Current News

The Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) has approved financing that will allow Middlebury-based start-up Stonecutter Spirits, based in Middlebury, to begin production. Robin Scheu, Executive Director of ACEDC, confirmed her organization will use its revolving loan funds to lend $100,000 to the local gin and whiskey manufacturer. This financing is part of a $500,000 project with additional funding coming from Opportunities Credit Union and the National Bank of Middlebury. As a result of this investment, Stonecutter Spirits expects to create 7-12 full time jobs as well as 6 part time positions over the next three years.

by Rob Roper The Vermont legislature has long been bent on saving the planet through government micromanagement of energy policy. The big issue this year appears to be passing a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that would require utilities to sell a set percentage renewable power (and thereby forcing customers buy the more expensive product). The other issue, likely debated but not moved on this year, is a Carbon Tax designed to make fossil fuel use artificially expensive.

According to a recent report by Ross Koningstein and David Fork, engineers at Google who worked on the company’s groundbreaking renewable energy project RE

Senate Republicans today shot down a proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) to help install up to 10 million solar power systems for homes and businesses in the coming decade. Rebates for solar systems would have been authorized by a Sanders amendment to a Keystone XL oil pipeline bill now before the Senate.

“The scientific community tells us very clearly if we're going to reverse climate change and the great dangers it poses for the planet we must move aggressively to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders said.

His amendment called for a 15 percent rebate to homeowners and businesses that install solar power. The new solar power generated would have been enough to replace one-fifth of the nation’s dirty, coal-fired power plants. The measure also would create new jobs.

by Ron Miller The Vermont Council on Rural Development is holding a major statewide conference, “Creating Prosperity & Opportunity Confronting Climate Change,” in Randolph on February 18. The gathering will launch VCRD’s new Climate Change Economy initiative, which aims to stimulate the growth of small businesses that can prosper by addressing various aspects of the climate change scenario.

VCRD’s goal is to “ally business, policy and community leadership to advance policies and investments to grow jobs and nurture innovative business development in sectors ranging from clean energy to recycling, transportation systems, and thermal efficiency.” Vermont is poised to become a national leader in this area, and the Feb. 18 event could trigger an outburst of creative energy and purposeful investment.

Image Outfitters, an advertising specialties company has implemented a new product portal on their website that makes it easy for companies to make responsible choices when searching for branded merchandise that is ‘Sustainable’, ‘Recycled’ or ‘Made in the USA’. Image Outfitters is the first and only advertising specialties company in the United States to become a certified B Corporation and has been championing social responsibility through their iShare Charitable Donations Program. In the past two years since the program’s inception, Image Outfitters has donated 10 percent of each new sale to a nonprofit of the client’s choosing – giving to over 60 different charities so far!

Doppler on Wheels (DOW) returns to the Lyndon State College campus for a three-week stint beginning January 29. It’s rare for the DOW to make a return trip to a campus; this is the third visit in five years. The DOW, containing a state-of-the-art weather radar system, will be used as an experiential learning tool by the students and faculty in the college’s Atmospheric Sciences (ATM) department. Students in the Remote Sensing class will receive hands-on training in the theory, interpretation, and collection of Doppler radar data including how weather radar works, how to collect good data, and how to find the ideal site for measuring precipitation.

by Deb Markowitz, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources This past month, Governor Shumlin opened the legislative session with an unprecedented focus on the environment. Understanding that global climate change threatens our way of life, the Governor announced new initiatives aimed at continuing to expand our renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors; creating jobs, saving Vermonters money and doing our part to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. He also talked at length about our Clean Water Initiative and Lake Champlain restoration plan.

Gaz Métro inc (GMi) has announced it has entered into a first supplemental agreement to the credit agreement it entered into onMarch 2, 2012 with its bank syndicate providing for an increase of the initial revolving credit facility amount committed by the lenders from $600 million to $800 million and an extension of the maturity date to March 2, 2020. The First Supplemental Agreement is guaranteed by Gaz Métro Limited Partnership (Gaz Métro). Besides the $200 million increase in the size of the facility and the extended maturity, the terms of the original credit agreement remain unchanged by the First Supplemental Agreement. The credit facility is also secured by collateral security backed by the assets of GMi and Gaz Métro.

Gaz Metro is the parent company of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems.

Vermont Business Magazine The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) panel assigned to review the State of Vermont petition regarding the preservation of the Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has denied the petition in a 2-1 decision. (The ASLB is a quasi-judicial arm of the NRC that handles hearing requests and petitions and conducts hearings.) The ASLB panel states in the decision that ERDS, which provides a direct electronic data link from plants to the NRC and allows the agency to monitor critical plant parameters during an emergency, is only required for plants with operating reactors under existing regulations. Vermont Yankee went off-line in December. There is a dissenting opinion from one member of the three-member panel. The state has 25 days to appeal the decision.

A Winooski soap company is expanding its manufactring into a second plant in Essex. When Twincraft Skincare opened its doors in 1978 the company formulated and manufactured bar soap. Now widely recognized as one of the most innovative and progressive contract manufacturers of prestige and specialty bar soap for the past 40 years, Twincraft continues to manufacture over 37 million bars of soap annually in the Winooski facility. In 2014, with support and encouragement from customers, Twincraft Soap became Twincraft Skincare and began presenting customers with a huge array of product options including an extensive variety of rinse-off cleansing and leave-on skincare products.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger today highlighted more than $3.3 million worth of projects under way or completed in the past 13 months that make necessary repairs and energy efficiency improvements to city assets, and also announced $375,000 in additional sidewalk improvements funding for this spring. These projects, along with previously announced Penny for Parks projects, represent important steps in a long-term effort to responsibly maintain the City’s many physical assets. In the weeks ahead, the Administration will release a draft 10-year capital plan – the first ever systemic effort to guide, coordinate, and keep affordable the City’s investments over the next decade.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has introduced far-reaching legislation to rebuild America’s crumbling network of roads, bridges and transit systems and other infrastructure projects. The five-year plan would invest $1 trillion and create or maintain at least 13 million jobs, said Sanders, the Senate Budget Committee ranking member. The legislation is co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the ranking member of the appropriations committee, and it is backed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the AFL-CIO and others.

“For too many years, we’ve underfunded our nation’s physical infrastructure. We have to change that and that’s what the Rebuild America Act is all about. We must modernize our infrastructure and create millions of new jobs that will put people back to work and help the economy,” Sanders said.