Editor’s note: This commentary is by Charles Moore and Garret Siegel, who are members of the Arlington Planning Commission and the Arlington Energy Committee.
[W]e were dismayed and disheartened to read Don Keelan’s commentary in Saturday’s Bennington Banner, reprinted in VTDigger.
His lack of knowledge or reference to Act 174 passed by the state in 2016 is glaring. This act clearly establishes the goal that by 2050 90% of all energy consumed in Vermont will be generated by renewable resources. Each town in Vermont can voluntarily establish an energy policy which will help protect areas of their town judged to be inappropriate for solar or wind development, as well as designate areas on which a developer can install a solar or wind facility.
Members of the Arlington Planning Commission are currently drafting an energy chapter for our town plan. We will be holding public meetings this summer to review the chapter with interested town residents. Once an energy plan is adopted by a town, a citizen’s committee, either appointed by the Selectboard or operating independently, can take charge of helping educate townspeople to the many services available for reducing their energy usage and thereby saving money. The committee can also do energy audits on municipal buildings in order to lower energy usage and thereby save townspeople money on their taxes.
Energy created from solar or wind, electric vehicles, properly weatherized houses as well as upgrading to energy efficient appliances are but a few of the many things that can be done to reduce our energy costs. We will not have “subrogated our authority to energy committees,” as Keelan states, but rather, we will have worked with our fellow townspeople to reduce our energy consumption to sustainable levels and to comply with Act 174.
As Keelan is a founding member of the Arlington Area Renewal Project, which, like Arlington’s Energy Committee, is a group of non-elected members assisting in town policies and working for the revitalization of the town of Arlington, perhaps he could recommend a couple of townspeople to sit on the Arlington Energy Committee. The minutes for the Energy Committee are available for all to see on the town website.
Act 174, an approved town energy plan and an active citizen’s energy committee are the cornerstones of reducing our energy consumption in the face of climate change and maintaining local control of our energy sources. In turn, this transformation will allow for a future energy sector that focuses on local energy providers while creating employment opportunities within our communities.
