Vermont’s first mandatory renewable energy standard cleared
the Senate on Wednesday, but lawmakers are poised to present controversial
changes to the legislation that would limit the locations where wind projects
could be built.
The renewable energy bill, H.40,
puts the state on a course to increase the amount of renewable electricity
generated and sold in Vermont. It also avoids a potential rate increase in 2017
that would likely have been created by legal issues in Vermont’s current
renewable energy incentive program, known as SPEED.
The renewable energy standard, or RES, is intended to reduce
electricity rates even as the state builds more renewables. It would encourage
residents to use electricity to power their vehicles and heat their homes.
Aside from savings on fossil fuels, the increased revenue for utilities could
be used to lower electric rates, state officials say.
The Department of Public Service says the bill requires the
equivalent of 25 to 30 megawatts of new solar production to be built each year
from 2017 to 2032. About 42 megawatts of solar was permitted in 2014. Utilities
are looking at both traditional and emerging renewable energy technologies to
meet the requirements.
Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, is
planning to build a manure-to-energy facility in St. Albans, known as a manure
digester, to meet part of its requirement, according to Robert Dostis, director
of government affairs at GMP.
“The hope is within two years, the first one will be up. But
we see an opportunity for many more along Lake Champlain as a way to keep
phosphorus and pollutants out of the lake,” Dostis said.
Utilities will also be required to reduce their customers’
fossil fuel consumption by replacing those sources for heating and
transportation. The requirement targets Vermont’s dirtiest energy sectors that
account for three-quarters the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Offering
subsidies and financing for heat pumps and weatherization are examples that
would qualify for compliance. But the law is intended to be vague on specifics,
or “technology neutral,” in order to spur innovation.
David Hallquist, CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative, hopes
to receive credit by powering sap boilers with electricity rather than wood,
oil or propane.
“We have a significant number of maple producers on our
systems. We are going to to provide alternatives … if you don’t have to use
wood, oil or gas, it makes it pretty easy to make syrup,” Hallquist said.
SITING CONCERNS
Despite goals that require the growth of new renewable
energy projects, towns and advocates say lawmakers have not taken up meaningful
legislation on how and where to better build solar and wind projects.
Hallquist said the state may need to revisit its renewable
energy goals if communities continue to push back against renewable energy
developments. To meet the statutory goals, he said, the utility will look to
build wind farms.
“Wind for us is easier, but it might not be easier for the
public to swallow,” Hallquist said.
Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex-Orleans, a member of the Natural
Resources and Energy Committee. Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger
Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex/Orleans, who represents a
district where two mountaintop wind farms operate, wants to place restrictions
on wind development as part of the renewable energy bill.
Rodgers plans to present an amendment Thursday that would
require the Public Service Board to give stronger weight to local concerns when
permitting wind projects. “Substantial deference” would be given to towns and
regional planning commissions when permitting projects, he said.
He said the Northeastern Vermont Development Association
recently received a call from a developer who wants to build a two-turbine wind
project. The planning commission opposes wind, and Rodgers’ amendment would
likely stop the project from being built.
“We’ve made no improvements in the way wind plants are
sited, and quite possibly under this bill, two-turbine plants could be popping
up all over this state,” Rodgers said. “It’s another issue that I don’t think
we’ve planned for, or are prepared for.”
But Dylan Zwicky, clean energy associate for the Vermont
Public Interest Research Group, said the provision could have unintended
consequences.
“It would significantly change the way that we permit energy
in this state. Our belief is that electricity, especially clean electricity, is
a statewide public good,” he said. “Transmission, generation and infrastructure
that allows that to happen extends beyond the border of any town. And that’s
why there is an entity looking at energy planning from a statewide perspective.”
Local zoning does not apply to energy generation projects
and towns say there is no public process for permitting projects. On Town
Meeting Day, 38 towns signed a resolution saying the Public Service Board
routinely ignores input and evidence offered by Vermont municipalities. They
called on the Legislature to pass laws that would give towns a “more meaningful
role” and to require that projects comply with “appropriately-developed
municipal siting standards.”
Zwicky said there is room for public input in the permitting
process, and projects have been adjusted at the request of towns. He said some
steps can be taken to improve the siting process, such as giving towns
automatic party status in Section 248 permit proceedings, which is contained in
the bill.
“But with regard to ‘substantial deference,’ that is
shifting the balance too strongly to parties that might not have the general
good of the state in mind when they are making a decision,” he said.
The bill includes statewide setback requirements for solar
projects and authorizes towns to adopt local screening bylaws.
“It’s clearly not everything we want, but it’s a step in the
right direction,” said Karen Horn, the director of public policy and advocacy
for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
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