VB Dems

WaPo reports that Terry McAuliffe is interested in buying the soon-to-be shuttered International Paper Mill in Franklin, VA. He wants to convert it into a wood-fired power plant.

I need to find out more about such “green” energy. It potentially could be eligible for tax credits, as promised by Bob McDonnell on the campaign trail. “Sources in the governor’s office say McAuliffe and his partners would be eligible for tax credits, available in the new McDonnell administration, that would allow a $500 income tax credit for the creation of “green” jobs and a credit for up to 350 new green jobs if the jobs are in an enterprise zone.

Conceivably given our great potential with offshore wind energy development, all of Hampton Roads, which could include Franklin, should be an enterprise zone. It also makes me wonder if a paper mill could be instead bought and retrofitted to accommodate manufacturing of any of those 8,000 parts that go into any one wind turbine. Wind is a lot greener than energy derived from burning wood, which… pardon my ignorance… makes me envision good pollution-eating trees being cut down. Perhaps it’s deemed “greener” as it’s better to derive energy from trees as opposed to paper.

(I’m also wondering if Virginia has a very good Forest Management Plan. Probably not given this from the Dogwood Alliance… “IP’s Southeastern Virginia’s Franklin Mill also voraciously feeds on wood fiber harvested from important ecological habitat with a sourcing footprint that stretches from the impressive stands of cypress and Atlantic white-cedar in the Great Dismal Swamp which extends from Southeastern Virginia across into Northeastern North Carolina ranging to the hardwoods of the ridges leading to the Appalachian Mountains.”)

The WaPo article also mentions that our alleged “Jobs Governor” never visited the Franklin paper mill while campaigning. Creigh Deeds did. He also counseled the soon-to-be out of work workers about his plan to increase unemployment and health benefits, to be paid for with the $125 million in federal stimulus money that Republicans rejected last year.

I hope reporters follow McDonnell to this paper mill meeting and totally capture all that he promises these workers.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 6:04 am and is filed under Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.