Friends,
Last night, the Arlington County Board took a big step to help fight climate change and reach the ambitious goals we set as a community in the campaign in 2018 and in Arlington's Community Energy Plan passed in 2019.
The Board approved an agreement for a solar farm in southern Virginia near Danville in Pittsylvania County. The electricity generated from the solar farm will be credited against our current bill, leading to reductions in our energy use that will power 83% of our County Government operations by late 2022. That is a big step toward 100% renewable electricity for government, residents, and commercial use by 2035, one of the five priorities we campaigned on in 2018.
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The County will partner with Dominion Energy on this solar farm in an agreement that I am confident is a good one for Arlington and for the environment. The solar energy involved will get us most of the way to our 2025 goals in this area. The price and terms of the agreement are favorable and were fully vetted. County staff and energy experts agree that this is a big step.
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The earth--what we must work relentlessly to protect for our generation and future generations.
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This is the biggest step we have ever taken as a community to reduce our carbon footprint. The agreement is with Dominion and was unanimously approved by the County Board. (See footnote at bottom of this email if you have questions.)
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This isn't perfect, but it is definitely worth it. Some of the trees on the land involved will need to be cut down. I regret that, but am confident that the renewable energy benefit significantly outweighs the trees that will need to be cut on approximately 10% of the land. Further, there will be efforts to minimize even that amount. See the button below for the agreement itself and the details.
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I am thrilled with this, deeply grateful to staff who made this happen, and honored to have your support as we continue the important working of leading toward 100% by 2035 and fighting climate change.
With a full heart,
Matt
ps. If you believe in this work, please click on the following link to contribute and join me February 23rd. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/2020fundraiser (We will email you address and location details. Tickets $50, AYD's $25, Friends $100, Co-host $250, Host $500.)
pps. We also took other actions this month in the Board Meetings, such as to allow for larger fines for speeding in safety zones and invest in sewer infrastructure, but this solar agreement stands out and aligns with 1 of our 5 campaign priorities, so I am focusing on it.
Footnote for those with questions re Dominion. I always judge an agreement on its terms and facts and circumstances. In this case the big picture is clearly a big win. Still a couple of my views to reassure you. 1) I continue to believe that in Richmond, no legislator should accept money from Dominion. 2) I have never taken and pledge never to take Dominion funding. 3) I believe Dominion should fully support lifting the cap on net metering.
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