{"id":21017,"date":"2014-07-24T16:14:38","date_gmt":"2014-07-24T20:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=21017"},"modified":"2014-08-15T11:20:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-15T15:20:00","slug":"virginia-senator-honored-by-sierra-club-in-ceremony-near-emus-array-of-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/virginia-senator-honored-by-sierra-club-in-ceremony-near-emus-array-of-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Senator honored by Sierra Club in ceremony near EMU’s array of solar panels"},"content":{"rendered":"

A local Republican state senator has received an award from what some may see as an unlikely source.<\/p>\n

Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, was awarded a Legislative Leadership Award by the Sierra Club<\/a> environmental group on Monday at Eastern Mennonite University.<\/p>\n

The award, along with a book of nature photographs, was presented for Hanger’s work on Senate Bill 418, which “eradicate[d] a major tax barrier to solar energy,” according to the group’s announcement.<\/p>\n

The bill extended tax exemptions to solar panels so that the equipment cannot be taxed by local governments as “machinery and tools.”<\/p>\n

Solar energy equipment is now classified as “pollution control equipment” and exempt from local taxation. The bill was signed into law in March.<\/p>\n

Republicans and environmental groups often butt heads over issues ranging from land conservation to funding for alternative sources of energy.<\/p>\n

Hanger was honored on the balcony of EMU’s Campus Center building, overlooking the solar panels adorning the roof of Hartzler Library<\/a>. The panels, installed in 2010, are operated by Staunton-based solar development company Secure Futures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Tony<\/a>
Business professor Tony Smith answers questions from community members about EMU’s solar array, visible behind him on the library roof.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tony Smith<\/a>, founder of Secure Futures and professor of business and economics<\/a> at EMU, said Monday night that solar power is the “fastest-growing industry in the United States.”<\/p>\n

Smith said Hanger’s legislation will help support that growth.<\/p>\n

“It’s important to align yourself with a very seasoned and very professional legislator … who can work on both sides of the aisle,” Smith said.<\/p>\n

On receiving his award \u2013 made out of recycled glass \u2013 Hanger said human beings could be resistant to change, but need to be able to adapt.<\/p>\n

Hanger noted the importance of coal to Virginia’s history, but said the state has survived similar changes in the past.<\/p>\n

“There was life after tobacco,” he said, referring to a former top industry that has declined.<\/p>\n

Several of the Sierra Club’s members thanked Hanger for his work and remarked on his “courage” in working with them.<\/p>\n

The Sierra Club claims to be the “nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.”<\/p>\n

During the 2012 election cycle, the Sierra Club political action committee contributed more than $456,000 to congressional candidates nationwide \u2013 99 percent of which went to Democratic candidates, according to the campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets.org.<\/p>\n

The remaining 1 percent went to independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has described himself as a “democratic socialist.”<\/p>\n

In 2013, the state chapter of the Sierra Club spent more than $468,000 in support of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s successful gubernatorial campaign, according to the Virginia Public Access Project<\/a>, which tracks campaign funds for state elections.<\/p>\n

Waving off concerns that some in his party might be upset with him working with the environmental group, Hanger said that the bill removes an impediment to business.<\/p>\n

“I see it as leveling the playing field,” he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to Hanger, eight other Legislative Leadership awards were given out this year by the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club: four to Republicans and four to Democrats, according to an April press release from the group.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, July 21, 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A local Republican state senator has received an award from what some may see as an unlikely source. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, was awarded a Legislative Leadership Award by ... read more about Virginia Senator honored by Sierra Club in ceremony near EMU’s array of solar panels<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":21038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14184,5708],"tags":[14764,11397,5696,14347,11839,17224,13743],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-21017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-guests","category-sustainability","tag-emmett-hanger","tag-hartzler-library","tag-secure-futures","tag-sierra-club","tag-solar-energy","tag-sustainability","tag-tony-smith"],"yoast_head":"\nVirginia Senator honored by Sierra Club in ceremony near EMU's array of solar panels - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/virginia-senator-honored-by-sierra-club-in-ceremony-near-emus-array-of-solar-panels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia Senator honored by Sierra Club in ceremony near EMU's array of solar panels - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A local Republican state senator has received an award from what some may see as an unlikely source. 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