The Public Service Department will be holding a public forum in Woodstock July 9 at the Billings Farm and Museum to solicit Vermonters’ thoughts on how the state can meet its energy goals – and energy needs – in the coming years. The input will inform the next revision of Vermont’s long-range, Comprehensive Energy Plan. A final plan is due to the Legislature in December.
“The Comprehensive Energy Plan has set some very lofty goals for our region’s energy future,” said Chris Sargent, senior planner at Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission. “These forums are your opportunity to provide direct input into how the state chooses to move forward to reach them. I urge everyone who is interested in our energy future to attend these forums.”
“In 2011, Vermont established a widely-supported goal of getting 90 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2050. Now, we want to hear more from Vermonters on how they think we should prioritize possible pathways and tools to meet this important goal,” said Asa Hopkins, director of energy policy and planning for the Department of Public Service.
The state plan, which was last updated in 2011, will also incorporate some of the findings of the Total Energy Study, completed by the department last year. One of the department’s goals for the updated plan is to establish nearer-term targets that balance technology constraints, cost, carbon considerations and community concerns. The department will also host a series of forums, soliciting further public input, when a draft is available. Those will likely take place in September and October.
“We’ve made tremendous progress in advancing our renewable energy and energy efficiency goals, while keeping energy costs stable and low, and there is still more progress to be made,” said Public Service Department Commissioner Christopher Recchia.
The forum will run from 5:30 pm to 8 pm. (Refreshments start at 5:30 and the program starts at 6.)
Besides the Woodstock forum, other dates and places for forums are:
July 16 – Middlebury (Town Hall Theater)
July 20 – Manchester (Manchester Community Library)
July 23 – St Albans (Bellows Free Academy)
The events are co-hosted by the Vermont Department of Public Service, Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, Addison County Regional Planning Commission, Bennington Regional Commission, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, and the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network.
For more information on the CEP, visit: http://www.energyplan.vt.gov or contact:
Johanna Miller, Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network
Phone: 802-223-2328 ext. 112
Email: [email protected]