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Between a Dominion Power Electric School Bus (ESB) project and Governor Northam ESB demonstration programs, Virginia is on the cusp of becoming the national leader of ESB adoption and, through a major acquisition program, could change the game nationally when it comes ESBs and, potentially, government investment in electrifying large vehicle fleets. There are, at […]

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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has announced his proposal for a significant bump in the Commonwealth’s education investment. The budget includes the single-largest increase for at-risk schools in Virginia history, raises teacher salaries 3 percent, funds more school counselors and new staff supports for English language learners, and makes significant new flexible funds available for local […]

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Last Friday, Dominion Virginia Energy announced a major electric school bus (EV Bus) program: to replace 100% of the diesel school buses (roughly 13,000), in its service area, by 2030 with EV Buses. This is a potentially game changing initiative that could rapidly drive down EV Bus prices and open the door for rapid moves […]

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Several Minnesota schools are celebrating significant rooftop solar installations. Leveraging public-private partnerships (enabling use of Federal tax credits) and Xcel Energy’s state-mandated community solar garden program, these schools are covering their roofs with power generation with no upfront investment costs and lower electrical bills & pollution loads from day one.   These Farmington Area School […]

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What follows is a very practical discussion of how to help move ‘green’ incrementally into America’s primary school cafeterias from the perspective of a ‘green’ parent in Virginia. I was recently a guest blogger on Mrs. Q’s “Fed Up with School Kunch” blog and cross-posted here to gain a larger audience. Here’s the original blog […]

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This is part of a series of brief posts on ‘clean energy jobs‘ opportunities for sparking meaningful employment, quickly, in the United States as discussed in Clean Energy Jobs: Stimulate Me. Clean Energy Jobs Go Swimming: $300 million per year for 10,000 jobs Legislation is, they say, analogous to making sausage. Sometimes, in the mixing […]

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This is part of a series of posts on ‘clean energy jobs’ opportunities for sparking meaningful employment, quickly, in the United States as discussed in Clean Energy Jobs: Stimulate Me. Clean Energy Jobs Take the PHE-School Bus: $100 million per year for 2,000 jobs There are hundreds of thousands of yellow school buses taking America’s […]

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This is part of a series of posts on ‘clean energy jobs’ opportunities for sparking meaningful employment, quickly, in the United States as discussed in Clean Energy Jobs: Stimulate Me. Clean Energy Jobs Go to School: $50 billion / year to support 1,000,000 Clean Energy Jobs America’s public schools are, in some cases all too […]

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Since diving into the deep end when it comes to energy issues, almost every day sees new fascinating concepts, approaches, and technologies. Fascinating … exciting … even hope inspiring at times. And, as well, as the passion builds, so many of these are truly Energy COOL. When determining how to prioritize action using, by definition, […]

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The Commonwealth of Virginia has long embraced a tradition of: Good governance (especially fiscal management) Support for good public education (including a top public university system) Protection of its historical legacy and landscape (such as Civil War battlefields and the Piedmont) Business-friendly policy. Looking at the economic and political landscape, the time seems ripe for […]

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