Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sandra Levine, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation.
[H]ats off to Gov. Scott for using his first public appearance to stand up for Vermont’s ambitious but achievable goal of using 90 percent renewable energy by 2050. Like many Vermonters, Gov. Scott knows that the foundation of affordability lies in our clean energy transformation.
Gov. Scott’s first public appearance was to support a new solar canopy at a Montpelier grocery store — a forward thinking construction project that saves money, grows jobs and reduces pollution. As people who put up solar panels for their own use know, the free fuel from the sun means that for a price equal or lower than they pay now, they can have electricity for homes, heat and cars. And the free fuel from the sun means the bills stay low. That’s affordable.
Many more affordable opportunities lie ahead. Energy efficiency continues to deliver the biggest bang for the buck of our energy dollars. It costs less than solar or any other power resource. Since 2000, electric energy efficiency has saved Vermonters over $473 million in power costs and saved enough electricity to power every home in Vermont for over five years. Vermonters also insulated roughly 30,000 homes, saving millions of dollars every year. That’s less heat wasted and more money in Vermonters’ pockets. Insulated homes are more comfortable and healthier too, saving both fuel assistance and health care dollars. With heat pumps, Vermonters can heat and cool their homes using clean energy with motors capable of operating at 260 percent efficiency. That means less energy is needed, again saving money and reducing pollution.
Our biggest energy waste is also our biggest drain on the Vermont economy. Every year Vermonters spend over $2.3 billion on fossil fuels. Most of the money we spend on gasoline, oil and natural gas goes out of state. Instead of lining the pockets of the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil executives, we can reduce fossil fuel use. Reducing fossil fuels by just 10 percent, would be roughly equal to removing the polluting emissions from over 124,000 cars each year.
With transitions underway in Washington and Montpelier, it is more important than ever to keep building our clean energy future.
There are promising changes on the horizon. The lemonade from the deceit of the Volkswagen scandal will help states reduce emissions. A court settlement recently approved could allow Vermont to replace many diesel buses — including schoolbuses — with electric ones. Plugged into solar arrays, these buses allow our cities and school districts to save money on transportation costs. And the bus stops in downtowns will no longer be filled with belching black smoke from diesel engines. We all breathe easier.
Our cars and trucks are also getting cleaner. Vehicle efficiency standards are now about 26 miles per gallon. By 2025 they will be 36 miles per gallon. This alone will cut oil consumption in the United States by about 2.4 million barrels a day. These new standards mean our cars will be cleaner — and more affordable as they will use less gasoline.
More electric vehicles are headed our way as well. A recent survey of automobile executives shows that 93 percent of them were planning to invest in battery electric vehicles over the next five years and 62 percent believe diesel technology is becoming obsolete. With the greater efficiency and power of electric motors, this increase may even allow four-wheel-drive electric vehicles to be part of the fleet. When plugged into the solar canopy at home or at work, even people in rural areas can kiss goodbye to frequent and expensive trips to the gas pump.
The technology we have today can move a long way to breaking the expensive fossil fuel habit. With transitions underway in Washington and Montpelier, it is more important than ever to keep building our clean energy future. The affordability, health and good jobs for Vermonters depend on it.
