Wednesday, March 11, 2020
A biomass energy plant in northeastern Vermont would get a 10-year lease on life under a bill moving through the state Senate, despite concerns about the plant’s efficiency and carbon emissions.
The 20-megawatt facility in rural Ryegate burns 250,000 tons of wood chips per year from trees in Vermont and New Hampshire forests. Utilities in Vermont are required to purchase its electricity at highly subsidized rates.
But that long-term power contract with the state is up in 2022. Lawmakers are seeking to ensure that the plant — which employs 20 people and pumps $7 million annually into the local forest products industry — can continue to operate for at least another decade.
The plant enjoys about $5 million annually in rate subsidies, which equals $50 million over the life of the current contract, according to the Department of Public Service. Biomass plants in New Hampshire have shuttered in recent years after subsidies were revoked and the plants couldn't compete with cheaper energy sources.
Tags: biomass , Ryegate , renewable energy , Web Only , Image
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Legislators favored the Global Warming Solutions Act by a vote of 105 to 37 — a strong showing for a bill that Republican Gov. Phil Scott has warned would put the state in unnecessary legal jeopardy.
Supporters praised H.688 as leverage to ensure that the state meets emission-reduction targets that it has missed for years.
“(The bill) creates a strong and effective path to cut pollution and will increase climate resilience for all of our communities,” said Majority Leader Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington).
Tags: climate change , Rep. Tim Briglin , Global Warming Solutions Act , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Senators seem to support a bill that would require electric utilities to get all of their power from renewable sources by 2030. The state’s renewable energy standard already calls for them to reach 75 percent renewable by 2032. So the new benchmark seemed manageable to members of the Senate Finance Committee.
But the bill’s call to double — from 10 percent to 20 percent — the amount of renewable energy that utilities would have to purchase from new Vermont sources like solar seemed to be a bridge too far for some senators.
Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), who chairs the committee, cautioned members that the requirement was causing some utilities — and her — concern over potential cost hikes.
Tags: renewables , climate , S.267 , Sen. Chris Pearson , Web Only , Image
Monday, February 17, 2020
The city has signed a letter of agreement with the University of Vermont Medical Center, Vermont Gas and consultant Ever-Green Energy to explore a $16 million system that would power hospital buildings with steam generated from the Joseph C. McNeil biomass plant.
The previous proposal would have cost an estimated $40 million and counted 16 potential customers, including the University of Vermont, CityPlace Burlington and Hotel Vermont.
Despite the smaller size, the city touted the proposal as a "significant step" toward Burlington's goal of becoming a net zero energy city by 2030.
"It is exciting that, for the first time in 35 years of exploring such a system, we are advancing to the stage of detailed engineering and economic analysis," Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a press release. "While much work remains, today's news represents a major breakthrough."
The new proposal is a "material departure" from the former plan, according to an agreement letter released by the city. For one, the system will use steam instead of hot water to create thermal energy, and without UVM or CityPlace, it has a "significantly reduced starting footprint," the letter says.
Tags: district energy system , Burlington Electric , CityPlace Burlington , University of Vermont Medical Center , University of Vermont , Vermont Gas , Ever-Green Energy , Corix , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
That’s the conclusion of a report released Tuesday by the Transportation and Climate Initiative, a group of Northeast and mid-Atlantic states working to create a “cap-and-invest” program for gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers.
“This program would lead to significant progress in meeting Vermont’s emission-reduction commitments,” said Peter Walke, deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.
There are 52 million registered vehicles in the District of Columbia and the 12 states exploring such a program. Transportation accounts for 44 percent of the region's carbon dioxide emissions, according to the group.
Tags: climate , fuel , Transportation Climate Initiative , Peter Walke , Web Only , Image
Monday, November 25, 2019
The court on Friday upheld a decision by the state Agency of Natural Resources to require Morrisville Water & Light to operate three dams on the Lamoille and Green rivers in a way that made more water available for trout and other species.
The five justices rejected a lower environmental court’s attempt to balance the needs for better fish habitat with the power company’s desire to keep the long-standing dams economically viable.
“This is a really clear and strong decision that I think will be cited across the country,” Jon Groveman, policy and water director for the Vermont Natural Resources Council, said in an interview Monday.
