In November 2017, VPIRG signed onto the Transportation Electrification Accord along with a broad array of organizations and businesses committed to an equitable, prosperous and electrified transportation future. Among other principles, the Accord recognizes that electric vehicles (both light duty and heavy duty) can “advance economic development, create jobs, provide grid…
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What if we could improve our children’s health and our communities’ bottom lines while increasing access to transportation options that are affordable and better for our environment? We believe it is possible, and that is why we’ve joined Transportation for Vermonters, a broad new transportation coalition. As part of the…
Read MoreAs part of the Vermont Energy Innovation Program (aka Tier III), each electric utility is required to file a plan indicating how they will meet the goals of the upcoming year. Below you can find the full 2018 plans for each Vermont utility: Vermont Electric Coop: VEC Energy Innovation Program…
Read MoreThe Vermont Legislature passed Act 53 in 2017, which required the Department of Public Service to submit a report on energy storage to the Legislature by November 15 (see Sec. 22). The report covers the costs and benefits of energy storage as well as recommendations for how to encourage the…
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On November 2, the Joint Energy Committee held a hearing on the Volkswagen Settlement, and how the funds should be used in Vermont. VPIRG’s Clean Energy Advocate, Sarah Wolfe, testified in support of using the funds for replacing diesel school buses with electric school buses, along with supporting charging stations…
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On Thursday, the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) voted 5-2 to approve the rules governing wind sound as proposed by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), imposing a sound restriction of 39 decibels at night and 42 during the day. This rule will likely make it impossible for any large…
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Over the course of the last week, VPIRG organizers met with regional Mother Up! groups in Burlington, Montpelier, and Brattleboro to discuss our climate and clean energy priorities for the 2018 legislative session, as well as best practices for citizen lobbying. Mother Up! Is a node of 350VT geared towards…
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When he was running for governor, Phil Scott made a point of saying that “Listening is more important than talking; and actions speak louder than words.” He added that “By genuinely listening to Vermonters, I have found that constituents have the best ideas…”1 But in a social media post last…
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On Wednesday night 65 people crowded into the banquet room of the Kingdom Taproom in St. Johnsbury to offer varying perspectives on how the Governor’s newly formed Climate Action Commission should address the climate crisis here in Vermont. Of the 65 people present, 37 provided comments to the four commissioners…
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On Monday August 7th, the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) passed with broad bipartisan support a resolution (starts pg. 42) urging Congress to fully fund the Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance efficiency standards program. The resolution, which passed with broad bipartisan support, was sponsored by Vermont Representative Curt McCormack…
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