by Olivia Campbell-Andersen, Executive Director, Renewable Energy Vermont While Governor Phil Scott’s administration tries again to put the brakes on renewable energy in Vermont, 791 Vermonters filed comments with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) about net metering – the state’s policy that enables Vermonters to generate their own renewable electricity and share that clean energy with their neighbors. 99.9% of these comments (all but one!)—urged our state utility regulators to maintain or increase the people’s access to clean energy through net metering
With COVID-19, Vermont has demonstrated national leadership by relying on science and adopting policies to keep our infection rates low. The climate crisis demands similar urgency and attention to the science, yet Vermont’s government proposes to ignore everything science tells about the urgency of the climate crisis. Vermont is the only state in New England with higher emissions than it had 30 years ago. As our neighboring states take bold action to address global warming and create good jobs in renewable energy, Vermont is headed in the opposite direction.
We have an opportunity now to determine how we rebuild from COVID-19’s devastating economic effects. We can and should choose to build clean-energy jobs across Vermont. The climate crisis threatens life as we know it and we need to take action while we still can. Continuing net-metering is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways Vermont can get people back to work, mitigate the effects of fossil-fuel pollution and strengthen our grid infrastructure.
The first week of September, 26,306 Vermonters applied for unemployment. That means more than 8% of our state’s workforce is currently unemployed. Before COVID-19, changes and cuts to net metering caused Vermont to lose 408 solar energy jobs from 2017-2020. Things are worse now.
With so many of our neighbors out of work, every job matters. We need to embrace policies proven to foster job growth and rebuild our economy more resilient than it was before. Every time net metering has been cut in the past, Vermont has lost good-paying clean-energy jobs. We simply cannot afford that now.
The PUC’s pending decision not only puts good jobs on the line, but also the future of Vermont’s renewable energy and climate commitments. Prior changes to net metering have already drastically reduced the number of new local renewable energy projects. From 2017-2020 (before COVID), applications for clean energy projects declined by 72%. Vermont will never meet its climate commitments moving in this direction.
Net metering allows Vermonters to generate electricity right where they need it, at their own home, school or business. All over our state, this distributed network of power-producers takes pressure off the grid—especially during periods of peak consumption. Net metering makes energy cheaper for everyone by reducing the amount utilities have to purchase when demand is high. During one week of peak events in 2018, solar power Vermont saved Vermont utilities and ratepayers $1.3 million.
It is abundantly clear why nearly 800 Vermonters took the time to voice their support for net metering. One person invoked shared economic responsibility writing: “In order for Vermont to survive as a state, it is the responsibility of ALL of us to create jobs that both retain as well as attract workers to our state. . . Knowingly changing policy that would lead to continued job loss and hurt our local economy is unacceptable.” Another highlighted the environmental urgency: “Our children and grandchildren are depending on us to avert the climate disaster that is already well underway. We must begin now to support renewable energy at the highest level.”
While every surrounding state adopts policies to grow renewable energy, Vermont falls further and further behind. Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island all score higher than Vermont on policies that encourage the growth of renewable energy. Per capita emissions are higher in Vermont than any other state in New England.
Unlike Vermont, New York and Massachusetts are rapidly adding clean energy jobs that attract and retain young people. More Generation Zs want to work in renewable energy than any other energy field. Vermont needs these young people and their future families
Facing the twin crises of COVID-19 and global warming requires vision and leadership. The Governor’s Department of Public Service is currently urging regulators to roll back net metering, the single most effective policy for encouraging the growth of renewable energy in our state.
Vermonters know we cannot afford to lose the opportunity we now have to spur economic recovery, create local resilience and save money. We simply won’t reach our economic potential or meet our climate commitments if the Scott Administration and Public Utility Commission continue to put the interests of utilities ahead of the hundreds of regular Vermonters who care about climate.