RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Looking for business opportunities in biomass, Peter B. McChesney attended Gov. Bob McDonnell’s energy conference Thursday, one of hundreds of entrepreneurs seeking to build Virginia’s energy future, one deal at a time.
McChesney – the owner and sole employee of McChesney Ventures – is also involved in a project to develop energy-efficient, hurricane-resistant housing. He reflects the wide range of people and interests that mixed it up for three days at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
They schmoozed, attended forums, loaded environmentally friendly sacks with swag and established relationships they hope will transform their ideas into energy generation.
“It’s a great opportunity for the entrepreneurs, the venture folks, the law firms, the service providers to mix and bounce ideas off each other, and to see what other people are working on,” McChesney said over a cup of coffee.
“The entrepreneur’s world is very much scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” he said.
The conference attracted the big players such as Dominion Virginia Power, Appalachian Power and Consol Energy, along with startups and people seeking a home and a backer for their ideas.
Donald K. Purdie and Sam Wolford made the 6-hour drive from southwest Virginia to promote economic development in that remote, economically struggling part of the state.
“We’ve definitely made connections,” said Purdie, who with Wolford represented the Southwestern Virginia Technology Council. “These things nurture and take time.”
Pausing to chat in one of the vast halls of the convention center, the two men said part of their mission is to let people know southwest Virginia has the resources needed by the energy sector, be it coal or wind.
“The coal industry, that’s no longer going in and digging out coal with a shovel,” Wolford said. “It’s technology-based.”
They said the biggest challenge is attracting investment.
“Overall, the general economy has got the capital boys leery of doing anything,” Purdie said of investors. “We’re laying the groundwork now so when it does turn the corner, hopefully we’ll be in there.”
The convention was about more than sizing up business plans and trading e-mail addresses.
Kayti Wingfield represented an array of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Southern Environmental Law Center. She kept a close eye on coal interests, doing what could be described as opposition research.
Her primary interest: Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed $6 billion coal-fired plant in southeastern Virginia.
Wingfield said natural gas was “huge” at the convention, yet she was also impressed with the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Solar and wind power presentations were attracting big crowds, she said.
“You have these rich, successful businessmen who see this opportunity. It’s so exciting,” she said.
McChesney, too, was impressed with the array of technologies, exhibits and discussions, mirroring McDonnell’s “all-of-the-above” approach and his quest to develop an energy-based economy beyond compare on the East Coast.
McChesney liked the presentation on offshore winds and the keynote address by Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has pitched winds and energy independence. McChesney said the governor ought to select a “strategic industry” such as renewable energy and promote it to the hilt.
“He’s saving his gunpowder,” McChesney said. “I think he needs to place some bets.”
The conference was abuzz with the news this week that Google and other investors are backing a proposed $5 billion network of underwater transmission lines that could bring power from future offshore wind farms from New Jersey to Virginia. The announcement came one week after a Spanish company announced a wind technology partnership with Newport News Shipbuilding.
George Hagerman, director of offshore wind research for the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, said the state should position itself to snatch new federal funding for offshore winds and a demonstration center for the technology.
Hampton Roads’ vast shipbuilding industry offers the platform for the steel and fabrication industry that would be needed to support offshore winds, he said. The job potential is greater than offshore oil and gas drilling, which McDonnell had heavily banked upon until the BP oil disaster.
“I think it would be wonderful if they would apply the same due diligence to the job creation potential for offshore wind,” Hagerman said. “It’s a lot more steel in the water.”
Job creation brought Ben Buholtz to the conference. Entering a second career, he is finishing up his undergraduate degree in environmental studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and was researching potential employers. He identified five prospects.
“Seeing all these companies is a really good opportunity,” Buholtz said before heading to a “green” jobs conference.
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Online:
The Governor’s Conference on Energy: http://www.vsbn.org/
Southwestern Virginia Technology Council: http://www.swvtc.org/