The discovery of a $50,000 allocation buried deep in the state capital bill that was passed by legislators several months ago is stirring up significant controversy today. As first reported by Vermont Public Radio, the nondescript allocation was earmarked for Lyndon State College to purchase sound monitoring equipment. The equipment…
Read More
VPIRG delivered a petition signed by 1412 Vermonters to the Public Service Board on Monday in support of keeping Vermont’s net metering program strong. The petition asked the Board to address the concerns as raised by VPIRG, VNRC, Vermont Conservation Voters and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility in their July…
Read More
Late last night the legislature passed a fixed version of the energy siting bill (S.230) previously vetoed by Gov. Peter Shumlin. The new bill (S.260) made four simple clarifications necessary to address the governor’s concerns. VPIRG supports this bill. It will empower towns and regions to take a greater role,…
Read More
Friday evening, after a flurry of back and forth negotiations between the House and the Senate – S.230, the energy siting bill, finally passed and is heading to the governor’s desk. The result is a bill that will do a lot to empower towns to take on a greater role…
Read More
S.230 – the energy siting reform bill – passed the Senate late Thursday on a 22 – 3 vote, but not before several significant battles and revisions on the Senate floor. The final result is a still-promising bill that contains some serious flaws. VPIRG, along with our supporters and allies,…
Read More
The next few days will be very important in the ongoing effort to move Vermont toward clean, renewable energy and protect and build on the over 16,000 clean energy jobs in Vermont. S.230, an energy siting reform bill, passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee on a…
Read More
Vermont’s leading environmental organizations joined forces Tuesday to highlight the many environmental and economic benefits solar power provides to Vermonters. The event took place at Crossett Brook Middle School in Duxbury, where participants highlighted Vermont’s recent successes bringing clean and low-cost solar power to many homes and businesses. Vermonters’ enthusiastic…
Read More
On Friday May 15th, the Vermont Senate passed H.40, the “Renewable Energy Standard” bill. Shortly thereafter the House (which had passed the bill back in March) approved the Senate’s changes, sending it to the Governor’s desk. He was been a supporter of the bill from day one, and is expected…
Read More
There are two months left in the 2015 legislative session and VPIRG has been working diligently this year on a number of big energy issues. Here is a short update of where those issues stand: The carbon pollution tax: Since January, we’ve been working to build support with legislators, educate…
Read More
This afternoon, the Vermont House voted overwhelmingly to approve The Renewable Energy Standard and Energy Transformation Program (H.40). H.40 is a critical piece of legislation that would put Vermont in line 29 other states, including every state in the New England region, in requiring electric utilities to provide customers with…
Read More