Former Gov. Peter Shumlin envisioned
that one day Vermont would get 90 percent of its energy
from renewable sources while cutting consumption by a third. Now
lawmakers in the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee
want to make that vision the law.
In 2015, Vermont passed a renewable
portfolio standard requiring utilities to get an increasing percentage
of energy from renewable sources by 2032, with the eventual goal of reaching 90
percent renewable by 2050.
While the legislation required utilities to
have 75 percent renewable energy in their portfolios by 2032,
the 90 percent renewable target was kept as an aspirational goal
only — not law.
State Sen. Chris Bray wants to change that. The Addison
Democrat and chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee
introduced S.51 to codify Shumlin’s goal.
Critics of the bill say mandating 90 percent renewable
energy and a one-third cut in consumption by 2050 would
devastate Vermont’s economy.
“Vermont cannot afford to have its rates skyrocket in the
name of renewable energy,” Ethan Allen Institute President Rob Roper told
Vermont Watchdog.
Roper said serious consideration needs to be given to
the the costs of such a law, especially for businesses.
In a commentary posted on EAI’s website, Roper calls
S.51 the “Let’s Destroy the Economy Bill” and raises
an important question:
If this bill become law, would it then become somehow
illegal for an energy intensive businesses, such as a large manufacturing
operations, to set up shop in Vermont if doing so would interfere with this
objective? Or, is that a moot point given that any energy intensive business
would have no interest whatsoever in coming into a State that forces it to
purchase energy at rates that are multiple times what the market calls for?
Bray told Watchdog S.51 is a “planning bill” not meant
to punish utilities if goals are missed. Instead, he sees the language as
merely “clarifying agreed upon targets” for the state’s renewable portfolio
standards.
Others see consequences if targets are missed.
Guy Page, an energy lobbyist and communications
director of Page Communications, told Watchdog after testifying before Bray’s
committee Friday that the bill seems to indicate more than mere
recommendations. “It takes it to an increasingly coercive level,”
he said.
Lisa Linowes, executive director of Wind Action,
said if the targets in the draft were to be enforced, it could result
in utilities and their customers paying more for higher-cost
renewable energy.
“Before you codify what are very aggressive goals — what Shumlin
had in place — you really should get the current RPS up and
running,” Linowes said. “See how that works before jumping on
something that is even more aggressive.”
Bray said that in addition to being a cornerstone
policy of the previous governor’s administration, the ambitious goals
were endorsed by current Gov. Phil Scott.
The only other state in the nation with a more demanding
renewable portfolio standard is Hawaii. The Aloha State has to import all
of its conventional fuels, such as coal and oil, but it has
a goal of going 100 percent renewable by 2045.
Annette Smith, director of Vermonters for a Clean
Environment, a group opposed to industrial-scale renewables, said Bray’s
bill is likely a political ploy to pressure Scott to fully
embrace Shumlin’s energy policy.
“What they are doing is saying to the governor, ‘You say you
support it, so we dare you to veto this bill,’” Smith said. “It’s
not solving the problems that we have going on in Vermont, it just narrows
our options rather than expands them and ignores the fact that technology
is rapidly changing.”
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