If we learned that Vermont would be facing a significant water shortage in the not-too-distant future, I suspect we would do a good job of putting differences aside and doing what we’d need to in order to ensure that this vital substance continued to flow. It’s time to think about electricity in the same way, whatever our age, beliefs or how we voted in the last election.
When you get up tomorrow morning, look at how many things in your home or apartment are already plugged in and working, and how many more you add even in the first few minutes when you turn on the coffee maker, plug in your laptop and put on several lights in the house. These parts of our lives do not run on Democratic, Republican or Progressive electricity.
Even with strong efficiency measures and our admirable New England frugality, we are an electricity-thirsty society. The transition from an 80% fossil fuel energy supply to electricity is requiring huge increases in renewable generation. That is not going to change; our thirst for electricity is growing and will continue to grow. Not only that, the incoming Trump administration has made it very clear that proposed off-shore wind projects that might help meet that need are out of favor, and those projects are proving expensive even when they do go forward. Where will we get the electricity to power our society?
ISO-New England, the grid operator for the New England states, predicts a doubling of electric demand by 2050. Why? In large measure because five of the six New England states have public policies that will require electrification. I’d add to this that technology also drives this change, and will move us toward electrification however political winds may shift. Auto manufacturers aren’t going to throw away billions of dollars in EV development, people are not going to stop installing clean and quiet heat pumps, and even giant fossil fuel corporations are not likely to reverse the pivots many of them have made toward having renewable energy projects in their portfolios. Locally, the Vermont jobs and housing we desperately need to create will only add to this need.
It’s time to think about renewable energy in a different way. Like a water shortage, an electricity shortage will badly hurt all of us. Energy is the lifeblood of all living things. And we can’t pretend that we can rely on our neighboring states and provinces to give us a good deal or special treatment, for they are dealing with the same things. (Even if you really like the family next door, don’t you make sure your own family is fed first?) Our current contract with Hydro-Quebec is a good example. While Vermont has a favorable long-term favorable relationship with the provincial utility, HQ faces many of the same challenges and their first obligation is the Quebec ratepayers, not Vermonters downstream. Oh, and those one GW power lines being built now connecting Canada to Southern New England and New York City need ALL the capacity and much more than HQ has.
My work in renewable energy now spans nearly five decades, which is just about as long as the primary federal law (PURPA) on the subject has been around. Much of that time, especially in the early years, involved what felt like endless battles to change a deeply embedded status quo around electric utilities and power sources. While our work has been a source of pride and some success, the old days are gone, and stories of yesterday will not address tomorrow’s electricity shortage. I am looking into the energy future that is coming and working to change our culture of energy blindness and laws so that we Vermonters can live a life of well-being.
Toward that end, my team at AllEarth Renewables and I will be offering a framework for legislation that will let us meet our electric demand, and forestall shortages so that Vermont is not caught flat-footed.
Key elements of this must include:
1. Streamlining and simplification of Vermont’s power supply programs and processes to ensure that renewable energy projects can be brought on line quickly.
2. A simplified net metering program that is efficient and understandable, and minimizes administrative burdens on utilities, regulators, renewable energy companies and customers.
3. The use of competitive bidding for larger projects in a manner that will promote cost effectiveness and coordination with the responsibilities of our electric utilities under Vermont’s renewable energy laws.
We look forward to working with the legislature and others to implement these ideas.
-David Blittersdorf, President & CEO