Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Mike Signer (right), who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, jokes with supporters Saturday before a tour of Red Birch Energy's Biodiesel facility in Bassett Forks. From left are Gracie Millner and Lori Harris, both of Martinsville, and Perry Briggs of Henry County. |
Sunday, June 7, 2009
By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer
Lieutenant governor hopeful Mike Signer called founders of the Red Birch Energy biodiesel facility “pioneers” and pledged support for green or environmentally friendly jobs during a campaign stop Saturday afternoon in Bassett Forks.
Signer is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for lieutenant governnor in Tuesday’s primary against Democrat Jody Wagner. Signer spoke Saturday to local party leaders and area residents during a tour of Red Birch Energy, where oil is extracted from canola seeds and converted into fuel.
Virginia has great potential for biodiesel production such as the Red Birch model, Signer said.
“These are the oilfields of the future,” he said. “We should have dozens, if not hundreds more of these (facilities).”
Biodiesel “is a national security issue, and it does create local jobs,” Signer said.
Signer’s environmental strategy includes creating at least 13,000 green jobs in Virginia by 2011. He proposes to accomplish this with 5,000 jobs in “smart energy grid” design and installation, 3,000 jobs from installing and running a wind energy farm off Hampton Roads and 5,000 jobs from weatherizing homes across the state to make them more energy-efficient.
Virginians pay 25 percent more for electricity per capita than other states because homes are not properly weatherized, Signer said.
“This industry’s laden with jobs,” said Dean Price, co-owner of Red Birch Energy.
Also, Price added, the jobs created by biodiesel production tend to be high-paying. They include the farmers who grow canola, builders constructing the biodiesel plants and lab assistants working in the processing facility.
Red Birch is “the first closed-loop delivery system of biofuels in Virginia,” Price said. The canola is grown by farmers within the region, processed into a fuel at Red Birch Energy and sold in a 20 percent biodiesel blend at the same site at Red Birch Country Market.
Biodiesel can fuel standard diesel engines and does not require a special diesel pump to be sold at the truck stop, Price said.
Also, he said, the process produces glycerin as a byproduct, which if burned would produce “enough electricity to power this entire complex.”
After the tour, Signer called the Red Birch Energy model “exciting” and “a model of things to come.”
Lois Harris of Martinsville attended the tour in support of Signer. Harris said she backs his candidacy because “he’s really for the people.”
“He’s trying to get jobs in the area. The main thing we need is jobs,” Harris said.
Calling himself an “aggressive progressive,” Signer is running on a platform of job creation, protecting the environment, support of veterans and restoring voting rights of ex-offenders once they are out of prison. |
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