Experts push for renewable energy

Jan 20 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rex Springston Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

- Renewable energy is good for the environment -- and maybe your pocketbook.

That's the message some businesspeople and energy experts sent during a briefing Wednesday in the General Assembly Building.

It can cost consumers a little less to run solar water heaters built into their homes than to run the heaters on conventional energy, said Etan Gumerman, a Duke University researcher.

"Some renewables are cost-competitive now, and some are close to being cost-competitive," Gumerman said.

Offshore wind power holds great promise, Gumerman said. "There is a lot of wind off Virginia and North Carolina."

Other types of renewable energy include hydropower -- from turbines in dams and streams -- and "biomass," from burning manure, wood waste and the like.

Del. David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, is seeking legislation to allow farmers to team up to produce power from manure, use the power they need and sell what's left over.

Renewable energy "has the potential to save people money (and) reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy," Toscano said.

The renewable-energy industry is poised for growth, but some state and local laws need to be revised to aid that growth, said Felix Garcia, a Henrico County-based developer of renewable-energy projects.

"A (new energy) revolution is at our doorstep," Garcia said.

rspringston@timesdispatch.com

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