Public Service Board nudges efficiency budget

August 30, 2008

MONTPELIER, Vt. --The state Public Service Board has decided to hold spending on electrical efficiency at 2008 levels next year and then increase it in 2010 and 2011 -- but not as much as two environmental groups wanted.In a decision issued late Friday, the board rejected calls by the Conservation Law Foundation and Vermont Public Interest Research Group for big increases in spending on the statewide energy conservation program Efficiency Vermont, saying it was worried about raising the efficiency surcharge on electric rates in tough economic times.

CLF and VPIRG had asked for an increase to $52.5 million in 2009, jumping to $85 million by 2011. They argued that the higher amounts would push the state closer to claiming "all reasonably available, cost-effective energy efficiency" -- the goal described in state law.

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Nuke Fight Nears Decisive Moment

THE VALLEY ADVOCATE

Under pressure from the public, the Vermont Legislature can close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

By Eesha Williams

The Vermont Legislature will make history in a vote expected as early as January on whether to allow the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to continue operating after 2012. Never before has a state taken such a vote. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us," said Deb Katz of the Citizens Awareness Network, an antinuclear group based in Shelburne Falls. "But it's not going to be easy."Vermont Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone's throw from New Hampshire. A serious accident or act of sabotage at the reactor would kill thousands, and leave hundreds...

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Vermonters Consider Alternative Energy Sources

August 21, 2008

A new study released Wednesday recommends utilities should offer greener, more renewable technologies to Vermonters.

The study done on behalf of Vermont's four largest power companies says resources like wind, solar and biomass have a lot of potential in the state. The study discourages building new nuclear or coal-fired power plants. But it recommends constructing several new medium-sized power plants, along with green sources of energy.

Paul Burns, Executive Director of Vermont's Public Interest Research Group says: "I think this gives small renewable energy projects a lot of credibility."

Power company officials say they have a lot of work to do between now and 2016, when Vermont's electrical energy supply contracts are scheduled to expire.

Dorothy Schnure of Green Mountain Power says: "It's going to take a lot of work with legislature and a lot of other organizations to try to streamline some permitting and to locate renewable energy generation in our communities."

Green Mountain Power also plans to increase the amount of power it gets from Hydro-Quebec. CVPS says it plans to begin two solar projects in Rutland and Springfield.

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VPIRG calls for closing Vermont Yankee in 2012

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Public Interest Research Group said Tuesday it has collected more than 12,000 signatures onpostcards calling for Vermont Yankee to close when its licenseexpires in 2012.

VPIRG held a news conference to make the announcement outsidethe Statehouse, where lawmakers are expected to decide in their2009 session whether the state's lone reactor, which is located inVernon, should be authorized to seek a 20-year license extension.

"One of the best ways to gauge public opinion is to go out andactually talk with people, face to face and door to door," saidBen Walsh, who helped to run VPIRG's summer campaign office.

"We've done that from one end of Vermont to the other, and I can tell you that from Grand Isle to Brattleboro, Vermonters are ready to make the switch...

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VPIRG: 12,000 urge closing of Vt. Yankee

August 20, 2008

By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – The Vermont Public Interest Research Group announced Tuesday that 12,000 state residents signed onto its campaign opposing the relicensing of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

The Montpelier-based advocacy organization said thousands of postcards from Vermonters opposing the Vernon nuclear facility and supporting renewable energy will be mailed out to lawmakers this fall and winter.

The postcards read, "It's about time Vermont Yankee retired" and will come just before the Vermont Legislature returns to the Statehouse for a new session, during which...

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Shut Down Vermont Yankee?

Montpelier, Vermont - August 19, 2008

A group opposed to Vermont Yankee has collected more than 12,000 signatures calling for the nuclear plant to shut down. It comes at the same time Yankee is launching a PR campaign to say why it should stay open.

This clash is all in advance of what will be a big issue at the statehouse: should Yankee be relicensed and operate for another 20 years after it's license expires in 2012? Both sides are trying to win over the public and get lawmakers attention.

"This is a grassroots campaign," says Paul Burns, of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

VPIRG spent the summer knocking on doors in 112 towns. They say of the 29,000 Vermonters contacted, 12,000 agreed to sign a postcard to send to lawmakers calling for the shut down of Yankee.

"Each card represents a Vermont family looking for change in the way we generate power and they are coming from families...

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VPIRG says Catamount goal unlikely

August 13, 2008

MONTPELIER — It is unlikely the state will reach its goal of having 96 percent of Vermonters covered by health insurance by 2010, according to a new study of the Catamount Health program by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

About 10,000 Vermonters have enrolled in the state's insurance programs since last fall, including the new Catamount Health, which has about 5,000 members.

However, there remain more than 30,000 uninsured Vermonters to reach in the next 18 months if the goal announced when Catamount was created is to be reached, said Stefanie Sidortsova of Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

And that assumes that no Vermonters have lost their insurance coverage in the meantime.
"That is a pretty steep hill to climb," said Sidortsova, the health care advocate for VPIRG, which supported the creation of Catamount Health. The organization is pushing for...

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