Jeff Forward: As Vermont goes, so goes … Texas?

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Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jeff Forward, who is chair of the board of Renewable Energy Vermont 

[O]nly three U.S. states were countries before joining the Union. Ask any American to name these three states, and most will probably name Texas, the Lone Star State. Many might also be able to then tell you that Hawaii, which only became a state in 1959, was a country before it was folded into these United States. And if you are a Vermonter reading this, you, of course know that the Green Mountain State, Vermont, governed itself independently for 14 years before officially joining the 13 original colonies.

To most people, the similar past these three states share might be all they have in common, however, if you are a person who is energy minded, you might realize that they share a common future. They are all leading the renewable energy revolution.

Texas, which is widely known as an oil state, might seem an unlikely innovator in renewable energy. But Texas has fully leaned into the future of energy. Where they truly lead is wind power, having installed 20,000 MW of wind energy generation to date, the most of any state. To put that number in context, that is enough to power 7 million American homes.

It probably does not come as a surprise that Hawaii is becoming a leader in the harnessing clean energy available to them rather than importing it from the mainland. The island state has had to spend a tremendous amount of money each year importing dirty and dangerous fossil fuels and has the highest electricity rates in the country. However, it also has abundant sunshine. Put those two factors together and you understand the demand that has led to them having the most residential solar per capita. One in every seven Hawaiian homes has solar panels, probably the most distributed grid in America and a real step towards the democratization of energy.

Then of course we have Vermont. Like Hawaii, Vermont sends a great sum of money out of state on energy. Most of the $2 billion Vermonters spend each year on energy goes of out of state. That’s a lot of lost economic opportunity. We started to take much of that back, in 2013

Vermonters are working hard to build a clean energy economy, developing well-paying trade jobs which keep young people in the state. Vermont has seen 29 percent growth in its clean energy sector over the last four years, and that shows no sign of slowing down.

Our country has always relied on states to be the incubators of our country’s innovation, and the laboratories for democracy. These three states have unique personalities that are holdovers from their independent past, and they lend themselves well to our collective future, as our country navigates global climate change and the energy challenges of the future.

I’m proud of all Vermont has done to look towards a stronger energy future, and along the way, lead the country.