Energy in Virginia
Virginia, with its extensive coal resources and two nuclear power plants, is still a net importer of
energy from out-of-state. According to one source, in 1999 Virginia produced 1,018 trillion BTU (British Thermal Units) of energy, and consumed 2,227 trillion BTU's - meaning Virginia imported about half of the energy it produced. Since Virginia exported about half of the coal it produced (measured in BTU's), Virginia is dependent on imports for substantially more than half of the energy used in the state. In the next energy crisis, the exported coal can not be converted into petroleum for use in cars and trucks.
Statistics about energy are hard to comprehend and may not appear to be consistent, but you can still use them to see the patterns and get the "big picture." According to the Virginia Energy Overview, from the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research:
- over 40% of the state's energy is consumed by the transportation sector
- utilities in Virginia import electricity, as well as generate it within the state
- electricity can be transported via power lines, but some of the energy is lost in the process due to electrical resistance
- 40% of the energy used within Virginia fuels transportation, primarily from petroleum (gasoline in cars, diesel in trucks)
Oil production in the state is very limited - there are just two tiny oil fields (Ben Hur and Rose Hill) in Lee County, plus the Roaring Fork field in Wise County. Virginia also produces a little natural gas. Coalbed methane production will increase in the Appalachian Plateau, but Virginia will always be a net importer of oil and gas - as long as cars and trucks use an internal combustion engine powered by gasoline/diesel.
Virginia is also a net importer of electricity, even though that fuel is rarely used in the transportation sector. Electricity is produced in only a handful of locations in Virginia, but a complex distribution system of power lines built in the last 80 years carries it to virtually every house in the state. Virginia is building new power plants to handle the increasing demand, both from increased use per capita (your computer requires it...) and because Virginia's population is steadily increasing.
With deregulation of utilities, customers are getting to choose their energy supplier and starting to ask basic questions about the industry. A cursory review will show that both physics and government
regulations shaped where power plants and power lines were built in Virginia.
If you look at Virginia as an economic geographer, you will discover patterns of human activity
and resource allocation that can be mapped or related to locations. The geography of electricity -
the primary form of energy used in the state, other than for automobiles - stimulates such
questions as:
- Where is most of Virginia's electricity generated?
- Whey did power generation locations change over time?
- How is the power distributed from the source to the destination, now?
- How will electricity deregulation affect Virginia producers, distributers, and consumers of
power?
Some industrial plants and large organizations co-generate steam and electricity at their facilities.
Virginia Tech has used its coal-fired power plant to
supply power for both the campus and local customers since 1890. A few
waste-to-energy incinerators burn garbage and create electricity at the same time, such as the
facility in southern Fairfax County at Lorton. There are even a few back-to-the-earthers living in
Floyd County and other rural locations in Virginia - and owners of some very expensive homes in Loudoun County - who generate their own electricity through
solar power or small Pelton wheels in the creeks. However, most Virginians rely upon the grid of
power lines to deliver electricity generated somewhere else to their house or business.
Key sources of information regarding Virginia's energy profile are:
Links
Economics of Virginia
Geography of Virginia
