On June 17th the Vermont General Assembly overrode Governor Phil’s Scott’s veto to enact H.289 modernizing Vermont’s Renewable Energy Standard requiring all Vermont utilities to deliver 100% renewable electricity by 2035 at the latest.
This makes Vermont just the second state in the nation to require 100% renewable energy for its electric sector. The greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the new renewables that will be brought online by the requirements of H.289 are the equivalent of taking up to 240,000 cars off the road by 2035.
The law gives different Vermont utilities separate pathways to get to 100% renewables. The different requirements include older, large existing renewables (Tier 1), in-state distributed generation (Tier 2), and new large in-region renewables like offshore wind (Tier 4).
Prior VT Renewable Energy Requirements vs New Requirements
Prior to the passage of this bill, Vermont had the weakest new renewables requirement in New England meaning Vermont was doing the least to incentivize reducing burning fossil fuels for electricity. This new law more than quadruples the amount of new renewables that will be brought online in order to meet these new requirements.
This is especially important because there are 62 baseload fossil fuel plants that supply New England’s power which are located in communities with higher than average share of low-income households, people of color, or children under 5 — none of which are located in Vermont.
Getting Vermont to 100% renewables was championed by House Speaker Jill Krowinski who made this legislation a top priority for the 2024 legislative session. In the end, H.289 was supported by nearly all of the state’s electric utilities, environmental organizations, Vermont’s renewable energy sector, and others. After the override vote, Vanessa Rule, Co-Director and Lead Organizer of 350VT said “Today Vermont has taken one more step toward safeguarding a livable world for all. We thank legislators for joining the many people in Vermont working for a clean energy and resilient future.”
Despite Governor Scott’s veto and his repeated exaggerated characterizations of the cost of going renewable, more legislators voted for the bill on the override vote than during the vote for passage in session.
This strong bi-partisan vote reflects the overwhelming majority of the Legislature’s increasing understanding of the benefits of renewable energy including affordability, predictability, and strengthening Vermont’s electric grid in response to the ever-increasing threats of climate change.
“This summer’s catastrophic flooding demonstrates the harsh realities of climate change. Cleaning the electric grid makes real the promise of heating, cooling and transporting ourselves using clean, affordable electricity that doesn’t contribute to climate change” noted Senate Natural Resource and Energy Chair Chris Bray.