Category: Infrastructure
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No Quick Fix for I-66
When the Interstate 66 Express Lanes opened a year ago, they triggered a maelstrom of controversy as Northern Virginia commuters encountered new driving patterns. Motorists were particularly irate at peak rush-hour tolls rising as high as $47.50 to drive just a few miles on I-66 inside the Beltway. Virginia transportation officials said, never fear, people…
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At Last, a Green Tariff for APCo Customers
The State Corporation Commission has approved a proposal allowing Appalachian Power Company (APCo) customers to purchase electricity generated 100% from renewable energy. An average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would pay a premium of $4.25 a month. The Commission had rejected two previous APCo proposals for a 100% renewable energy tariff. In an…
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Who’s Got Broadband and Who Doesn’t?
This map, published today by the Virginia Public Access Project, shows clearly the metropolitan/rural divide in access to broadband Internet access. Some rural areas obviously enjoy better broadband service than others. Look at the cluster of counties to the south and west of the Washington metropolitan area. Look at the cities and counties running down the I-81…
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Virginia’s economy continues to sputter
Blue state blues. The Associated Press is summarizing Virginia’s latest Comprehensive Annual Financial Report regarding the economic health of The Old Dominion. The news is bleak. “Personal income grew 4.1 percent in Virginia compared to 4.5 percent in the U.S. Housing prices in Virginia rose 5 percent compared to 6.8 percent nationally. Virginia also lagged…
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2019 General Assembly Session – Privatizing Public Roads in McLean, Va
Judge Dillon’s revenge. Development vs transportation has been a long running battle in Virginia. Northern Virginia’s local government politicians never met a developer (or developer’s campaign contribution) they didn’t love. Virginia’s state legislators love NoVa growth since it provides more state tax money to spread around like party favors to their downstate constituencies. However, those…
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Delayed, ACP Price Tag Reaches $7 Billion
Delays mainly caused by continuing regulatory battles have added another half a billion dollars to the price tag for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project now crossing Virginia. Dominion Resources CEO Thomas Farrell used a new top figure of $7 billion in a discussion of the project with investors and analysts on November 1. Back in…
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Dissecting Virginia’s Amazon Deal
Virginia has committed to investing a sum unprecedented for an economic development deal in the Commonwealth — roughly $2.5 billion in state and local dollars to bring Amazon, Inc. to Northern Virginia. In a presentation to the House Appropriations Committee yesterday, Stephen Moret, CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) provided a detailed account…
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Smart Cities Council Comes to Virginia
The Smart Cities Council recently held a “Readiness Challenge” workshop in Virginia. I’ve banged the Smart Cities drum on and off over the years, but gave up when I saw so little reader interest. But I’ll take one more whack with a percussion mallet because the “smart cities” concept seems to be gaining momentum. The…
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White Savior Complex — or Cynical Ploy?
I understand the motivations of landowners opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. If I lived along the pipeline route, I’d be worried about the impact of construction on my drinking water, and I’d be upset that forest-clearing disrupted my pristine views. I appreciate their arguments that, with the rapid advance of solar power, wind power, and…
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Chesterfield’s $50 Million Fiscal Landmine
Virginia and its local governments are constitutionally obligated to balance their budgets ever year. But as I have repeatedly pointed out, there are many ways to duck that obligation. One is to rack up unfunded pension liabilities. Another is to under-fund maintenance. Today we discover that even a highly reputed county with a AAA bond…
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Bacon Bits: Rails, Roads, Hurricanes and Rainbows
Still off the tracks. Despite promising efforts by top-level management, the Washington Metro corporate culture is still dysfunctional. An audit of $1.9 million in blanket purchase agreements found missing and incomplete documents, reports the Washington Times. “Auditors found that Metro employees failed to record $845,000 as BPAs in their accounting software, a problem the inspector general attributed…
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Shoreline Resiliency Funds for Hampton Roads?
In 2016 former Governor Terry McAuliffe signed a bill that set up a revolving loan fund to help homeowners and businesses elevate their properties to safeguard against sea level rise. Just one problem, says the Virginian-Pilot. The fund has no dedicated revenue source. Two years later, “the well is dry.” Now the Virginia Conservation Network…
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Virginia Has Hired Its Own Offshore Wind Guru
Getting serious about making a Virginia a major player in the offshore wind energy, the Northam administration has engaged international energy consulting firm BVG Associates. BVG Advisory Director Andy Geissbuehler made his first public appearance in a public listening session in Newport News yesterday on the topic of wind development. “Everyone knows the U.S. will be…
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Dominion Files 10-Year Grid Modernization Plan
Dominion Energy today filed a plan with the State Corporation Commission outlining how it intends to comply with the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018. The filing asks the SCC to approve the programs and investments included in the first three years of a 10-year grid modernization initiative. The filing can be viewed here.…