With the recent designation of a large portion of Piedmont Virginia as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) by the federal government, Dominion Power now has federal condemnation authority to take private property, even property under easements, for its own corporate requirements, for instance, a 500,000-volt power line. Dominion's argument is that homes in Northern Virginia are using increasing amounts of energy, requiring the need for new sources of electricity.

Fortunately, there are now many options available to reduce household energy consumption. If you were able to catch the 2007 Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington from October 12 –20th, you were able to witness firsthand the advances that have been made recently in creating energy self-sufficient homes. Twenty universities from the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Europe competed to design and construct homes that were 100% solar powered. Representing our local area was the University of Maryland, which placed second overall in the competition. This was particularly compelling because the state of Maryland has been very proactive promoting alternative energy. Maryland has accomplished this due to the incentives the state is providing its residents to offset the cost of installing energy saving devices as a means to supplement energy demand from utilities. The intent of the Solar Decathlon was to design homes that would satisfy all of the energy requirements of the typical American home. There were ten categories in the competition (hence, Decathlon) that each home should meet. Included in these were; heating and air-conditioning should keep the homes at comfortable temperatures and humidity year round; the homes should provide ample energy to power lights, televisions, computers, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, ovens and stoves; and most importantly, the homes should be pleasing to look at, provide comfortable living spaces and be reasonably affordable. The homes were constructed on the campus of each school, and were then taken apart, transported, then re-constructed on the Mall in the layout of a "solar village" with a Main Street running between two rows of ten houses. Each home had to rely on it's own resources for power for the entire week. Visitors were allowed to walk through each house, touch whatever they wanted, and speak to the students from each school that were available to answer any questions about the technology, design and theory for each energy system. The modern design and appearance of each house made them seem like something out of the future, however, all of the technology used for construction, to power each home and provide hot water are off the shelf materials, systems and components that are available today. The reason you don't see these materials and components in the majority of homes now is that most of the current architectural design firms and home builders in suburban sub-divisions are behind the curve when it comes to green design. Also, designing an energy efficient "green home" can add significantly to the cost, and, lets be honest, most home owners are more concerned with marble two story foyers than energy efficiencies when it comes to designing their home. The majority of people will not want to go to the extent of the self-sufficient homes in the solar village on the Mall when it comes to saving energy in their own home, but that is not to say that you cannot incorporate some of the available technologies from these solar homes into yours. For instance, more aesthetically pleasing solar panels that look similar to roof shingles or roof tiles are now on the market. Other solar panels can come with dark surfaces and frames that can mount flush with most roofs for a look that blends in well with the appearance of the house. High efficiency solar water heaters can provide for most, if not all of a typical homes hot water needs. These solar water heaters can supply not only hot water for washing and bathing, but also provide hot water for radiant heating tubes installed under floors to heat the entire home. Electro chromatic windows can automatically darken or lighten the glass in the frames to allow less heat to enter a house in the summer and more heat in the winter, and other windows use transparent films that reflect heat back from the window into the room or into the atmosphere. Better insulation, such as foam panels, can provide superior heat and cool retention than existing fiberglass. Even certain building materials can be used on the exterior of the house that absorb heat and transfer it into the home or reflect heat, keeping the home cooler. The purpose of the Solar Decathlon was not just to show what some engineering and architectural students could build in a laboratory environment. The idea was to let everyone look at the existing technology close up, ask questions, and imagine how it would look and work in your own home. One student emphasized to me that you don't have to build a solar house like theirs to benefit from energy efficiencies. Even older homes can be retrofitted with the latest energy saving technologies if you are willing to do some research and come up with a viable plan. One day we may all be living in self-sufficient solar homes, but we don't have to wait for the future to take advantage of technology that is available today. Even saving 5 or 10% of your energy consumption can have a dramatic effect on the resources we use today, which will hopefully slow down or stop utility companies quest to install more power lines and build additional power plants.