VNRC RPS Testimony January 2012

Legislative leaders are considering a bill - H.468 - that would create a mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard for Vermont. An RPS is a market-based tool to catalyze more renewable generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. VNRC recently testified on the bill before the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, which is currently considering it. Read VNRC's testimony here.

A Quick Summary of Vermont’s Weatherization Program

Vermont has one of the best weatherization programs in the country, and over the years, our weatherization program has improved thousands of homes. We're proud that our state has chosen to fund this critical aid for low-income households - it serves our shared goals of keeping Vermont communities and homes livable, and reducing our collective energy use. Despite all of these efforts, there are thousands of Vermonters who remain cold all winter and hundreds of thousands of homeowners that could save serious money from energy efficiency investments.

Update on Building Energy Disclosure Working Group

During the 2011 legislative session, within the Energy Act of 2011, a working group was created to examine "…whether and how to require disclosure of the energy efficiency of commercial and residential buildings in order to make data on building energy performance visible in the marketplace for real property and inform the choice of those who may purchase or rent such property." This is an update from one of the members of that working group, Richard Faesy.

The State Energy Plan: An Energy Committee Leader's Perspective

As co-leader of an active energy committee, HEART of Hardwick, I know that the development of a strong state energy plan is essential. We follow state policy closely and proceed with projects on the ground based on those policies. Energy Committees need the back up of that plan in working with their local governments. In Hardwick, we are working on LED Street lighting conversion, and patiently await the passage of H155, PACE. (property assessed clean energy). Our town has been ready to move ahead since PACE was first proposed.

Legislative Low-Down on Energy for 2011

There were two primary pieces of energy legislation this past legislative session that, ultimately, got merged into one — H.56. This ‘omnibus’ energy bill has many provisions in it, including expanding opportunities for moving small-scale solar projects forward in Vermont making strategic changes to the clean energy financing program, often referred to as PACE. While not as ambitious as many clean energy advocates would hope, H.56 took Vermont a solid step forward on expanding opportunities for efficiency and renewables.

Mid-Session Energy Bill Update

H.56, when introduced in January, had provisions that would have set Vermont on a forward-looking and ambitious track to develop in-state, renewable energy supplies. On March 11, the committee of jurisdiction - the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee - voted the bill out with most of the bolder provisions removed but with some important elements still remaining.

Extreme is Becoming Normal

A recent article by VNRC's Johanna Miller looks into the climate crisis and what it's doing to our world... "In the past few weeks, successive snowstorms blanketed the United States from coast to coast, closing schools from Maine to Texas. “Thundersnow,” the rare winter thunderstorm where snow falls instead of rain, was experienced in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and across nearly all of Vermont. As Vermont climate expert and author Bill McKibben noted recently, 'Oh, there have been snowstorms before ... our planet has always produced extreme events. But by definition extreme events are supposed to be rare, and all of a sudden they’re not.'"

Wind In Vermont: It Has a Place, With Proper Planning

October 21, 2010 --- Today, VNRC joined three of the state's other leading environmental organizations to issue a statement in support of wind energy in Vermont. VNRC believes wind energy will be and should be a part of the state's energy mix, but supports only those projects that are properly designed, carefully sited, of an appropriate scale for the host community and surrounding region and which also balance diverse issues. This is a critical moment in the world’s history. It is also a potential pivotal moment in the state’s history. The question — and the challenge facing Vermont — is not so much whether wind energy will be developed, but rather, the manner in which it occurs. Read more about VNRC's thoughts on how it might happen.

There Is No Better Time for a Shift in Energy Policy

The Gulf Coast oil catastrophe is the epitome of what’s wrong with our national energy policy. For many, it’s also become the most prominent and deeply devastating ‘wake-up call’ for kicking our addiction to oil now.

Ironically, the most damaging oil disaster in U.S. history is taking place while Congress finally contemplates comprehensive energy and climate legislation; an effort to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce carbon pollution and transition our country to clean, homegrown power.

Environmental Groups' Joint Statement on Wind Energy Development in Vermont

The Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Public Interest Research Group offer a joint statement of support for the development of wind energy in Vermont. The collective statement of support for wind, and other renewable energy technologies, is based on our deep concern that society has not moved fast or aggressively enough to address the most urgent environmental crisis in human history: climate change.