Senate Bill Aims to Turn Shumlin’s Green-Energy Goal into Mandate

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.

Gov Peter Shumlin Says Solar Development Should be Done on a Vermont Scale

Vermont must build future renewable power sources on a scale that fits with the character of Vermont towns, Governor Peter Shumlin said last week. Developers shouldn’t burden small towns with large energy projects, he said. Instead, smaller-scale production sources will ensure Vermonters profit most from the state’s renewable energy push, he said. Shumlin delivered his comments the day after Green Mountain Power released a map showing certain regions of the state produce renewable energy at a rate disproportionate to what they consume.