Vermont Energy
Issue Overview: Beginning 2012, Vermont faces an energy supply dilemma. Vermont Yankee's current operating license expires in 2012 and the current long-term contracts with Hydro Quebec are scheduled to begin expiring in 2015. Vermont will need to make several decisions, including to re-license the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant located in Vernon, renegotiate supply contracts with Hydro-Quebec, and/or develop and construct new electric generating sources here in Vermont.
Vermont Yankee and Hydro Quebec currently meet supply needs by generating one-third each of the total electricity supply required. These two sources alone have put Vermont on the map as one of the cleanest energy producing states in the country.
Vermont has an opportunity to include in the supply mix other supply sources from generation of electricity within Vermont: wind, solar, biomass and potentially additional hydropower.
Wind energy has been the most hotly contested new source in recent months. Gov. Jim Douglas established a Wind Commission in 2004 to research, evaluate and report back their findings about whether wind generation was a viable source for Vermont. The commission reported that wind was a viable new source for Vermont, but recommended specific criteria for its development, including habitat studies that would be required prior to issuing a permit.
NFIB/Vermont has supported the efforts of the Vermont Yankee Power Station, owned by Entergy, to construct dry-cask storage.
NFIB Position: NFIB/Vermont supports initiatives that allow for the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee Power Station and the renegotiation of contracts with Hydro-Quebec.
Issue Status: There is no specific legislation at this time on these issues. The question for the upcoming session will be what sort of development: new generation sources, new contracts to buy power, new transmission capability and/or new energy-efficiency initiatives? Everything is on the table, but the search for answers has just begun.
