Posts Tagged ‘energy’
Home Energy Contest Reveals Pressing Need in Western NC
Residents spend three times national average on energy bills Contact: Rory McIlmoil, Energy Policy Director, 828-262-1500, rory@appvoices.org Sarah Kellogg, North Carolina Field Organizer, 828-262-1500, sarah@appvoices.org Boone, N.C. — In announcing the three winners of its “High Country Home Energy Makeover Contest” today, Appalachian Voices said that the need for residential energy efficiency improvements in one…
Read MoreEnergy Industry Overstated Predictions of Price Spikes
By Brian Sewell The energy industry’s record of overestimating electricity price spikes as a result of pollution controls dates back 40 years, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress. As a result of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, the Edison Electric Institute, an association of investor-owned utilities, estimated double-digit rate increases…
Read MoreEnergy Efficiency Offers Promise of Lower Electric Bills
By Brian Sewell Even as residential energy efficiency improves, the impact of home energy costs on low-income families in the Southeast has become more severe since the turn of the century, according to a report by Appalachian Voices. The report, titled “Poverty and the Burden of Electricity Costs in the Southeast,” found that in 2001…
Read MoreOSM Investigates WV Mining Law Enforcement
By Brian Sewell The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced on Dec. 30 that it will investigate West Virginia’s surface coal mining regulatory program. The announcement comes six months after the Citizen Action for Real Enforcement campaign — a coalition of 18 state and national organizations — held a press conference and…
Read MoreNew Campaign to Bring Clean Energy to Virginia
On Aug. 27, Appalachian Voices and partners in the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition launched “New Power for the Old Dominion,” a statewide campaign to urge electric providers, energy policy officials and state lawmakers to increase investment in cleaner energy generation in the state.
Read MoreMajor Efficiency Bill Stalled in the Senate
By Brian Sewell Since being introduced to the Senate in July, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, also known as Shaheen-Portman (S. 1392), promised to be the first major energy bill passed by the Senate in more than six years. Hours after debate began on the bill, however, that possibility diminished with the addition…
Read MoreSolar and Wind Projects Take Off Across Appalachia
First Utility-Scale Solar Projects Proposed in West Virginia By Brian Sewell Solar Thin Films Inc., a New York-based company, recently announced a contract to develop up to 35 megawatts of solar capacity in West Virginia. Through an agreement with property owner Tri-State Solar, the solar developer plans to install three sites in Alderson, Crawley and…
Read MoreNew Research and Lawsuits Keep Mountaintop Removal in the Spotlight
By Brian Sewell While battles over mountaintop removal permits reach their boiling point and lawsuits are filed and settled, new research revealing the environmental costs continues to pile up. In September, a study by Duke University, Kent State University and the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies compared the environmental toll of mountaintop removal to the…
Read MoreResourceful and Resilient: June/July issue of The Appalachian Voice celebrates farmers
From determined Virginia cattle farmers to entrepreneurial vegetable growers in eastern Kentucky, the latest issue of The Appalachian Voice showcases the resourcefulness and resilience of our mountain farmers. In our features, Today’s Farming Frontier looks at how growers are adapting to changing markets. A special three-page section explores Appalachian farm ownership. In A Matter of…
Read MoreAppalachia & the World
The Appalachian Voice typically looks inward, exploring the intricacies of our region. This time, however, we looked out at the rest of the world to see what Appalachia’s global ties could tell us about the life, history and struggles that take place within these mountains. Take a moment to flip through the print version or…
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