Editor’s note: This commentary is by Brian Shupe, who is the executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
[V]ermonters use a lot of energy to heat our homes, power our lives and transport us where we need to go.
Virtually all of the energy we use to drive our cars, trucks and buses is imported into the state, as is the vast majority of the energy we use to heat our homes and businesses. And we remain significantly reliant on other states and nations to generate the electric power we need to light our homes, charge our computers, run our many appliances.
The reality is Vermonters have not had to think about – or take responsibility for – generating the energy that makes our 21st century energy-intensive society work. But that’s changing, for a lot of reasons.
More and more coal and nuclear power plants are coming off line each year. They are too dirty, too expensive and too dangerous to continue operating. Combine that with the glut of cheap natural gas and the growing affordability and efficiency of renewable energy technology and the result is that the inevitable – and desired – energy transformation now underway.
The implications of this energy transition are many, and many of them are good.
In Vermont it is resulting in more distributed clean energy resources being deployed across the state. With that deployment has come significant economic development (one of every 17 jobs in the state is in the clean energy industry), a much cleaner electric portfolio that’s recognizing and responding to the climate crisis, and greater energy independence.
It’s also come with controversy, as communities adjust to seeing more distributed generation, most notably solar panels, pop up on our iconic landscape. Unfortunately, controversy over energy siting has distracted attention from the reason why this transition is happening.
How can we site more distributed, renewable generation in locations that protect natural resources, communities and people, while at the same time remaining affordable and integrating well with our regional grid?
We all use energy. We have a growing obligation to take more responsibility for how that energy is generated, rather than simply enjoying the benefits of generation that is impacting someone else’s distant backyard. And climate change is already costing the nation billions in response to increased droughts, floods, wildfires and a rising sea.
How Vermont embraces this new energy transition matters. A lot. That’s why my organization has worked with communities across Vermont to implement conservation and efficiency programs, undertake projects that give people transportation choices, and advance community-owned and well-sited renewable generation.
We have also worked from the local level to the highest levels of government to promote and craft plans that will help achieve the most strategic, well-supported approaches to transitioning off of fossil fuels. We believe strongly that, to succeed, Vermonters must be actively engaged in our energy transition.
And it is why we are optimistic about the new forward-looking framework enacted by the Legislature last session – Act 174 – designed to empower communities and regions who undertake comprehensive energy planning to exercise a greater role in how energy generation is sited.
Act 174 requires regions to consider how they will contribute to meeting Vermont’s heating, transportation and electrical needs. And it enables communities (but does not require them) to do the same, identifying solutions they think will work best in the context of their own goals and values. Communities and regions that sufficiently demonstrate their planned participation in this energy shift can receive a determination by the Public Service Department that gives substantial deference to their plans in proceedings on energy projects before the Public Service Board.
This is uncharted and challenging territory, aiming to balance many important goals that are sometimes at odds with each other. How can we incentivize projects on the already-built landscape that, in many instances, are more expensive than the same facility built in an open field? How can we site more distributed, renewable generation in locations that protect natural resources, communities and people, while at the same time remaining affordable and integrating well with our regional grid?
The state needs to balance multiple goals in this energy transition. There are and will be challenges and tradeoffs. Act 174 creates a framework that will help communities and regions shape their own energy vision. But it’s important to remember as this new planning framework rolls out into communities some of the big reasons behind it.
We all use energy. We all live on a planet that is imperiled by our collective energy appetite. And the externalized costs of our society’s energy choices will likely be a significant price for future generations to bear.
We have a responsibility and an opportunity to meet far more of our energy needs through resources carefully deployed in our own backyards. Act 174 creates a way to articulate how that happens. The oft-missing why is an essential part of the equation, however, that I hope will inspire more people to participate in this new planning process and come to the table willing to be part of the solution.