Gov. Kaine proposes '09 green initiative to create jobs

RICHMOND

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced a new initiative Thursday that he said will get much of his attention in 2009: Renew Virginia.

The program will involve additional spending, legislation and executive orders all aimed at environmental protection and energy issues.

As part of that effort, Kaine said a newly formed task force will suggest ways to attract more alternative-energy companies to Virginia and create "tens of thousands" of green jobs by 2025.

"Our goal is to position the commonwealth as a leader in alternative-energy generation, energy conservation, and research and development,"

Kaine said at a media event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, which itself is a "green building," constructed to save energy.

Before the event, the governor met privately at the convention center with 10 executives of energy and engineering companies doing business in the state. The executives will continue advising Kaine and his energy task force throughout 2009. Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick O. Gottschalk will lead the task force, which also will include Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and university scientists.

Kaine said he will roll out his spending proposals for Renew Virginia next week and will follow up with legislative recommendations after Christmas. The General Assembly then will consider the package, beginning in January.

Kaine will unveil his plans amid a state budget deficit of more than $2.5 billion, continuing gridlock over transportation funding and little political appetite for new spending, and as the governor enters his final year in office.

Despite the financial crisis, Kaine said, it is important for state leaders not to retrench, but to innovate. "By developing a green energy industry here," he said, "we will not only move toward a more environmentally responsible approach to addressing our growing energy needs, but we will also help stimulate Virginia's economy."

Environmentalists applauded the Renew Virginia concept but said they would wait to see the details before celebrating.

"We're cautiously optimistic," said Jessica Lee, a spokeswoman for the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

"We're pleased the governor is taking this direction," said Glen Besa, state director of the Sierra Club. "You gotta start somewhere, right?"

Kaine said he was pleased that the Virginia Tobacco Commission recently approved $32 million to develop five energy research centers around the state, mostly in the central and western parts of Virginia. Expanding research and development of new, cleaner technologies through state universities is vital to the Renew Virginia program, he said.

The governor said he likes what other states have done to create incentives for home-owners and businesses to use more solar energy, and he praised existing efforts in Virginia to convert barley and algae into biofuels.

"We're doing some good things on a smaller scale," he said, "but we need to go further."

The governor's Commission on Climate Change last week recommended mandatory goals for energy conservation and efficiency and urged Virginia to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050.

That same week, the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative announced plans for a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County, about 40 miles from Norfolk, that would emit tons of greenhouse gases and make it more difficult for Virginia to meet its global-warming reductions.

Kaine said Thursday he was caught off-guard by the Surry County announcement and that his staff is evaluating the project. Environmental groups are hoping the Kaine administration opposes the plant and rejects permitting its construction.