(Host) A Senate committee is grappling with how to define clean and green electricity.
The question is important for Vermont’s two largest utilities. They say they may be able to get a more favorable deal for customers if power from large hydroelectric dams in Quebec is considered renewable energy.
VPR’s John Dillon reports:
(Dillon) Windsor Senator Dick McCormack says that in a purely scientific sense, energy from large Canadian hydroelectric dams is renewable – as long as rain falls and water flows downhill.
But he says there are other issues to consider beyond the strict definition, such as the project’s impacts on wildlife and the native Cree of northern Quebec. He wants the Public Service Board to investigate whether the Canadian power projects are sustainable, and whether they harm the environment.
(McCormack) "We really have a large collection of questions, which starts out as a fairly simple question: you want to designate them renewable or not? Fairly simple. We suddenly just see it mushrooming into all these other questions. And probably we should not make that determination this year."
(Dillon) McCormack is a member of the Natural Resources Committee, which is considering a change in the definition of renewable energy.
State law now says hydro projects over 200 megawatts are not considered renewable. Hydro-Quebec wants the change in order to tap the growing market for renewable energy credits. These credits are sold to utilities in New England that are required to meet a certain percentage of their power mix from renewable sources.
Chittenden Senator Ginny Lyons chairs the committee. She’s not in favor of McCormack’s proposal to have the Public Service Board examine whether large hydro power is environmentally friendly.
(Lyons) "Should we say that this source is green? That’s a whole other question. Do we do that now? Do we forfeit the opportunity for a low-cost contract? I think for the most part the committee is moving in the direction of allowing that to go forward."
(Dillon) Vermont’s two largest utilities are lobbying hard for the renewable definition.
They say the change may help them win a more favorable power contract with Hydro-Quebec.
But they say the legislative action is not essential to get a new power deal. Steve Costello is a spokesman with Central Vermont Public Service.
(Costello) "We don’t think Vermont has anything to lose by doing this, and potentially has something to gain."
(Dillon) But Jon Groveman of the Vermont Natural Resources Council says Hydro-Quebec could easily out-compete the emerging renewable energy market.
(Groveman) "The market is tough for renewables – that’s why they need these incentives. Hydro-Quebec does not need these incentives."
(Dillon) Groveman says other New England states don’t consider large-scale hydro power renewable. He says Hydro-Quebec dams won’t pass the green test, and he ticks off the some of the environmental consequences of the large projects:
(Groveman) "Impacts on water quality, impact on habitat, impacts on ecosystems, impacts on lands. This is not a low-impact facility. This is an extremely high-impact facility."
(Dillon) The utilities say they’ll share in the revenues from Hydro-Quebec’s sale of renewable energy credits.
But they also say there’s no firm guarantee that ratepayers will benefit. The agreement spelling out the revenue-sharing terms is confidential.
For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.