This commentary is by Henry Kronk, a journalist and author based in Burlington. He began his career as an intern for the Burlington Free Press and currently reports on renewable energy markets. His book “The Beat, The Scene, The Sound: A DJ’s Journey Through the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of New York House Music” will be published in June.
In some cultures, suntanned skin has been considered plain because it denotes lower-class, outdoor work. In the early 20th century, city planners drew up designs for highly concentrated communities surrounded by sprawling expanses of connecting highways, believing them to be both more efficient and more attractive for citizens of the future.
And here in Vermont, in 2023, some among us find renewable energy ugly.
In December, a small proposed 4-megawatt solar farm in Hartford met with opposition from community members because it would require cutting a few acres of forest and pose an eyesore to the town.
In September 2021, the Vermont Public Utility Commission denied a certificate to a tiny 0.5-megawatt solar farm in Manchester because it “would have an undue adverse effect on aesthetics.”
Most recently, Shaftsbury residents plan to fight a proposed 20-megawatt solar farm “every step of the way,” according to VTDigger.
Utility-scale wind hasn’t been built in the state for over 10 years, arguably for similar reasons.
I want to put forward a proposal: Beauty is constructed, in part, by our material surroundings. If Vermont residents stop seeing the climate and energy forest for the trees, we might change our minds about what has undue adverse effects on our aesthetics. If we fail to do so, we risk our hard-won energy security and local sovereignty.
Luckily, our state has so far done an excellent job at decarbonizing. Nearly 100% of our in-state electric generation comes from renewable sources, which primarily involves hydro, some wind, and a growing amount of solar. Unfortunately, we produce only about one-third of the electricity we consume. The rest is made up primarily by HydroQuebec, another renewable source.
But that captures only part of the picture. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, roughly three-fifths of the total power we use derives from petroleum sources and emits greenhouse gases. Just over half of that comes from transportation. But about a quarter comes from heating our homes.
In other words, we have made significant progress in weaning ourselves off greenhouse gas-emitting fuel sources. But we aren’t even halfway to deep decarbonization.
I’m not going to tell you that climate change poses an existential threat to humanity. Even if we double our current greenhouse gas emissions, humanity will likely survive in some small, underground form for millennia to come, or until some other threat knocks us out.
But if we don’t keep warming below 2º Celsius — and ideally 1.5º — life as we know it will change within my lifetime. Freshwater insecurity and sea level rise will give way to mass migrations and further geopolitical instability. The institutions and infrastructures we rely on will be stressed, and some will break. If we don’t stop (fooling) around with efforts to shore up our local grid, we might very well find out what that dystopia looks like.
The best thing Vermonters can do today to stave off the worst of those effects is to ensure our energy security. We have already seen the foresight of our energy policy work in our favor. When natural gas prices spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, New Hampshire electricity prices — which adhere to wholesale markets — skyrocketed. New Hampshire’s main utility, Eversource, has recently informed the state it may struggle to even obtain enough power to meet customer needs if the present situation worsens.
In Vermont, however, we have hedged against these very circumstances with a balanced energy supply. Our rates have increased, yes, but incrementally in comparison to neighboring states and the U.S. at large.
That security is not assured. We rely heavily on hydropower for both in- and out-of-state generation. If we experience a drought, as Northern Europe and California — two other regions that rely heavily on hydropower — did this past year, we will find ourselves in a very bad situation.
Shaftsbury residents and many others, furthermore, are concerned that part of an 85-acre parcel will be clear-cut to make way for a solar farm. Let’s put that in perspective. The U.S. Forest Service has approved logging on roughly 40,000 acres in our state over the next six years. It is considering logging over 10,000 more. We can count over 4.6 million forested acres in our state today. We can afford to lose 85.
But we can’t afford a future of energy insecurity. Many of us Vermonters live here for its beauty. A 20-megawatt solar farm won’t sacrifice that beauty. But a future of energy insecurity will.
If we can understand what is at stake, there is a strong chance that many more of us will begin to see the beauty in renewable power.
