Energy plan a good start
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I recently read the county's energy plan and attended one of the public input sessions. While it is not perfect, it is a great start.
The plan is a key part of the process for the county to earn over $2 million in grants from the Department of Energy. It provides a baseline for how much energy we currently use in the county so we will be able to measure our savings going forward. Loudoun is typical of the rest of the country in that we use at least twice as much energy per person as the rest of the world. For this reason, the plan compares our energy use with that of some very livable cities in other countries. This shows how much room we have for improvement.
This county's energy plan would help Loudoun decide how to spend the grant money if it is awarded to us. It provides many ideas for reducing our energy use and saving money over the next 20 to 30 years. Here are just a few of the ideas I like.
• Developing transit-oriented mixed-use neighborhoods encouraging shorter commutes, use of mass transit, cycling and walking.
• Using energy performance labels when selling or renting homes or buildings. This will encourage building owners and homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements.
• Clean distributed combined heat and power generation, wasting much less energy than our current system of importing electricity from distant counties or states.
However, like I said, the plan is not perfect. I think it should focus more on increasing the energy efficiency of our existing buildings, communities, and transportation systems. But again, it is a good start.
If the county cannot approve and submit a plan by mid-November we will be allowing a very valuable opportunity to pass us by.
I encourage you to read the plan yourself, get to the truth about it, ask questions and make suggestions for improvement. The county's energy plan could be the start of what will make Loudoun a leader for Virginia and the rest of the nation.
Michael Feldman
Ashburn
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