Vermont’s largest utility, Green Mountain Power, announced last week that it has set the goal of getting all of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030. The plan also called for the company to shift to 100% carbon-free energy by 2025.
In a statement released April 13, Green Mountain Power president and CEO Mary Powell said the company’s urgency is due in part to a report published by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last fall, which said we have 12 years to cut back on carbon or face irreversible consequences related to climate change.
Mary Powell spoke with VPR's Mitch Wertlieb about the announced plan. Listen to their conversation above.
According to Powell, Green Mountain Power currently uses 60% renewable energy resources. As far as non-renewable energy sources, Powell said about 27% of GMP's portfolio comes from nuclear power drawn from Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire, with the rest drawn from a mix of fossil fuels.
Green Mountain Power’s shift to 100% renewable energy will rely heavily on solar and storage, and also will take advantage of other renewable resources being developed in the region, Powell explained.
“A huge part of how we see getting to this is about continuing to accelerate the adoption of those types of [renewable energy] resources, and then leveraging those to make the grid more affordable for everybody we serve,” said Powell.
The utility does not currently plan to build any large new solar or wind projects as a part of its shift to renewable energy, Powell said.
