Both houses of the Vermont Legislature have approved a bill updating the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to move it toward 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
The measure now heads to Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R), who in late February signaled his opposition.
The House approved H.289 on March 20 and the Senate on May 7.
It would require most retail electricity providers to make renewable energy at least 63% of their annual load by the end of 2024 and 100% by the end of 2029. Municipal retail electricity providers and a provider serving a single customer at 115 kV have until the end of 2034.
Scott offered his opinion of the measure right in the headline of a Feb. 27 news release, referring to it as the “Potential Billion Dollar Rate Hike Bill.”
He said: “There is clearly a more affordable and equitable alternative to H.289. We can and should do better.”
Scott said the Public Service Department conducted an 18-month public engagement process to produce a proposed bill providing better progress toward the state’s mandated emissions reduction targets than H.289.
Legislators did not consider the department’s work as they drew up H.289, which carries a potential 10-year price tag of $1 billion, he said.
Both houses of the General Assembly passed the measure with more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Environmental and clean-energy advocates hailed passage of H.289 and said it would slow climate change, a priority objective for many Vermonters.
The Vermont Natural Resources Council thanked legislators who pushed back against the “fake narrative that a renewable energy future is too expensive.” It said H.289 would double the power produced within the borders of Vermont, which is 48th in the nation for percentage of power generated in-state.
The Sierra Club’s Vermont Chapter and Renewable Energy Vermont said the measure would double the amount of renewables Vermont utilities must build in-state to 20% of the electricity they deliver; add efficiency and lifecycle greenhouse gas metrics that limit the eligibility of new biomass plants to meet the new standards; prevent classification as a source of new renewable power any lands newly flooded in the future by Hydro Quebec; and phase out off-site or “virtual” net metering, a program to increase access to community solar.
In a news release, Lauren Hierl, executive director of Vermont Conservation Voters, said: “After the recent flooding and other climate disasters facing Vermont communities, it’s encouraging that Vermont is on the cusp of adopting one of the most ambitious renewable energy standards in the country. This bill is an important step in Vermont’s efforts to cut climate pollution and leave a better Vermont for future generations.”
