Contact: Gary Waugh/DCR
(804) 786-5045
(804) 840-3927
www.dcr.virginia.gov
January 26, 2009
Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced a donation by Virginia’s electric cooperatives that can cut energy usage and save the Commonwealth money for years to come. The co-ops are donating 4,200 compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), allowing the state to replace all incandescent lights in Virginia’s 35 state parks.
“Replacing the old lighting in the cabins, visitor centers and other structures throughout the park system will be a major step in helping achieve our administration’s goals of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions outlined in our Renew Virginia initiative,” Governor Kaine said. “I applaud Virginia’s electric cooperatives and their nearly half a million consumer-members throughout the state for making this possible.”
The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) and power supplier Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) donated the 4,200 bulbs valued at $18,000.
According to estimates from General Electric, manufacturer of the donated bulbs, replacing the old lights with CFLs could reduce overall energy used from 320 kilowatts to 80, annually saving the state parks $56,000 in energy costs. They would also reduce carbon dioxide, or greenhouse gas, emissions by more than one million pounds per year.
“This is the equivalent of removing 94 cars per year from Virginia’s roads or adding 134 acres of forested land,” Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. said.
At the cooperatives’ request, DCR provided a list of the number and type of electric bulbs required throughout the Virginia State Park system. These included an assortment of standard 40, 60 and 100 watt incandescent bulbs, 60 watt bug lamps, 120 watt spot lamps and other specialty bulbs. Each of these will be replaced by an equivalent energy-efficient CFL fixture. For example, 100 watt incandescent bulbs will be replaced with CFLs that use just 26 watts to provide the same amount of light.
“If every Virginia family replaced just one incandescent bulb in their home with a CFL, the energy savings would be significant,” noted Jackson E. Reasor Jr., president and CEO of VMDAEC and ODEC. “It is the hope of Virginia’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives and our consumer-members that by demonstrating the dramatic energy savings that can be achieved by installing CFL fixtures at our state parks, we can encourage all of our fellow citizens to do the same.”
Reasor also noted that many of Virginia’s state parks are located in rural areas of the Commonwealth where Virginia’s 13 electric distribution cooperatives are the primary energy providers.
“This is why we felt it was a natural fit for our cooperatives to give back to our communities and continue our program of reminding all Virginians to be more energy efficient,” he said.
The donation was made possible through the auspices of the state’s 13 local not-for-profit electric cooperatives as well as cooperative power supplier Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which provides electricity to nine of these cooperatives. Virginia’s electric cooperatives are A&N Electric Cooperative, Tasley; BARC Electric Cooperative, Millboro; Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, Arrington; Community Electric Cooperative, Windsor; Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative, New Castle; and Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative, Chase City.
Also Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, Warsaw; Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC), Manassas; Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, Jonesville; Prince George Electric Cooperative, Waverly; Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Fredericksburg; Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, Mt. Crawford; and Southside Electric Cooperative, Crewe.
Today’s announcement is part of Governor Kaine’s Renew Virginia initiative. Renew Virginia is Governor Kaine's year-long initiative to promote renewable energy, green jobs, and environmental protection. For more information on Renew Virginia, visit www.governor.virginia.gov/Initiatives/RenewVirginia .
