MIDDLEBURY — Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) officials are busy revising the region’s blueprint for transitioning the region from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The county’s energy plan was last updated six years ago, and a lot has transpired since then in terms of climate change impacts and related state directives, technology and federal policy associated with renewable energy.

The Legislature back in 2011 endorsed a goal for Vermont to derive 90% of its energy through renewable sources by the year 2050. But the General Assembly went a step further last year through bill H.289, which set Vermont utilities on a path to deliver 100% renewable electricity by 2035. Lawmakers overrode Gov. Phil Scott’s veto to make H.289 become law.

In addition to advising the county’s 23 municipalities on energy matters, the draft plan includes many stats that document energy use in our area, and how it could be altered to meet the state’s goal of pivoting from fossil fuels.

JOLYON LARSON

Jolyon Larson is ACRPC’s energy planner. The county’s energy plan update will ultimately include public input and buy-in from ACRPC’s Energy Committee, before the commission puts it to bed in December. Many of the stats in the plan come from Efficiency Vermont, the Vermont Public Service Department and Green Mountain Power.

“I want to see the plan actionable, usable by community members seeking to use it as guidance for the types of energy transitions we’d like to see in the region, and for it to be satisfactory from a regulatory perspective,” Larson said.

ACRPC developed the county’s first energy plan in 1980. The plan noted that the county imported an estimated $16 million more in energy than it produced in 1977. The policies in that plan expressed concern about the future location of large-scale electric generation and transmission facilities in the region and recommended the concentration of new residential development near existing employment centers to discourage sprawl and reduce gasoline consumption. The commission updated its energy plan in 1994, 2005, 2011 and 2018.

The draft plan emphasizes three themes: Pursuing a “just energy transition,” improving the county’s climate change resilience, and enhancing the region’s energy security.

Advocating a just energy transition means making sure people of all economic levels can convert to renewables, according to the draft plan.

Efficiency Vermont conducted an “energy burden” study in 2023, defining burden as “the proportion of household income spent on energy costs, for our communities.”

INFORMATIVE STATS

That study revealed energy burden rates in Addison County ranging from 6.7% of household income in Monkton to 12.8% in Leicester.

Addison County residents live with an energy burden equal to about 10% of the median income on average, reflecting around $7,300 in household annual energy expenses, according to the study.

Of Addison County household average energy costs, nearly half (45%) is spent on transportation, followed by heating (33%) and electricity expenses (22%). Nationally, an energy burden greater than 6% is considered high and is correlated with a “greater risk for respiratory diseases, increased stress and economic hardship, and difficulty in moving out of poverty,” according to data mined by Larson.

The plan states, “as we transition to a distributed renewable energy future, Vermont must recognize its responsibility to contribute equitably to energy generation.

“This means embracing local, renewable energy systems that not only reduce reliance on out-of-state power but also ensure that the benefits and challenges of energy generation are shared more fairly. By taking on this responsibility, Vermont can lead by example, demonstrating how states can contribute to a more just and sustainable energy system.”

But resources are likely to be in shorter supply.

The county plan update coincides with seismic changes in the federal government’s energy policies. President Donald Trump, with a compliant Republican majority in Congress, is prioritizing fossil fuels and deregulation, while rolling back renewable energy policies.

It should be noted that the administration has also made sweeping cuts to FEMA, a move that’s come under intense scrutiny after recent flooding in Texas killed at least 120 people.

The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index ranks Vermont as the 7th most vulnerable state to climate change influenced by extreme weather events. And Addison County specifically ranks in the 87th percentile nationally in vulnerability to extreme weather events, according to the plan.

“Temperatures in Vermont have risen about 3 degrees F since the beginning of the 20th century and will continue to increase,” the energy plan reads.

All of this means individual states — and counties — will face dwindling federal support during the next three years in their efforts to battle climate change and recover from its effects.

“It’s not only the ideological signaling from the federal government, it’s also the tangible grant rewards that support crucial programs,” Larson said. “It’s the production tax credit, for example, being phased out for solar (projects). Research has revealed that renewable energy development in this country often declines in years in which the production tax credit goes down.”

Fortunately, according to Larson, society is nearing a tipping point “the economics of renewables is becoming more favorable as the technology has progressed,” he continued. “Consequently, falloffs in the production tax credit might be less impactful than they were.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

It should be emphasized that the county’s energy plan is advisory. Communities and stakeholders can choose to take the recommendations on how to reduce energy costs and associated environmental impacts. ACRPC officials are hoping the plan is persuasive. Among the plan’s draft recommendations:

• Educate consumers regarding efficiency and energy conservation.

• Expand targeted ACRPC energy services for municipalities.

• Demonstrate leadership by promoting energy efficiency in the region’s municipal buildings.

• Encourage and promote local and sustainably harvested wood and efficient wood heating.

• Encourage and support residents’ efforts to weatherize their homes.

• Encourage development to optimize design features and energy systems that conserve energy and use renewable sources.

• Support energy conservation efforts and the efficient use of energy by installing efficient electric equipment.

• Promote energy efficiency in all buildings, including retrofits and new construction.

• Continue to support public transportation and carpooling.

While the task looks daunting, Addison County has already made tremendous strides in reaching the state’s “90% by 2050” goal for renewables, according to Larson. The county is now generating 188,507 MW hours of electrcity through renewable sources, which is just 7,000 MW hours short of fulfilling its part of the state’s 2050 renewable energy goal, according to the draft report.

WHAT ABOUT WIND?

Where is there more room for more progress? Larson was emphatic: Wind power.

“I know that can be a sticking point among some people,” he said, noting objections to the aesthetic of turbines. “But I think wind energy is going to play a vital role in the future of the region and the state. We’d want to site it in smart ways … These viewscapes are obviously very important, and we don’t want to engage in development that undermines our natural or agricultural systems.”

At the same time, Larson touted the recent success of agrivoltaics — the coexistence of farming and solar energy infrastructure on the same parcel.

“It’s a form of rural economic development,” Larson said.

Anyone wishing to contribute comments to influence the county’s energy plan should email them to Larson at [email protected]. Check out acrpc.org for more information.

John Flowers is at [email protected].