Tags: hydro power , Vermont Supreme Court , dams , Web Only , Image
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Four years after they were accused of cheating customers out of $100 million, a group of Vermont gasoline distributors has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for a fraction of that amount.
The proposed settlement, filed Thursday in Vermont Superior Court, calls for the companies to pay $1.5 million to gasoline consumers in northwestern Vermont. Up to $500,000 of that could go to the lawyers who brought the suit and more could be subtracted for the cost of distributing the money.
The agreement, which must be approved by a judge, includes no admission of wrongdoing, though it requires the companies to abide by written antitrust policies and requires employees who set the price of petroleum products to undergo antitrust training. The defendants are R.L. Vallee, Inc., which owns the Maplefields gas station chain; S.B. Collins, Inc., which owns the Jolley chain; Champlain Farms/Wesco; and Champlain Oil Company, which operates Jiffy Mart-branded stores and was acquired last year by Massachusetts-based Global Partners.
Those who owned a car, bought gas from one of the four companies and lived in Chittenden, Franklin or Grand Isle counties between April 2012 and June 2015 are eligible to claim a portion of the funds. A settlement administrator was charged with contacting potential recipients, who can claim a standard amount or provide receipts or credit card statements showing how much gas they bought during the three-year period.
The suit, filed in June 2015 by Fairfax resident Jacob Kent and five other Vermonters, alleged that the companies had conspired to "fix the price of wholesale and retail gasoline in northwestern Vermont" at artificially high levels. At the time, they controlled more than 64 percent of gas stations in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties and sometimes earned profits twice the national average, the plaintiffs alleged.
The companies denied the charges and argued that prices in the region were, in fact, competitive. According to the settlement agreement, they “maintain that they have acted completely independently of each other, are competitors in the sale of gasoline, have not conspired in any way, have set gas prices fairly based on existing market forces, and did not violate any laws.”
Tags: Senator , R.L. Vallee , S.B. Collins , Champlain Farms/Wesco , Champlain Oil Company , Skip Vallee , Bernie Sanders , Web Only , Image
Monday, September 30, 2019
After 12 years on the job, Mary Powell announced Monday that she'll step down from her position as president and CEO of Green Mountain Power. She'll hand the reins to Mari McClure, who is currently a senior vice president at the company.
Powell said she is pondering new opportunities and wants to fight climate change and serve the public good. She might even run for political office, though Powell said she had no specific plan to announce.
"I'm not ruling out that public office could be something that I might come to feel is a good place for my energy and my commitment to serving society," said Powell, who described herself as a lifelong Democrat.
Tags: Mary Powell , Green Mountain Power , Mari McClure , Web Only , Image
Monday, September 9, 2019
Mayor Miro Weinberger introduced the “Net Zero Energy Roadmap” to a packed City Hall, telling the crowd that Burlington can “show the country that another future is possible.”
The roadmap lays out four ways to get there. According to the plan, Burlington can reduce 60 percent of its dependence on fossil fuels by encouraging Burlington Electric Department customers to switch to electric heat. It can shave off another 20 percent if drivers transition to fully electric or hybrid vehicles.
An additional 15 percent would be cut once Burlington installs a district energy system, which would capture steam from the Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station to provide heat for large energy customers such as the University of Vermont Medical Center. The final 5 percent could be achieved by drivers choosing alternative modes of transportation, according to the plan.
In all, the roadmap calls for the city to use 65 percent more renewable electric energy to meet the 2030 goal. The plan was a cornerstone of Weinberger's 2019 State of the City address, when he called it "the most ambitious climate goal of any city in America."
Tags: net zero , district energy , Miro Weinberger , Burlington Electric Department , Web Only , Image
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Sinclair entered the popular, mountainous Highline trail on the afternoon of July 8 after leaving his car and dog unsecured at the Logan Pass Visitor Center atop the park's famed Going-to-the-Sun Road. Search crews scanned the area by foot and air for more than a week but called off the response July 18, according to park officials.
Sinclair, 66, spent two decades advocating for environmental issues in Vermont. He directed the Conservation Law Foundation's Vermont office, worked at the Clean Energy Group and served as an attorney for the state Agency of Natural Resources and the Public Utility Commission.
Tags: Mark Sinclair , Clean Energy Group , Conservation Law Foundation , Glacier National Park , Web Only , Image