Virginia Grassroots Coalition - Climate

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How data centers can move fast without breaking things A new analysis shows that developers and utilities can speed grid connections and lower costs by planning ahead for data centers to be flexible in their…

Data centers want grid power faster—and utilities could supply it without burdening customers with extreme costs. But that won’t happen unless data centers and utilities start planning NOW for the data center flexibility to make this win-win possible:
www.canarymedia.com/articles/uti...
#energysky

Shhhh!

Thank you.

Attn all Virginia state elected officials and candidates - we can rein in Dominion Energy’s out of control political spending - $86 million to date - if we exert the political will.
@marcussimon.com @salimvasenate.bsky.social @abigailspanberger.com @donscott757.bsky.social
@ssurovell.bsky.social

Could we get hyperscalers to buy heat pumps for households? Ari Matusiak and Carla Peterman join me to discuss a wild new idea: getting data centers to pay for your next heat pump.

Today on Volts: the folks at @rewiringamerica.bsky.social have an idea. Hyperscalers desperately need to free up grid capacity for data centers, right? Why not let them buy that capacity by paying for residential heat pumps & solar/storage systems? I discuss it w/ the head of RW & a rep from PG&E.

10/31 12pm ET GOTV Virtual Phone Bank with Bill McKibben Join the Environmental Voter Project and Bill McKibben of Third Act to turn out environmental voters ahead of November 4h general elections!

Costume optional.

There's going to be a bottle bill in VAleg 2026🙂

Why the U.S. Does Not Need New Gas to Meet Rising Demand - GridLab Everyone working in the energy sector is asking themselves the same question today: How are we going to meet rising electricity demand while maintaining reliability and keeping costs reasonable? The g...

"PJM gives gas a measly 60% reliability score"

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

It's like they're trying to cover up a homicide.

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

📈 Transmission is used 50% of the time; distribution lines less than 30% of the time. The cheaper, smarter alternative is to use data and demand response to lower/shift peak demand — while building some more plants and wires.

These coal plants lose money. Other states have walked away, but not West Virginia Public anger is growing over rising electricity prices nationwide. In West Virginia, Appalachian Power customers have been paying hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden costs.

These coal plants lose money. Analysts calculated that Appalachian Power customers have overpaid more than $328 million since 2018.
When you love your out-of-state (high scandal Ohio) coal-plant owners' profits, more than you care about customer costs, that's what you do.

Thank you! Here's the source for what I said on #WITHpod: "There are six states in the United States where data centres already consume over 10% of the electricity supply, with Virginia leading at 25%." www.iea.org/reports/ener...

Listen to the podcast here: open.spotify.com/episode/32ps...

I got to talk about this very issue on #WITHpod with @chrislhayes.bsky.social. An electricity cost crisis is coming. We need efficiency, smart technologies and policies, resilient infrastructure, and lots of clean energy. open.spotify.com/episode/32ps...

Will Virginia step up for its rooftop solar industry? • Virginia Mercury The coming end of federal tax credits has goosed the U.S. solar market in the near term and poses an opportunity for developers, legislators and Virginians, writes columnist Ivy Main.

Will Virginia step up for its rooftop solar industry?
Candidates are looking for your vote - a great time to talk to them about their support for solar.

Will Virginia step up for its rooftop solar industry? • Virginia Mercury The coming end of federal tax credits has goosed the U.S. solar market in the near term and poses an opportunity for developers, legislators and Virginians, writes columnist Ivy Main.

Commentary: Virginia’s rooftop solar future is on the line. Fewer than 3% of homes have panels, yet rooftops could power 20% of the state. Lawmakers must decide whether to step up, writes Ivy Main

virginiamercury.com/2025/09/25/w...

Thank you, Senator @salimvasenate.bsky.social
for providing testimony to the VA State Corp Commission Tuesday, requesting that they deny the certificate that Dominion Energy seeks to build a fracked-gas peaker plant in Chester.
We appreciate your voice in opposition to Dominion's scheme. 👏

NEW TOOL: a one-stop, searchable home for 250+ state energy and climate policies, targets, and incentives. Perfect for planners, policy-makers, and analysts.

apps.epri.com/energy-polic...

'They are seeking a future where we have to compete with corporations for drinking water and subsidize Big Tech’s energy costs with our own wallets due to increased utility bills.'

States get a blueprint to speed up heat-pump adoption A new report offers more than 50 useful strategies for states to help residents replace fossil-fuel-burning furnaces and water heaters with cleaner heat…

States are making widespread heat pump deployment an essential piece of their emissions-cutting plans. Now, they’ve got a road map from @nescaum.org to make it happen.

Thank you, Delegate @amylaufer55.bsky.social ,
for providing testimony to the VA State Corp Commission today, requesting that the Commission deny the certificate that Dominion Energy seeks to build a fracked-gas peaker plant in Chester.
We appreciate your voice in opposition to Dominion's scheme.

Thank you, Senator @jenniferboysko.com for providing testimony to the VA State Corp Commission today, requesting that the Commission deny the certificate that Dominion Energy seeks to build a fracked-gas peaker plant in Chester.
We appreciate your voice in opposition to Dominion's scheme.

and we're live! ⚡ yay. Listening while I prepare comments to deliver to our Virginia State Corp Commission tomorrow (PUC in other places) to request they deny a gas peaker plant certificate to our utility Dominion Energy - input welcome!

the livestream not live yet? Youtube link shared above is still quiet at nearly 6:30pm.🤷‍♀️

"From a cost perspective, from a health perspective, from a pollution perspective, there are so many reasons to build more clean energy & fewer fossil fuels. Unfortunately, we’re seeing that utilities are much less concerned about doing the right thing for the climate & their customers.”

Virginia candidates know this, right? 👇

Rural Resistance: Data Centers and Dirty Gas Join neighbors and advocates from Appalachian Voices, the POWHR Coalition, ARTivism Virginia and Chesapeake Climate Action Network for "Rural Resistance: Data Centers and Dirty Gas," on Thursday, Sept...

Opposition to the destruction of our rural communities by the dirty alliance of big data and dirty gas continues to grow. Let's keep it going through skill sharing and solidarity! actionnetwork.org/events/rural...

Thank you.

Trump has crushed offshore wind plans, but states haven’t quite given up hope • Virginia Mercury Virginia leaders have committed to building 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind projects by the end of 2034, a goal that one state lawmaker will now be "desperately hard to meet."

Trump’s crackdown is choking off offshore wind across the East Coast — including Virginia’s 5.2 GW goal by 2034, now “desperately hard to meet.”

States are suing, pushing infrastructure, and saying: “offshore wind is critical to our energy future.”

virginiamercury.com/2025/09/17/r...

Proud to have the support of @sierraclub.org! I’ll work to protect farmland from data center sprawl, expand conservation easements, and ensure Virginia keeps leading the way toward a healthier, more sustainable future.