Efficiency Vermont chips in $64,000 to revamp Tuttle

It was a deal Tuttle Publishing couldn't pass up. With Efficiency Vermont incentives totaling $64,000 and $10,000 of its own money, Tuttle Publishing replaced all the lighting in its 100,000-square-foot office, warehouse and fulfillment center with energy-efficient lighting and fixtures. More than 500 incandescent lights were replaced along with 100 motion sensors that turn lights on and off in the company's warehouse and distribution center. Tuttle manager John Markoski estimates that upgrade will reduce annual electric usage by 30 percent, or 85,000 kilowatt hours, saving the company $9,000 a year on its electric bill.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100412/BUSINESS/4120318/1011/BUSINESS

Vt. Law School gets smart grid funding

The Vermont Law School in South Royalton is getting a $450,000 grant to do research on smart grid technology to update the power grid in the United States. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch says the money will help the school's Institute for Energy and the Environment become a national leader in implementing smart grid implementation standards. The Vermont Democrat says the grant will bolster the law school's leadership in the field. It will also lay the regulatory and legal groundwork for implementing Grid technology. Last fall Vermont secured $69 million in federal stimulus funds to help create a smart grid system.

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Schools Share $6 Million In Energy Grants

Dozens of schools and towns across the state will share in nearly $6 million to pay for renewable energy and efficiency projects. The projects range from wood-pellet-fired boilers for schools in East Montpelier and Fayston to a geothermal system at the Sutton School. The grant program was set up in the 2007 federal energy bill and Senator Bernie Sanders helped write it. Vermont has a long track record for renewable energy and efficiency, and had a fund designed to help connect projects and funding. But it was last year's economic stimulus from Washington that finally came up with the cash.

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South Burlington neighbors question solar proposal

Questions about a proposed 30-acre solar "orchard" installed in South Burlington drew about 50 residents to Tuesday night's Planning Commission hearing. Neighbors of the property quizzed the developers on the impact that 490 tracking panels -- 14 times as many as in Vermont's largest operational solar array in Hinesburg -- would have on traffic, noise, wildlife and property values. Tentatively scheduled to go on line in December, the new project will boast a capacity of 2.2 megawatts -- enough electricity to power about 430 households.

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Lights out at Rutland schools

Lights are being cut off automatically, a computer system is in the works that will make screens go blank when not in use, and temperatures are being lowered in classrooms at night to save fuel. In addition to all the energy-saving measures already being taken by the Rutland Public Schools District, Efficiency Vermont recently came into six schools and did more, targeting the district to partially ease the burden the Rutland region puts on the power grid, according to Efficiency Vermont.

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Stage set for major Vermont hydropower deal

Hydro-Quebec and Vermont's two largest electrical utilities announced Thursday that they had reached a preliminary deal for a new power contract that could see the state buy energy from the Canadian company for another 26 years. Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian utility this week that executives say "sets the stage" for a multi-decade business relationship for energy.

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Bids to open for Vets Home project

The state plans to open bids for the $3 million third and final phase of the Vermont Veterans Home geothermal project next week and construction is expected to be complete by 2011. The total cost of the project, for which the state first applied for federal money in October 2004, is about $10 million to $11 million, David Burley said, facilities operations director for the western region of the state for the Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services.

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Developers caught in the crosswinds

In 1941, Vermont was at the forefront of the wind energy movement. That's when the U.S. Department of Energy built a 1.25-megawatt turbine on Grandpa's Knob in Rutland County. The electricity generating facility, meant to secure local power in case Germans attacked the country's infrastructure, was the largest in the country. But now, Vermont has only a single wind project considered to be of moderate size by U.S. standards — the 11 Searsburg turbines, built in 1996 and generating about 6 megawatts of electricity. "Vermont is five years behind the rest of the country," said Jeff Wennberg, the public relations manager for Vermont Community Wind Farm.

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In Yankee's Wake, Legislators Look to Fast-Track Renewable Power Projects

Minutes after voting to shut down Vermont Yankee, state Senate leaders summoned reporters to talk about “where we go from here.” The lawmakers’ answer: windmills, solar panels and methane-fueled “cow power.” “We have an economic boom coming as a nation and as a planet, as we get off our addiction to oil and move to renewable [energy] technology,” said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin (D-Windham).

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14 towns vote to terminate Vermont Yankee

In their annual town meeting Tuesday, folks in this town weighed in on a debate that has consumed lawmakers in Montpelier and dominated radio talk shows and newspaper opinion pages: the continued operation of an aging nuclear power plant whose "leaks and lies" are fueling a push to close it. People in Waitsfield and 13 other towns approved resolutions urging the Legislature to pull the plug on the Vermont Yankee plant. Normally, the decision would be solely in the hands of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Not in Vermont: It's the only state with a law giving the Legislature a say in the relicensing of a nuclear plant. And Tuesday, regular people had their say, too.

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Lowell embraces wind energy project

Voters turned out in record numbers Tuesday to endorse a proposed wind energy project on Lowell Mountain by an overwhelming margin, 342-114. The project won 75 percent of the vote, an outcome that surprised almost no one. Green Mountain Power Corp., the developer, campaigned hard for a "yes" vote, knocking on doors, registering voters, holding living room meetings. Many residents had praised the project's renewable energy benefits, as well as the utility's pledge to pay the town a minimum of $400,000 -- and perhaps as much as $535,000 -- a year during the wind farm's life.

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Update on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 11:53AM by VCF Staff

Vermont's second largest electric utility is going to pay the town of Lowell between $13 million and $15 million over the next 25 years in exchange for support of a wind-power project. The Lowell Selectboard signed the deal with Green Mountain Power on Tuesday.

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Vermont Tech launches wood pellet heating and educational project

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today announced the launch of an innovative biomass energy project at Vermont Technical College. A wood pellet boiler will serve both as a practical heating source for a building on the college campus and as an invaluable hands-on learning tool for students interested in the growing field of renewable energy jobs. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee, secured $184,995 in federal funding for the project through the U.S. Department of Energy.  Vermont Technical College will provide an additional $55,865.

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Innovative partnership reduces energy costs

Last week Vermont Works for Women and J.A. Morrissey completed the first phase of efficiency improvements on 60 of 336 units at Burlington’s Northgate Apartments, an affordable rental community located on the banks of Lake Champlain. The housing complex serves families across a range of incomes from below 30 percent of median up to 95 percent of median income. “This is the way to go — creating opportunities for women and others to get out there and learn these skills, work and earn a living, and cut costs and energy consumption at the same time.” Judy Reynolds, construction crew member, Vermont Works for Women.

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O'Donnell eyes second Vernon plant

Rep. Patricia O'Donnell is moving forward with a joint resolution asking the Legislature to consider a new nuclear plant in Vermont. The legislative measure, released to the public Tuesday, calls for the financing and construction of a second nuclear facility in Vernon adjacent to the current Vermont Yankee plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission originally approved the Vernon site for two plants prior to the building of the present-day reactor, and supporters say it is an ideal location to build a modern and compact facility to replace the power of Vermont Yankee.

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Vermont's 3 largest utilities agree to power-purchase deals

Vermont's three largest electric utilities have reached a series of agreements for purchasing power, including from a new wind-power project in New Hampshire. Central Vermont Public Service Corp. and Green Mountain Power Corp. will buy slightly more than half the power output from the Granite Reliable Power wind project in Coos County, N.H. They and Vermont Elecrtic Cooperative Inc. also will be buying power from brokerages set up by financial firms, including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

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