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Energy Resource Guide for Virginia

Energy Resource Guide for Virginia

Searching for answers to your energy questions . . .

The Energy Resource Guide for Virginia provides Virginia's households, farms, small business/industry employees, and middle school teachers and students with an electronic tool that allows individuals to review an array of energy information quickly.

Discover the best available web-based resources on energy.

Have a suggestion for an informative research-based energy-related web resource that is not currently listed within the Energy Resource Guide?  Please let us know by completing this survey and we can review the information for consideration in future updates to this guide.

Review recommended listings representing various universities, state and federal agencies, and energy related organizations.

FIRSTGOV for Consumers is an excellent location to find federal information resources on food, health, product safety, your money, and transportation.

Begin your search of the guide with a review of Home Energy. Use Appalachian Power's home-energy estimator to project your energy-use costs, calculate the cost of operating home appliances, and discover how switching to compact fluorescent bulbs will save you money.

There are numerous sites on how to purchase energy-efficient appliances, home office equipment, and heating and air-conditioning systems.

Do you know what a home envelope is? Energy Star not only defines the envelope, but tells you how to seal it!

Have you ever wondered if you save energy by turning off your heating or air-conditioning units when you are away from home? A review of the Home Energy Saver Answer Desk and the U.S. Department of Energy websites will answer your questions on home energy use.

Agricultural producers must consider alternative energy for their farms. FarmWise: Agriculture Energy provides you with references to the AgSTAR Program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The ATTRA, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service's website, offers a discussion on anaerobic digestion of animal wastes.

Also discover options for recovering beneficial products from dairy manure in the Dairy Waste Anaerobic Digestion Handbook. Websites for energy estimators will calculate estimates of diesel fuel use and costs in the production of key crops for your farm.

Not only will you find information on alternative energy but also information on livestock production facilities, greenhouse operations, and wineries.

Transportation experts are developing alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles. Within TravelWise: Transforming Transportation, you will find a list of hybrid-car dealers, information on fuel performance, and an explanation of vehicle tax credits.

The Virginia Energy Savers Handbook also offers tips for reducing transportation energy use and expenses.

Transportation Energy resources

The Business & Industry Energy Management section of the guide includes the energy audit workbook and energy solutions database, significant tools in implementing energy cost-saving solutions.

Whether you utilize the resources from Alliance to Save Energy, Energy Information Administration, Energy Star, National Association of Manufacturers, Energy Services Tools developed by Washington State University, or the U.S. Department of Energy your company will expand its thinking on energy options.

This section of the guide also links you to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Renewable energy has everyone's attention.

Visit the National Biodiesel Board's website to read the latest information on biodiesel fuel.

Review the Renewable Energy page to gather details on converting biomass into valuable fuels or to research ethanol production.

Discover the facts on other forms of renewable energy by visiting the hydrogen, hydropower, methane, solar, and wind energy pages.

Virginia's middle school students are responsible for understanding energy concepts as part of the Virginia Standards of Learning. The Energy & the Middle School Student section of the guide provides both students and teachers with resources to assist them in reaching this goal.

Students will enjoy exploring the Energy Hog Challenge sponsored by Alliance to Save Energy and the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Educators will want to use the Alternative Fuels Data Center to find activities, curricula suggestions, and workbooks on fuels and vehicles.

There also are new ideas for science projects, information about renewable energy, and even get instructions on how to build a renewable energy project.

The Energy Resource Guide for Virginia is reviewed and updated at regular intervals. Send your suggestions for changes to walker53@vt.edu. Developed by Martha Walker, Extension community viability specialist, Central District. Reviewed by Bobby Grisso, professor of biological systems engineering, Virginia Tech.

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The resource guide was developed in partnership with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy; the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives; and American Electric Power.

Appalachian Power
Dominion
Association of Electric Cooperatives
Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy