Eastern Shore Virginia Get First Turbine Testing Facility

Representative Scott Rigell

Rigell Applauds Governor McDonnell's Efforts to Bring First U.S. Wind Turbine Test Facility to Virginia's Eastern Shore

Washington, Oct 13 - Collaborative project first of its kind

Washington, DC, October 13 – Representative Scott Rigell (VA-2) commended Governor Bob McDonnell on the announcement of a project to establish a facility for the testing and certification of large offshore and land-based electricity-producing wind turbines on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The collaborative project, called Poseidon Atlantic, would be the first such test facility in existence, and the initial phase of the project is to be developed in Northampton County.

“I’m thrilled that this project is going forward for the Commonwealth, the country, and particularly for the Eastern Shore of Virginia,” said Rigell, who represents the Eastern Shore, Virginia Beach, and parts of Hampton and Norfolk. “As a nation, we must achieve energy independence, and wind energy technology carries with it extreme potential to address the energy challenges our great country faces today.

“Here in Virginia’s Second Congressional District, we’ve known for some time about the incredible opportunities – and jobs! – that wind energy can create. We are so excited to have this forward-looking project find a home in our district.”

Beyond creating jobs directly on the Eastern Shore, the development of the commercial wind turbine test center in coastal Virginia would capitalize on the unique maritime advantages provided by the Port of Virginia. Hampton Roads is well-positioned to provide marine construction, fabrication and supply-chain support to the offshore wind industry.


The Poseidon Atlantic project is a private-sector initiative developed by the companies Real NewEnergy, Fugro and Ecofys, with the support of the Commonwealth, the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) and the Netherlands government. The proposed facility is intended for full-service testing and certification of existing-and-next generation land-based and offshore wind turbine generators.

Source;  http://rigell.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=264158

Virginia Offshore Drilling

WESR

Gov. Bob McDonnell is pushing anew to open waters off Virginia to oil and gas exploration, appealing to President Barack Obama and Congress to end a moratorium on East Coast drilling.

He's still waiting to hear from Obama, but the U.S. House did just that on Thursday, passing legislation that could return a vast area in the Atlantic to energy exploration. The bill's prospects in the Senate are uncertain.

McDonnell used the backdrop of a suburban service station and gas prices flirting with the $4 mark to forcefully argue for a "red, white and blue" U.S. energy policy that includes drilling off Virginia's coast. The Gulf oil disaster in 2010 delayed any East Coast drilling until at least 2017.

The Republican governor made that pitch to Obama in letter dated April 15 but has yet to receive a response.

"The pain at the pump is the result of many factors, one of which is the result of our ongoing dependence on foreign sources of oil," McDonnell said as vehicles streamed through the pumps behind him. He said the country should consider all domestic energy production, including nuclear power, wind, solar and biomass.

He added, "A key part of that effort should be the environmentally responsible development and production of oil and natural gas off of Virginia's shores."

McDonnell, who learned of the House's passage of the drilling legislation at the news conference, said the nation cannot ignore the consequences of ever-rising gas prices on the economy and consumers. He cited estimates that the average U.S. household will pay an extra $1,210 more on gasoline this year.

"That is money that could be spent by families on education, groceries and vacations," he said.

Even before his January 2010 inauguration, McDonnell has been promoting Virginia as a future "energy capital," and offshore drilling was a cornerstone of achieving that vision. Then the Deepwater Horizon accident occurred and the Obama administration shelved plans to open East Coast waters to drilling.

While McDonnell acknowledged that the Gulf spill was "unprecedented disaster," he said the nation should now move forward to expand oil and gas exploration.

"I know that the lessons learned over the last year will produce the new technology and safety standards to make sure we have the safest and highest standards before we explore and drill in Virginia," he said.

The government believes nearly 3 million acres off Virginia's coast could produce 130 million barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Environmentalists have said that will provide the U.S. with six days of oil and 18 days of natural gas, based on current consumption trends.

Critics have said the return isn't worth the environmental risk to Virginia's tourism attractions, such as Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay, and its commercial and recreational fishery.

The House vote and McDonnell's news conference, which attracted a half-dozen protesters from the Sierra Club, sparked immediate criticism from the Southern Environmental Law Center.


"We agree with Governor McDonnell that America needs to increase its domestic source of energy -- but we strongly disagree that that should entail putting our coastal communities, fishing and tourism business at risk," Nat Mund, the center's legislative director, said in a statement.


The legislation approved by the House on Thursday would force the federal government to conduct three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Virginia coast within a year, or by June 2012. Lease sales are the first step in a multi-year process that can culminate in drilling.

