Related: More General Assembly newsRICHMOND
For the second time in about one week, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran is taking a hard environmental stance to distinguish himself from his opponents.
Moran, a former Alexandria delegate, has scheduled a news conference this morning to announce his opposition to a proposed coal-powered energy plant in Surry County.
“Across the nation and right here in Virginia our energy future is in a precarious position,” Moran said in a written statement. “The proposed coal-burning power plant in Surry should not go forward based on the information currently available.”
Added Moran: “2009 should be the year that we make unprecedented commitments to clean, renewable energy that can preserve our planet and create thousands of new jobs all over the Commonwealth.”
The proposed plant would be established on 1,600 acres in Surry, on land that can be optioned by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.
Last week, Moran publicly pledged to fight efforts to permit drilling for natural gas and oil off Virginia’s shoreline in the Atlantic.
A decades-old moratorium on offshore drilling ended this year, opening a path for the federal government to begin leasing land at least 50 miles offshore for energy exploration. Leasing could begin as early as 2011.
In addition to Moran, state Sen. Creigh Deeds and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe are seeking the party’s nomination for governor. Democrats plan a June primary to pick a nominee for the November election.
Attorney General Bob McDonnell is the presumptive Republican nominee.
Julian Walker, 804-697-1564, Julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Is this guy a moran or
Is this guy a moran or something? There are only a few choices available for power generation aren't there? If he doesn't like coal, then what does HE propose? It's gas, coal, oil, or nuclear. That's it, right? We cannot build a dam, offshore drilling is irrelevant to this discussion, solar and wind and nuclear fusion are decades away, etc. What else is there? Magic? Doc Brown's "Mr. Fusion"? Coal fired plants can be very clean, VA has plenty of it and you don't have to worry about nuclear waste. Plus, nobody is gonna try to crash a plane into a coal fired power plant are they?
Why is he really opposed to it? Not enough kick backs yet?
Then where are we supposed to get our energy from Mr. Moran
While stating that we should look for renewable sources of energy to power our community is all well and good it's just not feasible yet. We have to find a solution for the meantime and this coal powered plant is one way. I have always advocated an all the above solution which calls for drilling exploration, coal powered energy, and research into renewable energy. Mr. Moran we are many years away from making wind powered or solar powered plants a viable option for our energy independence your stance here just proved to me that you are not ready to govern this Commonwealth. I'll look elsewhere for a new governor maybe one that understands a basic energy policy.
Mercury
I prefer my without mercury, if I have a choice.
"Way to Uncle Leo, sticking it to the man"
Let's see...
No coal, no oil drilling, no gas drilling. Mr. Moran, with all due respect, what are we supposed to run this area with -- happy thoughts and good wishes? From you all the way up to the Congress and our new president, the idea seems to be that if you cut off our ability to use fossil and nuclear fuels, "someone" will magically come up with a way to make wind and solar 1000% more efficient than it is right now. By the same thinking, let's cut off assistance to those people who are out of work and unable to support themselves, and maybe they'll "magically" find other sources of income.
"Yes we can" is not a plan.
Pandering
These politicians either need to based their energy policies on science and engineering or just shut up. We need answers and not solutionless pandering.
I have a great idea!
Let Mr. Moran live in a home with no electricity and require him to travel the Commonwealth via horse.