RMH among recipients of waste-to-energy grants
Staff Report
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Gov. Tim Kaine today announced that $10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act State Energy Program is being awarded for 15 biomass and waste-to-energy projects. These grants will support $110 million in private investments statewide. The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy administers the ARRA funds for energy-related projects.
One of the grants will go to Rockingham Regional Hospital in Harrisonburg, which will receive $583,848 (of a $876,168 project) to install or retrofit three boilers to heat and provide hot water at the main hospital and Women’s Health Center, all to be fueled by methane gas generated by the nearby landfill.
The project should result in $250,000 per year in energy savings. Read more
Stimulus dollars to go to conservation efforts
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced the allocation of $40 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to implement the Virginia State Energy Plan (SEP), a blueprint for funding energy-related initiatives throughout Virginia. The funding will help create jobs, encourage energy conservation, and promote alternative energy generation through rebates to residential and commercial consumers, as well as grants to localities and individual projects. Read more
Virginia air is cleaner
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced significant improvements in Virginia’s air quality during the past decade. Between 1999 and 2009, the Commonwealth saw a 96 percent decrease in the number of days that exceeded the national air quality standard for ground-level ozone at monitoring stations statewide, with summer 2009 standing out as the best year on record. Read more
Loan program to promote energy efficiency
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced the recapitalization of the Commonwealth’s Energy Leasing Program, a loan program to finance energy efficiency projects in state agencies. The Commonwealth has secured $40 million in financing for the projects, including $10 million in capital from Grant Capital Management, a state-certified SWAM vendor. The loans are expected to be repaid by agencies from energy savings generated by the projects. The first loan from the program will be $6.6 million to George Mason University for a series of upgrades at their Fairfax and Prince William campuses, including improvements to lighting, irrigation, metering, and heating and cooling of facilities. Read more
State, Dominion partnering on electric-vehicle charging stations
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced as part of his Renew Virginia initiative a partnership with Dominion Virginia Power to install electric vehicle charging stations at certain state rest areas. These charging stations, installed at no cost to the state, are designed to accommodate most of today’s hybrid electric vehicles and use of the stations will be complimentary. Earlier this month the first electric vehicle charging stations were installed at the westbound New Kent Safety Rest Area on Interstate 64 and can charge up to four vehicles at a time. Read more
Public-private partnerships to fund green-energy projects at state agencies, universities
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced today that the Commonwealth will move forward with almost $25 million of green energy projects for state agencies and universities through the Public-Private Educational Facilities Infrastructure Act (PPEA). Funding for the projects will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and some of the projects will result in renewable energy credits. Read more
Stimulus funds to boost efforts to convert to propane
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this week announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has appropriated significant funding for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy’s Paving the Way with Propane: The AutoGas Corridor Development Program. The AutoGas Corridor Development Program is a unique, progressive project aimed at building the infrastructure for public and private vehicle operators to convert existing vehicles from conventional gasoline to clean propane AutoGas. Read more
