GMP CEO Mary Powell announcing the goal of shifting to 100% renewable energy generation by 2030. VBM photo by Brandon Arcari
by Brandon Arcari, Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power announced it plans to shift entirely to renewable power by 2030 at its Earth Day Every Day fair in South Burlington on Saturday. The plan, which also calls for the company to shift entirely to carbon-free energy by 2025, and would beat the state of Vermont’s goal of 90% renewable energy generation by 20 years.
“There is so much we can accomplish together in Vermont to cut carbon, and at the same time increase reliability for customers in the face of increasingly frequent and severe storms,” GMP CEO Mary Powell said. “As a customer-obsessed energy company, we’ve delivered on our promise to help customers transition to a community-, home-, and business-based energy system that is greener and more resilient through energy storage options like home batteries, and options for charging electric vehicles.”
GMP currently is 90% carbon free and over 60% renewable, according to a press release. The shift to 100% for both will be accomplished with increases in both wind and hydropower purchasing, as well as increases in power storage, such as battery technology.
“[We’re working to] radically transform away from carbon, radically move toward a cleaner, greener, cost-effective amazing future,” Powell said. “We’re doing it in a way that is about transforming lives, transforming the marketplace.”
Despite the increased investment in renewable and carbon-free energy, Powell said she doesn’t expect customers to see much, if any rate increases.
“This is really one of the most aggressive goals we can find in the country, for a company our size, to be moving that way, but we feel it is imperative on us to move that way,” she said. “
The plan will also draw on the three solar plants GMP is constructing this year, in addition to the two it already has, to also help decrease the amount of energy it has to purchase.
In a statement, Renewable Energy Vermont applauded GMP’s plan.
“To achieve 100% renewables, cut costs and carbon pollution, the legislature needs to improve the integrity, transparency, and effectiveness of Vermont’s energy laws,” said REV Executive Director Olivia Campbell Andersen. “Vermonters are ready for 100%, but need the State to remove barriers to progress and innovation.”
“There could be nothing more important to me personally, nothing more important to us as a team, as a company,” Powell said.
GMP has been pushing more and more green energy plans in Vermont, with recent launches this year of an energy storage incentive program, and electric car rebates.