Cuccinelli, EPA to square off over coal plant rules
E2 – The Hill’s Energy and Environment blog
Today, the Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will be a witness to a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  The hearing is called “Lights Out II: Another Look at EPA’s Utility MACT Rule.”

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Batteries on a wind farm help control power output

New York Times

The 98 MW Laurel Mountain wind farm opened this week in West Virginia.  The AES corporation developed both the ridgetop wind project and the novel batteries that will help to smooth output to the grid.  The batteries are the largest attached to a grid in the United States, but they are still small with a capacity to store only a few hundred dollars worth of energy at peak generation.

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VA ranks 34th out of 50 on yearly state energy efficiency scorecard
Richmond Examiner
VA ranked 34th in the The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) 5th annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.  This is the same rank Virginia received on the last scorecard.  This article calls for stronger support for energy efficiency from political and business leaders to improve the ranking, conserve energy and save money.

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Puckett, Light vying for four year term in newly redrawn state Senate district
Tri-Cities
According to this article, the 38th district VA State Senate candidates, Puckett (Democratic incumbent) and Light (Republican with ties to Tea Party) are attempting to “out coal” one another to appeal to voters with ties to the leading industry in the district.  The Dems have a majority in the state Senate by a narrow margin, 22-18.  Puckett says that his spending on this campaign adds up to more than other races combined at over $600,000.

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Dominion 3rd quarter profit falls on quake, hurricane costs

Richmond Times Dispatch
Inspections following the earthquake and Dominion’s second largest restoration effort following hurricane Irene drove up the company’s costs.  Dominon says the 10% drop in operatings earnings was due to lower generation margins, weather-related sales and contributions from producer services.  Revenue would have fallen more than 4% due to decline in electricity usage without rate hikes.  The article mentions the Wise county plant is scheduled to begin operation next Summer and the Warren county combined cycle plant is expected to break ground next spring, pending regulatory approval.

Operating earnings drop at Dominion
Virginia Business
Third-quarter operating earnings at Dominion Resources dropped to $541 million from $603 million for the same period last year.

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Interior plans merger of OSM, lands agency
Charleston Gazette
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the possible merger of the OSM with the BLM.  Among those that are opposed to the merger is Nick Rahall who has raised the concern that the merger would cause the OSM to become “diluted or denuded.”  Salazar claims the merger would allow the agencies to “make the most of limited resources.”
What’s up with Obama ‘bizarre’ plan for OSMRE?
Coal Tattoo – Ken Ward Jr.

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Supervisors OK permit for power plant

VaNcnews.com
The Bruswick County board of supervisors approved a conditional use permit for the construction of a 1500 MW natural gas plant (using oil as a secondary fuel) with Dominion Power. John Ragone of Dominion said that construction is planned to start in the second quarter of 2013 with and open in the fourth quarter of 2015.

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Rising seas and denial in Carolina

The Virginian-Pilot
NC-20, a coalition of business leaders and public officials from 20 counties in North Carolina, is calling into question warnings issued by a state appointed panel of scientists to prepare for sea level increases of 39 inches by the end of the century.  The article concludes with the notion that preparation is important because the costs of adapting to rising sea levels will be much higher in the future.