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As we enter the new year, there is a lot of discussion at the national and state levels about our future energy supply. Will carbon have a price? Will there be new nuclear plants built in this country? How can we build a renewable energy future and green economy? Will Vermont Yankee operate after 2012?
While there is uncertainty about the future, Vermonters may be reassured to learn how Green Mountain Power’s ambitious energy plan is coming to fruition. GMP’s overall rates are the lowest of the utilities serving 99 percent of Vermont customers, and Vermont’s carbon footprint is one of the cleanest in the country. Our challenge is how to sustain our success in the future. Two years ago, GMP launched our energy vision to provide clean, cost-effective and incredibly reliable electricity to our customers.
Our plan focused on developing a new more strategic relationship with Hydro Quebec that would benefit Vermont and Quebec, ramping up cost effective renewable energy sources, and ramping down our dependence on Vermont Yankee. Here is a status report on our vision:
1. Develop new strategic relationship with Hydro Quebec. We leveraged our geopolitical relationship with Hydro Quebec and successfully completed negotiations this summer for Vermont utilities to purchase its renewable, competitively-priced electricity for 26 years. That contract is now under review by Vermont regulators.
2. Ramp up renewable generation in Vermont. GMP has emerged as the leader in developing solar and wind in Vermont. We jump-started solar installations when we introduced the SolarGMP rate in 2008, and have seen our customer’s solar projects more than quadruple. GMP completed three major solar projects ourselves, with our Berlin project being the largest utility-owned solar project in Vermont.
When GMP built its six megawatt Searsburg wind facility in 1997, it was the largest wind plant east of the Mississippi. Now we are deep in the regulatory approval process to build Kingdom Community Wind — up to 63 megawatts of wind in Lowell. If approved, Kingdom Community Wind will generate enough electricity for 20,000 Vermont homes. We are demonstrating that utility ownership of renewable generating facilities brings important cost benefits to customers, much as owning a home over the long term is preferable to renting.
3. Ramp down dependence on Vermont Yankee. Vermont Yankee’s license expires in early 2012. Its future is uncertain, and its public support limited. However, we maintain that if the plant can demonstrate it is safe and reliable, and provides a meaningful value proposition for Vermont, we feel that it can provide a low-carbon, cost-effective bridge while we ramp up more cost-effective renewable resources. Due to the uncertainty, GMP has taken deliberate steps to replace some of the energy we purchase from VY to protect our customers in the event the plant is not relicensed and to diversify our energy mix.
4. Finally, continue to invest in efficiency and demand side management. This is an important, cost-effective, low-carbon way for our customers to meet their energy needs. Accomplishing all of this is not an easy task, and I have great confidence in the experienced, efficient and talented team at Green Mountain Power. But energy decision-making is always a balance — every single way of generating electricity has advantages and drawbacks, and every generating plant has environmental effects that people weigh differently. Our commitment with Kingdom Community Wind in Lowell is to present to regulators a very well-researched and thoughtful proposal for a significant increase in Vermont’s renewable energy generation capacity.
This is a very important project for our customers and our company. It is also an important way for Vermont to achieve the goals set by our legislature for in-state renewable generation. It will continue to be a challenge to find ways to provide low-cost, low-carbon and reliable power for our customers. It is a challenge the Green Mountain Power team is determined to meet.
Mary Powell is president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Power.