(Host) Vermont’s second largest electric utility has drawn up a plan for where it will get its power over the next quarter century.
Green Mountain Power says it ultimately wants to rely more on environmentally friendly power – and less on nuclear.
VPR’s Ross Sneyd has more.
(Sneyd) Green Mountain Power’s plan comes down to two major components.
First, the company wants to go even greener. So it wants to boost the amount of power it buys from wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric projects.
Plus, Green Mountain wants a lot less power from Vermont Yankee, the nuclear plant that now makes up more than a third of its supply.
Here’s GMP’s incoming chief executive, Mary Powell.
(Powell) "This whole vision and this whole plan is really founded on the concept of ramping down Yankee and ramping up Vermont renewable sources for the future.”
(Sneyd) Even with that vision, Green Mountain needs Yankee to win a 20-year extension of its operating license.
But, by 2032, when that extended license would expire, Green Mountain’s reliance on nuclear power would be cut in half if that plan succeeds.
In the meantime, GMP’s reliance on wind power would grow from next to nothing today to eight percent of its total needs.
Hydro would really grow – from almost half of Green Mountain’s portfolio today to two-thirds by 2032.
And most of that would come from greatly expanding the amount of electricity imported from Hydro-Quebec, which Powell considers a green source of power.
Vermont utilities have been criticized in the past for relying so heavily on two sources – Vermont Yankee and Hydro-Quebec. Powell says that criticism is only partly valid.
(Powell) "But not to the extent where you ignore unique opportunities that could provide value that you otherwise could not achieve for your customers. And I think where we came out in that discussion, as you see in this plan, is that there’s a potential to provide a unique, once-in-a generation opportunity.”
(Sneyd) That opportunity is coming because GMP’s contract with Yankee expires in 2012. And agreements with Hydro-Quebec begin to expire three years later.
The Douglas administration welcomes the utility’s plan.
Steve Wark of the Public Service Department says there will be details that create debate. But he says the overall concept is a good one.
(Wark) "This is a vision and I think we’ve got to be cautious not to throw eggs at it right off. The message today is this is an exciting time for Vermont and for Green Mountain Power. They’re looking to do better with a situation that already is extremely good.”
(Sneyd) The view from the Legislature is a bit different.
(Klein) "I think it’s way too slow.”
(Sneyd) Tony Klein is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. He’d like to see Green Mountain shed its power from Yankee more quickly. And he’d prefer to see the renewable portfolio grow faster.
But he says GMP’s goal of making it easier to build wind, solar and biomass turbines is a good one. And if he’s re-elected this fall, Klein plans to pursue that idea in the Legislature next year.
For VPR News, I’m Ross Sneyd.