In order to create a long term strategic plan for energy conservation in Floyd County, we need to take a snapshot of Floyd’s current consumption. Toward this end, we took the lead to coordinate a comprehensive, county-wide energy use inventory. In May 2011, the Board of Supervisors voted to recommend that SustainFloyd be granted access to data regarding county office buildings and schools and a letter of recommendation to help gain access to other sources of data, both public and private. We are currently involved with consultants at Virginia Tech to collect a first-phase snapshot. Ultimately this could lead to a comprehensive assessment of energy consumption through all sectors of Floyd County, and will provide a benchmark for future projects.
While our short term focus will concentrate on initiatives such as weatherization projects and energy conservation, our long term vision is to provide assistance for a full range of energy generation and conservation initiatives, with the long term goal of energy independence for Floyd and neighboring communities.
Pending Projects: Watershed Protection
SustainFloyd is considering a project involving river restoration. SF is coordinating with a group of landowners, Radford University and Trout Unlimited to undertake the restoration of a one mile section of the headwaters of the Little River.
This project could potentially leverage funding to develop a model for restoration of Floyd County’s streams and rivers that would make our watershed much cleaner, more natural and sustainable.