February 20, 2009 · On Thursday, the governor’s bill to increase the use of alternative and renewable energy was introduced in both the House and the Senate.
Senate Bill 297 makes good on a promise Governor Manchin made during his State of the State address: to gradually increase the energy generated by alternative and renewable sources.
“Beginning in 2015, at least 10 percent of the electric energy sold to electric customers must be generated by alternative or renewable energy sources,” he said. “And, by 2025, we will require that 25 percent of electricity sold in West Virginia must be generated from alternative or renewable energy facilities.”
Renewable energy comes from sources like wind or the sun that won’t be depleted. According to the bill, alternative energy includes clean coal.
It’s this sticking point that has made the bill harder to swallow for environmentalists, who argue that there is no such thing as “clean coal.”
Don Garvin is the legislative coordinator for the West Virginia Environmental Council. He says the bill is a step in the right direction, but he would like it to focus more on renewable energy.
“We’re particularly interested in the renewable part,” he said. “We’re not so fond of the clean coal technologies that are very costly and very carbon-intensive. There’s no such thing as carbon neutral coal, no matter how many ads the coal association pays for.”
But could an energy bill in a state like West Virginia not include coal?
Senator Mike Green says no, it couldn’t.
“Coal is West Virginia and I think that one thing that we cannot lose sight of in West Virginia is how important coal is,” he said. “Regardless of what direction we go, in the near future coal is going to play a significant role, in not only in West Virginia’s economy but also in the state’s and country’s demand for energy.
“But I’m very supportive of alternative energy solutions, clean coal technology, anything we can do to continue to promote coal, I think it’s something we need to look at.”
Senator Jeffrey Kessler is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee—where this bill will be heading first. He thinks legislation like this is essential to make West Virginia a leader in the energy sector and let the state finally profit from the industry.
“For too many years we’ve been an energy state and we’ve created a lot of jobs but we haven’t created a lot of wealth,” he said. “And I think the governor’s proposal would try to make West Virginia a leader in new emerging energy technologies, and as well to hopefully help West Virginia capture some of the wealth that’s been going out of the state for so many years.”
Kessler says he thinks alternative and renewable energy go hand-in-hand, and developments like advanced coal technologies are what’s going to secure West Virginia’s energy legacy in the near future.
“And while these technologies are emerging and being developed, I think in the short-term particularly, coal, oil, natural gas are readily abundant in West Virginia, they’re available, and we do have the technology to produce them and make them clean, but also to advance that technology to even make them cleaner,” he added.
“So I think that’s where we need to redouble our efforts. In the short term I think our non-renewable energy sources are the solution.”
The bill provides additional incentives for electric companies to purchase their energy from facilities located on reclaimed surface mine sites.
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