How do we turn the scars of environmental injustice into real innovation for a healthier future?

For the fourth part of our Southern Currents series, Bill talks with Josephus Allmond, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, about environmental justice and the push for fair energy solutions in Virginia. Josephus shares how his work started in communities already carrying more than their share of pollution, like a rural Black neighborhood facing yet another gas compressor station. That fight ended in a history-making moment — the first time a permit in Virginia was denied on environmental justice grounds.

From there, the conversation shifts to what comes next. Josephus breaks down efforts to open up access to solar through shared community programs, the idea of virtual power plants that link thousands of small devices instead of building more gas plants, and the big questions raised by Virginia’s booming demand for data centers. He talks about why the small wins matter, how to keep the new energy system from repeating the mistakes of the old one, and why state-level progress keeps him optimistic even when federal action stalls.

This episode leaves us asking: How do we make sure clean energy reaches every community, not just the wealthy? What happens when corporations drive massive new demand without accountability? And how do we turn the scars of environmental injustice into real innovation for a healthier future?

Today, we explore:

• How a rural Black community stopped a third gas compressor station, leading to Virginia’s first permit denial on environmental justice grounds
• Why access to clean energy has to include everyone, not just those who can afford rooftop solar
• The promise of shared solar programs and what they mean for communities in Southwest Virginia
• How virtual power plants could replace new polluting gas plants by connecting everyday devices to the grid
• The boom in data centers across Virginia and what that demand means for energy, costs, and communities
• Why small policy wins matter, and how state-level action can drive change even when federal progress stalls

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at thewildidea.com.

Resources and mentions from today’s episode:

Organizations and Coalitions

• Southern Environmental Law Center 
• NAACP 
• Appalachian Voices

Government and Policy References

• Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board 
• Dominion Energy
• Appalachian Power (APCo) 
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Josephus Allmond is a Staff Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, where he focuses on energy regulatory and environmental justice litigation. He works on solar and energy cases before Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, air and energy issues, and agency-led rulemaking, permitting, and stakeholder processes. A highlight of his time at SELC was helping secure the first air permit denial in Virginia on environmental justice grounds, stopping the Lambert Compressor Station in Pittsylvania County. He’s also active with the Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative, working to ensure communities most affected by pollution and energy decisions have a voice in the process.

Josephus attended Duke Law School, where he was involved with the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, the Graduate and Professional Student Council, and the Black Law Students Association. In addition to litigation at the SCC, he lobbies at the Virginia General Assembly on solar and other clean energy issues.

He is a proud member of the 100 Black Men of Central Virginia; the Community Advisory Committee, Impact Investing Committee, and Governing Board at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation; and the Board of the Northern Arizona University Alumni Association. In December, Josephus graduated from the Sorensen Institute’s Political Leadership Program.

Originally from Chico, California, Josephus now lives outside Charlottesville in Troy, Virginia. He and his girlfriend enjoy the mix of small-town quiet and access to the city, and love the space they share with their dogs and newborn son.

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