Bedford Town Council to consider proposal for renewable energy program

Town uses solar energy and hydroelectric dam

BEDFORD, Va. – UPDATE: The Town Council postponed this proposal during the Tuesday night meeting.

 

The town of Bedford is trying to step up efforts to go green.

The solar farm in Bedford has officially been up and running for about a month.

"We have quite a bit of our energy coming from renewable resources," Bedford Electric Utility general manager John Wagner said.

The solar panels will account for about 2 percent of the town's energy. That’s on top of 10 to 15 percent coming from a hydroelectric dam.

"When you consider that many other utilities are trying to get 5 percent or 8 percent renewable energy in their portfolio and we're already 15 percent plus, it is quite an achievement for the town," Wagner said.

Now, the utility company is trying to get more people to go green. On Tuesday night, it will take to Town Council a proposal that would allow customers to purchase renewable energy certificates.

"It's just the ability to support the whole renewable energy industry, and what we'll do with this money is we'll keep it and set it aside for maintenance or the development of new renewable energy products," Wagner said.

Some local business owners, including John Messier, of Southern Flavoring Company, are already on board.

"Everybody wants to know what they're buying, where it's coming from and if it's produced in a sustainable manner. And so, from our standpoint, if we can show that our product is being produced with sustainable energy sources, then it gives us a leg up, say, on our competition. It's for marketing, but it's also to be good to the environment," Messier said.

According to Wagner, the voluntary program would cost customers an additional 1 cent per kilowatt hour.

"There is a cost involved, but that cost is, what I’ve researched, is a negligible cost in order to show that you are using sustainable energy," Messier said.

The Town Council meets Tuesday at 7 p.m.


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