Energy in Vermont
Vermont also has arguably the most technologically advanced transmission grid in the US, linked by 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of
Vehicle fuels
Vermont, like most of the US, relies on gasoline and diesel as primary vehicle fuels. Electric vehicle charging stations are still uncommon in rural areas, and electric vehicles (whose batteries are affected by cold climates) are not in widespread use.
Industrial and agricultural uses
Direct utilization of wind, water, sun and geothermal power by industrial plants and mills is now very uncommon in the state except for a few artisan or demonstration or museum projects. Windmills are still used for water pumping in some areas but increasingly this generates electricity to drive an on-demand pump, rather than operating only when the wind is blowing.
Electricity
Grid
Vermont has one of the most sophisticated smart grid implementations in the United States. In 2012 the state, VELCO and all 20 distribution utilities built (with contractor IBM) a 17-terabit-capable dark fiber optic network to all electrical substations in Vermont,[2] at a cost of about $53 million recovered from operations savings (mostly prevention of outages). By contrast with other smart grid initiatives in Tennessee and Virginia, where universal wired fiber communication connectivity was a major goal, VELCO cited its internal "high-bandwidth, two-way communication requirements [for] synchophasors" and latency-sensitive protocols that respond to shifts in demand in under 50ms (one-twentieth of a second) to prevent problems.
About 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of fiber was deployed to 65 substations, reaching nearly 70 percent of Vermont's towns. This capacity was considered in setting Vermont's 10-year Telecommunications Plan that would "essentially require fiber optic broadband speeds to every Vermont home by 2024" as mandated by the
Supply
In 2013, the total summer generating capacity of Vermont was 1,235 megawatts.[5]
Imports
Since the 1980s, the state has turned to
Despite the closing of Vermont Yankee, the state continued to rely on nuclear fission power imported from Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant[9] in NH.
Renewable energy
In May 2009, Vermont created the first statewide renewable energy
The state has 78 hydro power dams with a combined capacity of 143 MW, about 12 percent of the state's total requirement.[12] Vermont experts estimate that the state has the capacity to ultimately generate from 134 to 175 MW of electricity from hydro power.[13]
Transmission
All Vermont utilities get their power from lines run by
Demand
In 2005, the inhabitants of the state used an average of 5,883 kilowatt hours of electricity per capita.[15] Another source says that each household consumed 7,100 kilowatt-hours annually in 2008.[16]
Retail sales in 2013 totalled 5.5 million MWh.[5]
Retail industry structure
Vermont does not allow customers to shop for competitive energy suppliers.
Cost (to consumer)
While Vermont paid the lowest rates in New England for power in 2007, it was still ranked among the highest eleven states in the nation; about 16 percent higher than the national average.[18] In 2017, retail electric rates were $.17 per kwh, in direct contrast to rates in other states such as Delaware, where retail rates were $.07-.09 per kwh. In 2009, the state had the highest energy rates for energy (including heating) in the US and the worst affordability gap nationwide.[17]
The state's strategy to reduce costs focused on reliability, outages and maintenance, including the rollout of one of the best-connected smart grid infrastructures in the US, at a cost of $53 million, paid back entirely by such savings, starting in 2012. Increased economic activity due to reliable power and broadband was expected to further spread costs of maintenance of rural power networks across a larger tax base.
Efficiency Vermont estimates that about $300/year in savings can be achieved simply by monitoring power use effectively via passive device replacements and by monitoring enabled by home automation or by smart meters.[19] In the above comparison, if Vermont were to deregulate the electric market and allow outside electric suppliers to bid on providing energy, such as Delaware, a family who uses 1,000 kwh per month could see a 50% reduction in their bill, or $90 per month, or $1080 per year. This far surpasses the Efficiency Vermont target. The state has been aggressive in assisting persons exposed to peak pricing to identify waste and remove it, and focused on reduction of the overall energy bill rather than on reducing rates. [citation needed]
History
James Bay
Vermont become embroiled in the controversy regarding
Vermont Yankee
The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned in 1972.[20]
Vermont through the 2010s had the highest rate of nuclear-generated power in the nation, 73.7 percent.
Anti-nuclear political pressure ramped up after
As of 2010, most of the energy was purchased wholesale for distribution from
In August 2013, Entergy announced that economic factors, notably the lower cost of electricity provided by competing natural gas-fired power plants, forced it to cease operations and schedule the decommissioning of the plant, which happened at the end of 2014.[22] The plant closed eighteen years before its current operating license was set to expire on March 21, 2032.[23]
See also
- Energy in the United States
- Green Mountain Energy (Texas, formerly Vermont)
Notes
- ^ a b c Linowes, Lisa (8 December 2010). "Vermont's pending price shock". Barton, Vermont: The Barton Chronicle. p. 6.
- ^ "Vermont and IBM Build Fiber Network for Smart Grid".
- ^ Steve Zind. "VELCO Network Highlights Potential And Challenge Of Statewide Fiber-Optic Broadband".
- ^ "FCC Ruling on Community Broadband a 'Relief' for Supporters". Archived from the original on 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
- ^ a b "State Electric Profiles". Eia.doe.gov. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
- ^ Bolduc, André; Hogue, Clarence; Larouche, Daniel (1989). Hydro-Québec After 100 Years of Electricity. Montreal: Libre-Expression. p. 318.
- ^ Osterlund, Peter (July 19, 1984). "New England plugs into Canadian energy". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "Governor, Premier announce preliminary Vermont-Hydro-Québec agreement" (Press release). Hydro-Québec. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ "Pain from Closing Vermont Yankee Lingers". Northwest Clean Energy.
- ^ Austin, Anna. "Vermont first state to pass renewable energy feed-in law". Biomassmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-16. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- ^ Dunbar, Bethany M. (10 February 2010). "Dairy farmers are making more than milk these days". bartonchronicle.com. Barton, Vermont: The Barton Chronicle. p. 1.
- ^ Gresser, Joseph (August 20, 2008). Panel considers small hydro power potential. The Barton Chronicle.
- ^ Gresser, Joseph (November 5, 2008). "VEC seeks a 9.2 percent rate hike". The Barton Chronicle.
- ^ U.S. Per Capita Electricity Use By State In 2005. "Data – Swivel". Swivel.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
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- ^ a b Coutts, Jim (28 June 2009). "My Turn: Vermont's energy support program is long overdue". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 7B.
- ^ a b Handelsman, Richard (December 1, 2008). My Turn: Truths, half-truths about energy. Burlington Free Press.
- ^ "Efficiency Vermont's new online energy tool for utility customers - Metering.com". Metering.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
- ^ "NRC: Operating Nuclear Power Reactors (by Location or Name)".
- ^ Hemingway, Sam (July 20, 2008). Nukes by the numbers. Burlington Free Press.
- ^ "Vermont Yankee nuclear plant shutdown complete - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
- ^ "NRC license renewal letter March 22, 2011" (PDF). Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 2019-08-06.