On Tuesday, the Vermont House of Representatives passed H.475, a VPIRG-backed bill that will streamline the process for Vermonters choosing to power their homes and businesses with solar and other renewable energy sources. This bill strengthens Vermont’s already nation leading renewables legislation, and builds on work VPIRG and our partners did in 2011.
U.S. District Court Judge Garvan Murtha just released his ruling in Entergy Louisiana’s lawsuit against the state of Vermont regarding Vermont Yankee. In a blow to clean energy and the public interest, Murtha sided with Entergy in striking down key sections of Vermont law.
VPIRG is working to make Vermont the first state in the nation to ban the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing. Hydrofracking, or fracking as the practice is also known, can be extremely hazardous to the environment and a danger to public health for a number of reasons. This issue has recieved extensive media attention recently due to these serious concerns.
Our advocates are following these bills and we’ll keep you posted on opportunities to take action. Find the bill language by clicking the title.
We continue to work toward building a clean, renewable, reliable energy future for our state. VPIRG is working to pass a bill ensuring that a greater portion of your electricity comes from renewable sources. And, with 50% of Vermont’s electricity already coming from clean energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower, our goal, of an additional 30% more by 2025, is well within our reach.
The Shumlin administration released the first draft of their Comprehensive Energy Plan in September and entered a rigorous comment period where over 6,000 Vermonters, including groups like VPIRG, weighed in on the plan.
After many months of work and a tremendous amount of public input, the state created a comprehensive energy plan calling for 90% of our energy needs (electricity, heating and transportation) to be met with renewable resources by 2050. Read the plan here!
The completion of the Sheffield Wind Project, which will provide enough electricity to power 15,000 homes, marks a major step toward the kind of clean energy future that most Vermonters support, according to the state’s largest environmental and consumer advocacy group.
After more than 6 months of anticipation and hard work put forth by Vermonters all across the state, the Shumlin Administration’s comprehensive energy plan was released last week. Parts of the plan are visionary but we need action, not just vision.
Day three: Entergy turned a corner and put in a strong push down the home stretch, but the state also did well. Ultimately, I think they fought to a draw on day three which means that the overall three day hearing favored the state.
