Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Rep. Tom Perriello |
Sunday, July 5, 2009
By GINNY WRAY - Bulletin Staff Writer
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello on Friday announced a plan for making Southside Virginia a leading region in the nation for the future clean energy economy.
At Perriello’s news conference, clean energy entrepreneurs and representatives from several companies in the 5th District said they support the push for clean energy. Among those present were Frank Hodges, vice president of Mod-U-Kraf Homes in Rocky Mount, and Dean Price, owner of Red Birch Energy in Bassett.
Perriello’s plan stems from three principles, according to a release from his office:
• Maximize efficiency.
This can be done through making buildings and homes more energy efficient; improving access to locally grown food; shifting to a smart grid technology by electric utilities, which requires full access to broadband technology; and advanced battery technology through the new Advanced Vehicle Research Center in Danville, which will extend the range of more efficient electric vehicles.
• Revolutionize energy sources and decentralize energy production.
This includes bio-refineries and bio-power plants being placed throughout the region. Perriello’s release cited Price’s biodiesel operation at Red Birch as an example.
Also, landfill gas-to-energy projects and solar power should be tapped, and his release cited a project under consideration to capture methane at the Martinsville landfill as an example.
Other sources his release lists are wind and hydro power, waste-to-energy projects and nuclear energy.
At his news conference, Perriello, D-Albemarle County, said the district is positioned to be a leader in the clean energy economy because:
• There is an abundance of farmland for the production of bioenergy, and post-industrial sites are available and ideal for developing clean energy technologies.
• Entrepreneurs and farmers in the region are ready to become leaders in the struggle to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
• The region is home to world-class research centers and is positioned to leverage funds provided by the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.
• The recently approved American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the American Clean Energy and Security Act are providing federal funds for investments in clean energy.
The Clean Energy and Security Act will spur investments in biomass fuels that can flourish on former tobacco farms, he said.
“We will not turn this economy around by hiding from our problems, but by having the courage to reinvent our competitive advantage,” he said.
Perriello said the energy bill would reduce American dependence on foreign oil, solving a national security problem, while creating jobs in the biofuels and nuclear industries.
The vote for the clean energy bill was a vote for America over petro-dictators, he said.
“It is a vote for innovation over the erosion of our jobs,” Perriello said. “It is a vote for demanding American leadership, rather than settling for a slow slide behind India, China and other competitors. This is our time to switch from fossil fuels. We have to move from small bio-refineries to the next generation of technologies in clean energy.”
But it also was a vote with political ramifications. The Washington Post has reported that Perriello was among 14 House members targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee for their votes.
“In Perriello’s case, a tough television ad predicts huge increases in electricity prices,” the Post reported. “Perriello is philosophical about the assault, though he says he’s surprised that Republicans are ‘using information they know is fundamentally wrong.’ ... ”
In a phone interview later Friday, Perriello said at the time of the vote, he commented that “it’s more important to do what’s right for the community and the country than what’s easy. If Republicans try to make this an issue, they probably will score some political points, but they are missing the point on national security and jobs.”
Perriello said he was not surprised by the Republican “assault.” He added that Republicans in the 5th District “care for honor and honesty. That doesn’t apply to the party leadership. A lot of Republicans wanted to vote for it. This is not a time for fear; it’s a time for courage” and leadership.
The bill is good for Southside and Central Virginia in terms of jobs and national security, and that is “what I went there (Congress) to do,” he added.
“Reasonable people can disagree about the energy bill. They know on the facts they lose the argument on national security, the economy and science, so that’s what they resort to,” Perriello said, referring to the Republicans’ criticism of him. “The Republican leadership is focused on 2010 rather than what goes on now,” he said, adding that is not the case with Republican members.
The partisanship in general has surprised the first-term congressman, he said, but “I understand it a little more now. Because we’ve won most moderate seats, the Republicans are left more worried about primary challenges.”
And while the congressman he unseated last fall, Virgil Goode, said he plans to decide soon on whether to run to get the seat back in 2010, Perriello said he is sticking to what he said during the campaign.
“I said if you elect me, I’ll try it for four years and see if I can make a difference. I’m not sold on politics yet as a way to do change, but it’s been better than I expected in terms of helping Southside and veterans, and I get excited to wake up in the morning and make a difference,” he said.
(Joel Turner of the Franklin News-Post contributed to this article.) |
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