VACo County Pulse Podcast

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 25 | Purchasing electricity for local governments from Dominion Energy 

In a conversation with Stephen Burr, Energy Manager for Arlington County, and John Lord, Energy Management Coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools, we learn about the special contractual relationship localities have with Dominion Energy to purchase electricity through the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Associat...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 24 | Update on Energy Legislation from 2026 Virginia Legislative Session 

In a conversation with VACo Deputy Director Katie Boyle, we learn about the proposal to end Virginia’s sales tax exemption on data center equipment, and how that has led to an impasse on negotiating the next two-year state budget slated to begin July 1st. We learn about this tax incentive for the industry to locate in the C...

Virginia’s K-12 Funding Formula: What the JLARC Report Means for Counties — and What Comes Next 

In the latest episode of VACo’s Uplifting Our Children Through Education podcast series, host Jeremy R. Bennett is joined by Justin Brown, Associate Director of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), and Mark Gribbin, Chief Legislative Analyst (JLARC) and project leader for JLARC’s landmark 2023 report on Virginia’s K...

Championing K-12: Advocacy & Collaboration Between Boards of Supervisors and School Boards

In this episode of Uplifting Our Children Through Education, host Jeremy Bennett sits down with J.T. Kessler, a classroom teacher and longtime advocate for public education, to explore the essential partnerships that shape K-12 outcomes across Virginia. Drawing on his hands-on experience in both North Carolina and Virginia schools, J.T. of...

In this episode of the Uplifting Our Children Through Education series, host Jeremy R. Bennett sits down with three local leaders from Prince Edward County to explore the powerful intersection of history, policy and infrastructure in public education.
Joining Jeremy are:

• Douglas W. Stanley, County Administrator for Prince Edward County;
• Cainain Townsend, Executive Director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum and member of the P...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 23 | Using Wood Byproducts to Make Sustainable Energy. In a conversation with Terry Lasher, Executive Director for the Virginia Forestry Association, we learn how Virginia’s forest economy contributes to sustainable energy production. We also discuss the potential for utilizing forestry and agriculture waste to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel.

Where to find out more about topics covered in ...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 22 | Logging and Biomass Energy Production. Joe Lerch visits the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) Halifax County Biomass plant to learn how biomass energy production contributes to the health of Virginia’s forests and the environment. The episode begins with a conversation with plant manager Mike Davis and Palmer Dugger of L.P. Dugger Logging followed up with a tour of the facility...

Joe Lerch and James Hutzler visit Rob Farrell, State Forester and Director of the Virginia Department of Forestry, to learn how management of Virginia’s oak and hickory forests can be combined with biomass energy production. We also take a tour of a forested plot to learn in depth how effective trees species management can produce a renewable source of energy.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• Report of ...

In this episode of the Uplifting Our Children Through Education series, Host Jeremy Bennett sits down with County Administrator Carol Steele and Deputy County Administrator Maria Calloway of Gloucester County to discuss the county’s school construction journey—from the local sales-tax referendum to planning, community engagement, and delivering modern learning spaces. Hear how Gloucester aligned vision, funding, and partnerships to...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 20 | The Convergence of Farming with Solar: What is Agrivoltaics? 

Joe Lerch talks with Rachel Henley, Working Lands and State Advocacy Specialist with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation to explore how farms and solar installations can coexist and what the term “Agrivoltaics” means within this context.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• 4 The Soil - initiative of the V...

Episode 19 – Balancing Demand and Supply in the Regional Electric Grid – Discussion with PJM Interconnection. Joe Lerch talks with Jason Stanek, Executive Director of State Government Policy with PJM Interconnection the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) for 13 states and the District Columbia in which Virginia’s electric utilities are members. They discuss the role PJM plays in generation and transmission of electricity and ...

State and Local Housing Policy – Comparison of Maryland and Virginia with MACo Conduit Street Podcast.

Joe Lerch talks with Dominic Butchko, Director of Intergovernmental Relations with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) to discuss housing policy and legislation with our neighbors to the North. Listeners to episode 17 of our Energy Landscape of Virginia series will recognize this as part 2 of our foray into comparing how th...

Joe Lerch talks with Dominic Butchko, Director of Intergovernmental Relations with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) to compare both the differences and similarities between Maryland and Virginia when it comes to energy and its intersection with county land use and local authority. With a focus on state legislative policy and action, we delve into issues of utility-scale generation, energy storage, transmission, and the g...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 11 | Nuclear Power, Small Modular Reactors, and Fusion 

In 2023 nuclear power produced approximately one-third of all power from Virginia sources while representing only 12 percent of all generation capacity in the Commonwealth. Dominion Energy operates Virginia’s four nuclear units in plants located in Louisa and Surry counties, each with a capacity of more than 900 megawatts in generation. Each...

Energy Landscape of Virginia Episode 10 | Harvesting Excess Heat from Data Centers for Energy – District Energy Systems

District Energy Systems are a proven engineering solution that conveys heat between suppliers and users, between or among buildings. Excess heat generated by the multitude of data centers located Virginia provides an opportunity to supply heat to adjoining uses, thereby reducing overall energy consumption within wh...

Joe Lerch talks with Aaron Berryhill, Solar Program Manager with Virginia Department of Energy on the latest numbers in Virginia for solar installations. We cover a wide range of sources that inform how much utility-scale, community-scale, and rooftop solar has been installed in the Commonwealth.

For information and assistance contact:

Aaron Berryhill
Solar Program Manager
Virginia Department of Energy
aaron.berryhill@...

Joe Lerch and VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch provide an update on the status of legislation relating to Data Centers and Utility-Scale Solar.

Where to find out more about topics covered in this episode

• JLARC "Data Centers in Virginia" Report
  
  
• HB 1601/SB 1449 – Siting of Data Centers; Site Assessment
  
  
• House Budget Amendment – Extends the sunset date for sales tax exemption for data centers from 2035 t...

“Data Centers in Virginia” JLARC Report – Interview with Mark Gribbin

In this episode we sit down with Mark Gribbin, Chief Legislative Analyst with the  Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC). He is the project leader for JLARC’s “Data Centers in Virginia” report, which was released December 9th. We go over a summary of the report’s findings regarding the economic benefits to Virginia, as well as what challenges lay ahead...