Issue Position: Environmental Stewardship & Vermont's Energy Future

Issue Position

Vermont's energy policy in recent years should be dubbed "Robin Hood in Reverse" -- it has taken from the poor and given to the rich, with the public having little say in the matter. Ratepayers, including elderly and low-income homeowners, now pay extra for electricity so that renewable power developers can enjoy the benefits of their heavily-subsidized, "sure thing" investments.

Vermont must step back from "renewable at any price" and focus instead on what makes sense to actually protect our precious environment while not despoiling it in the process and impoverishing our citizens. We should focus on what we actually can accomplish, such as improvements in energy efficiency, conservation, promotion of local and imported hydropower, and locally-permitted, small-scale, market-competitive wind, biomass and solar. Vermont energy planners must abandon the obsession with renewable power at any environmental and financial cost, and instead promote energy options that are environmentally sound, ratepayer-friendly, and competitive for business and industry.

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