Loudoun County's Energy Plan

I am from Loudoun County. This mid-sized county is suburb of Washington D.C. and the ultimate representation of sprawl. Recently, Loudoun County has decided to implement an energy plan, not much different from the ones being suggested and implemented at the national level. Loudoun is the first county to take such an initiative on energy production, consumption, and control at the county level within our nation. Not only is this plan innovative for a locality within our country but the plan is also innovative within this locality because of Loudoun’s conservative nature and former frontier ethics. Due to these former ethics and overall forward-thinking nature of the plan itself, there is large contestation as well as many political and economic implications surrounding this hot topic. The answer is clear though; this plan is not just a liberal campaign to gain hype and support among the nation, it instead is a very important initiative at the local level to save the world. It comes down to intergenerational equality and respect of the region. Those who contest the plan speak from an ignorant and far right perspective that shows no respect for the preservation of the region or the lives that are to come long after they have passed. Not only will the plan lower greenhouse gas emissions, but it will more importantly draw interest and call attention for the need to implement such plans at the local level.

The plan is to be implemented in July of 2009 and contains specifics such as using the steam produced from data centers such as AOL and Verizon to produce electricity from the surrounding town as well as putting an extremely strict cap on CO₂ emissions so that Loudoun County will be among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. This energy plan not only poses Loudoun County as a role model to the rest of the region, but also to the nation as a whole. While this innovative and forward thinking plan seems almost intuitive and therefore should be unanimously accepted within the locality, there has actually been much conflict as well as political and economic debate over this hot topic. As noted, Loudoun County has until recently, been a very conservative locality, adverse to any change. Not only does the plan exemplify change to the community, but to some, it could prove to be a change for the worse. Not only are the fiscal responsibilities of the plan expansive, but the far right and often misinformed believe the plan implements a detrimental carbon tax, which it certainly does not. While the proponents of the plan are few, the supporters believe the plan will, “address both the supply and use of energy needed to support the county's attractiveness, overall competitiveness, livability and environmental performance”. Those who do support the implementation of the plan release that it has the potential to reduce the overall cost of both energy production and consumption for the community in the long range. What most people see is a large dollar sign represented in their taxes, rather than the overall and long-range cost reduction and cost sustainability with this initiative.

The majority of county residents are unfortunately against the energy plan. Not only are they misinformed about certain aspects such as the plans to reduce CO₂ emissions but they are also misguided by what seem to be a large initial dollar sign with no signs of immediate gain. Those who oppose the new energy plan believe that there are more economically sound ways to develop energy policies. For the most part they believe in remaining coal dependent, especially cheap coal from West Virginia. Not only does this have easement implications, but it a far from sustainable approach to dealing with the present energy crisis. That is just like slapping a band-aid on a wound that needs stitches. While yes, it might be a shirt-term solution that keeps the County budget within reason, but it is only a temporary fix to a pressing problem. It is inevitable with any forward-thinking, retrofitting plan, whether dealing with energy or not, there is going to be a large monetary and even often social cost to pay up front, but in the end, like a good investment, that cost comes back to the investor tenfold. Those who oppose the energy plan have a hard time seeing beyond higher taxes and often label such initiatives as “wasteful spending” In fact, much of the local press is against the energy plan as well. The press is largely responsible for starting a highly influential rumor that the energy plan proposed a carbon tax that would be detrimental to much of the local industry, and therefore many of the local jobs. Not only does the plan not implement any sort of carbon tax, the greenhouse gas reduction it suggests is far from detrimental. The energy plan merely implements a strict cap on carbon emissions. Emissions standards for carbon have already been implemented in a cost effective and overall successful way in Loudoun County. The county posed a year long challenge which began in April 2008. Loudoun County pledged to reduce carbon emissions by three percent, or 1.365 million pounds. Loudoun County Energy Manager Najib Salehi reports that the county exceeded its goal by more than 1.5 million pounds with a total reduction of 2.912 million pounds in carbon dioxide emissions. That translates to a nearly six percent reduction.

Despite the opposition Loudoun County’s new energy plan is facing, the plan is pushing forward, gaining support, and to be implemented this July. From a policy, political, economic, and environmental standpoint the plan is not only sound but necessary. It is definitely an adequate step in the right direction and hopefully an inspiration to other localities throughout the nation. Without this planning effort at the local level, establishing a collaborative energy plan at the national level becomes near to impossible. Despite the various implications, I know Loudoun County’s energy plan will be a positive change for not only the locality itself, but also for the region and maybe even the nation as a whole.