and we thank many of you for sharing your thoughts with us already. Best regards, John Andrews
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If you follow energy issues in Loudoun County, you are undoubtedly aware that local elected officials are in the process of considering a comprehensive energy plan with a stated goal of developing a decades-long roadmap to guide Loudoun's energy strategies. If you haven't seen the draft energy plan, a copy is available here on the county's Web site. The plan discusses goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy-related business opportunities and lower energy costs, among many other things. The report also takes note of Green Energy Partners' effort and lists GEP as a "scale project," or, in other words, a project that could successfully accelerate the implementation of the energy plan. Here's what the draft energy plan states about Green Energy Partners' proposal: Business Park and Clean Power PlantA Loudoun-based company is proposing a green energy park that would use natural gas and solar energy and treated wastewater from the Town of Leesburg to heat and cool the data centers and other commercial space. The park would be located near the Dulles International Airport. The park is conceiving of a 600 megawatt, combined cycle natural gas facility with a wastewater, steam-trbine generator, two 150 megawatt clean natural gas turbines and one-megawatt solar array. The site is already being evaluated for somewhat different energy approach and has all the characteristics to be a possible [County Energy Plan] Scale Project. Assuming locally-based generation is feasible, it would create large amounts of locally available heat. This heat could be the basis for supplying the site and even surrounding neighborhoods with heating, cooling and domestic hot water. This could also have a very positive impact on the overall peak demands on the surrounding grid and substantial greenhouse gas reduction potential for the County as a whole. Business parks, maybe with research facilities and even some light industrial uses, can be opportunities for creative economic and clean energy solutions. In turn, these can become magnets for inbound investors due to the highly competitive, clean and flexible energy services. This is a critical aspect for Loudoun County which is targeting local employment to grow at twice the rate of the population. The energy plan's comments about GEP includes mention of a business park along with the proposed power facility. Originally, Green Energy Partners had concurrent proposals for the power plant along with an adjacent business park. The idea was to use the excess heat from the power facility to heat and cool an adjacent business park. Currently, however, Green Energy Partners is only pursuing local zoning approval for the power facility. Additionally, since the draft energy plan, GEP has learned that because the technology is advancing at a brisk pace, the 10 acre solar array--which will be the largest in Virginia--could produce more than one-megawatt of energy. |
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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.