Dean says renewables, conservation can meet immediate energy needs

By David Gram, Associated Press, 9/18/2001 13:11

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Gov. Howard Dean said Tuesday that Vermont can meet electricity demand for the next decade through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency and use of small power plants.

''We now believe it's possible to meet all the energy growth of the state essentially using renewable energy and efficiency and relying less on large fossil-fuel plants,'' the governor told a news conference.

Dean said Vermont is the fifth most expensive state in the nation in terms of electric rates, but 22nd most expensive in terms of a typical household's electric bill. He said that's a result of strong conservation measures already in place.

He said Vermont is likely to face two big holes in its existing power supply portfolio in the next decade: The license for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, from which Vermont gets about a third of its power, is due to expire in 2012. Vermont utilities' contract to get another third of the state's power from Hydro-Quebec phases out later in the next decade.

But Dean said Vermont's power supplies appear to be adequate until then, providing some small, renewable sources like wind turbines and solar power systems are installed and that the state's push for efficiency continues.

Dean said he would devote $750,000 from a settlement the state received from the oil industry for past overcharges to help with the effort; he said the state most likely would use the money to pay for rebates for solar and wind systems.

Dean and Christine Salembier, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, added that they would encourage development of small power systems that produce both heat and electricity for specific facilities like factories and ski areas. The governor said the state is incorporating such a system as it builds a new prison in Springfield.

Dean's remarks Tuesday were different from statements he made six months ago. In March, Dean said Vermont needed to begin planning for a major new power plant and that such a plant might burn coal. He later backed off those remarks, saying then and again Tuesday that his call for a coal-fired power plant was merely to focus the state's attention on energy issues.

The governor said he was encouraged to consider efficiency as a bigger slice of Vermont's energy pie by the first-year performance of Efficiency Vermont, a statewide ''efficiency utility'' set up to take over energy conservation programs previously run by individual utilities, which had been lagging.

In its first year, Salembier said, Efficiency Vermont had saved Vermonters $17.7 million on their electric bills, trimming demand by enough power to supply 3,000 homes. She said the savings in greenhouse gas emissions equaled those that would have been achieved by taking 2,100 cars off the road.