Be a Part of a Solution Today!

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

 

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