Source; http://www.ask4direct.com/infoRead.asp?InfoID=704612&print=on

Gov. McDonnell Attacks Healthcare Overhaul in Weekly Address

Gov. Bob McDonnell says Republican governors are at risk of being undermined by "unrealistic and irresponsible" policies coming from Washington, including the federal health care overhaul.

McDonnell delivered the Republican weekly address Saturday, just days after the one-year anniversary of the passage of the health care legislation.

This is the second time McDonnell has delivered the Republican weekly address. The last time was August 2009.

McDonnell said passage of the health care package had more do to with expanding control by the federal government than reforming health care.

McDonnell called the legislation "a budget buster" and "unconstitutional." Virginia has challenged the legislation in court

McDonnell called on fellow Republicans to repeal the health care legislation, which the House of Representatives has voted to do.
Source; shoredailynews.com

Virginia General Assembly Adjorns, Passes Budget

Virginia's House and Senate unanimously passed amendments to the state's $80 billion budget Sunday, ending the 2011 General Assembly one day late.

The compromise government spending blueprint through June 2012 offers more aid for public schools, for the profoundly disabled and for state and local government pensioners. It also provides state aid to brake the meteoric rise in tuition at state-supported colleges and universities.

However, Gov. Bob McDonnell ended up with only about a fifth of the $150 million he asked for in December for transportation from last year's general fund budget and reductions he sought for school funding were reversed. Plums he proposed for the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and a 2012 sailing regatta were rejected by House and Senate members.

McDonnell said he was strongly considering restoring some of the funding for transportation when he sends the budget bill back to legislators for the April 6 veto session.

The House and Senate did give the Democratic governor a victory by passing the transportation funding package he proposed, including about $3 billion in debt. It represents the biggest state cash infusion for Virginia highway upkeep and construction in 25 years.

It passed on a 97-0 vote in the House and a 40-0 vote in the Senate, the first time in years that it cleared without dissent. Before they left, legislators reconvened in a special session and recessed until April 4, the day they return to begin redrawing the state's House and Senate districts.

The budget does some deferred state fiscal housekeeping, depositing $114 million into the "rainy day" reserves depleted by a three-year economic downturn. That was $64 million more than McDonnell sought.

It also gives a break to most of the state's merchants by ending the accelerated sales tax. That means that only the largest retailers still have to send the state two checks -- for June and July sales tax collections -- instead of one. The sales-tax speedup was enacted at the depth of the recession to help cover a budget shortfall.

Public schools receive about $75 million more than the $5.5 billion that McDonnell had proposed while the House wanted to cut McDonnell's proposal by about $93 million.

Also included in the sweetened sum is about $16 million that prevents continued losses among the state's smallest and poorest school districts.

Public television's state support was cut by about $400,000, or one-tenth, but it survived the elimination of all state aid the House had proposed.

Teachers and state employees hired before last July 1 avoid a 2 percent net pay cut they would have taken under McDonnell's budget. The new budget places on employees the responsibility for paying a 5 percent share of their retirement into the Virginia Retirement System. But it provides $7 million to offset the burden by providing a 5 percent public employee raise, their first since 2007. McDonnell's budget provided only a 3 percent raise.

To slow recent state college tuition spikes, the budget allocates more than $100 million for financial aid and to increase the number of slots for in-state students at flagship state universities such as Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.

Also addressed was a scathing Justice Department report on major deficiencies in the outmoded hospital-style institutions where the intellectually disabled are warehoused. The budget provided at least $30 million more in emergency funding.

The money goes into a new Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Trust Fund that McDonnell proposed to take urgent steps to head off a federal lawsuit alleging Virginia has flaunted the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It also provides nearly $47 million to help the disabled and mentally ill move into community care facilities supported under Medicaid.

The budget restores more than $64 million for reimbursements to Medicaid providers, including hospitals, nursing homes, doctors and dentists, who were facing reductions on July 1.

Businesses get some breaks. About $6 million in fees are eliminated, including fees the Health Department imposes for inspections that are as high as $285 for restaurants and $100 for other businesses.

There are about $10 million worth of tax incentives for Virginia vineyards and ports and for research and development.

But McDonnell got only about half of the $3 million increase he wanted in a discretionary fund his administration could use to romance Hollywood into filming blockbusters in Virginia.

Lawmakers rejected McDonnell's proposal to spend nearly $70 million to keep up with explosive growth in the state's civil commitment program for sexually violent predators. Instead, they authorized the double-bunking of up to 150 of the more than 200 sex offenders being held at a Burkeville psychiatric facility for treatment after their prison sentences have ended.
Source; www.shoredailynews.com