Vermont’s next governor will face unprecedented challenges, not least of which is the immediate need for a coherent plan to meet the state’s energy needs. Three interrelated factors are driving the need for action:

• Vermont Yankee. Our reliance on an obsolete and decaying nuclear power plant is coming to an end — hopefully with a whimper and not a bang.

• Peak oil. The concept that world oil production is at or near its peak and will decline steadily for the rest of our lives has gone from the realm of conspiracy theorists to widely accepted fact.

If we’ve ever needed a plan for action, now is the time.

In 1998, we had such a plan when the state adopted “Fueling Vermont’s Future: Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan and Vermont Greenhouse Gas Action Plan.”

That forward-looking (but out-of-date) document helped put into action the policies and programs that established Vermont as a national leader in energy efficiency and set a course toward greater reliance on renewable energy.

Like all good plans, though, it’s the implementation that matters, and for the past eight years the Douglas administration has avoided comprehensive and coordinated strategies for dealing with climate change and Vermont’s energy future.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been progress. The Legislature has shown leadership on Vermont Yankee and on energy policy, including by enacting the first-in-the-nation statewide feed-in tariff program that soon will bring 50 megawatts of renewable energy online.

Vermont’s 10-year-old energy-efficiency utility, Efficiency Vermont, received a small boost in its budget from the Public Service Board earlier this month. This is good news in that investments in energy efficiency are more than twice as cost-effective as purchasing power, serving to help keep electric rates down.

And earlier this year, Vermont utilities secured a long-term power contract from Hydro-Quebec (admittedly a mixed deal that involved trading on Vermont’s green reputation with a renewable designation despite ecological and cultural damage inflicted on the James Bay region).

At the community level, thousands of Vermonters have formed more than 100 town energy committees to explore local actions to reduce energy consumption. These committees have helped their neighbors weatherize their homes and put solar panels on schools, established ride-sharing programs, installed efficient heating systems in town halls, and taken hundreds of other small steps that add up to big savings — for individuals, taxpayers and the environment.

What’s missing? A road map, like we had in 1998 that charts a path for the future. Consequently, energy decisions are being made on a piecemeal basis without a larger context. There is a lack of leadership regarding what would be an appropriate energy mix for the state, for example, or what actions most effectively would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

What should the next governor do?

First, move forward with shutting down Vermont Yankee and restoring the site to “greenfield” condition — not in 60 years but soon after the plant ceases to operate.
Second, assemble stakeholders from Vermont’s deep talent pool to develop a comprehensive energy plan that addresses a range of issues. These include strategies for increasing investments in energy efficiency, such as support for thermal efficiency and conservation programs; guidelines for the siting and development of wind facilities; biomass policies to address scale, efficiency, forest health and air quality; ensuring predictable, long-term incentives for small-scale renewable energy, such as the solar tax credit; and a host of other considerations.

Finally, dust off the Report of the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change and take immediate steps to implement its 38 recommendations. These range from the low-hanging fruit of maximizing energy efficiency to reducing the rate of conversion of forestland for development by 50 percent by 2025. It also called for the state to address the direct correlation between land use, transportation, energy consumption and climate change by fostering compact settlement patterns and maintaining our working landscape for the production of food, fuel and fiber.

How we confront Vermont’s energy and environmental challenges will have far-reaching economic implications. By taking decisive action to address our energy future and combat climate change, the next governor will be shaping Vermont’s new, green economy.

Vermont must meet great challenges with great leadership. We don’t have a choice. The choice we do have is to call on the candidates to explain how they will provide the great leadership that times demand.

Brian Shupe isEnergy Program co-director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

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