The House Committee on Energy and Technology advanced the Clean Heat Standard by a 7-2 vote last week and it’s headed to the Appropriations Committee next.
The legislation will regulate fossil fuel dealers in the state with an aim to ramp down emissions of the heating sector. The program will require a dealer to continually have a lower emissions footprint through a few possible avenues: they can sell less fuel than the year before in proportion to the requirement, pay a quarterly alternative compliance fee, or reduce that liability by offering fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions, buying credits, or a combination of the two.
If the Clean Heat Standard becomes law, the Public Utilities Commission will spend about two years after the final passage of this bill working with stakeholders to generate the rules and regulation of the program in the context of what various fuel credits are worth, cost of compliance for the fuel dealers, and other details.
Even as legislators worked to finish the proposal this week, climate activists protested at the State House under the grievance that the Vermont legislature is not acting on climate change and calling this signature piece of legislation a false solution.
Republished from 2/25 Lake Champlain Chamber advocacy newsletter.
Categories: Legislation
I am heating with “bio fuel” now, but I guess that in the near future I’m going to cover my roof and back yard with solar panels, line the walls of my basement and garage with lithium batteries, and put in a pellet stove ? I have a better idea, let’s make the Russians put solar panels on their tanks , and make their SU 35s wind powered !
The Vermont legislature is in lock step marching forward with stumbling Joe Biden, John Kerry, AOC, Ed Markey and the rest of the climate change alarmists……….The problem is they are marching in the opposite direction than a majority of the rest of the world’s population that is going in the other direction and using fossil fuels to power their countries.
China, India, Japan, third world countries building and operating more and more coal fired power plants around the globe……While Germany and other European countries are counting on fossil fuels coming through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to power their economies and homes.
Then there are Joe Biden’s inconsistent and irrational energy policies of shutting down oil and gas production in this country while sending billions of American’s dollars to Russia for its fossil fuels……Russia in turn takes the US dollars and attacks US allies.
Yes, the lost at sea Vermont legislature continues to drive the State in a direction and into the ground on energy and climate change policy that is opposite of where a huge portion ( Multi-Billions of people) of the rest of the world is going.
Do our representatives in Montpelier realize how out of step they are in comparison to the rest of the world?
Perhaps, the Vermont legislature is acting exactly the way the “leadership” intends. Perhaps the leadership of the house and senate are acting exactly as instructed by lobbyists and donors, not in the interest of constituents. This climate evangelism- as dictated by extremely wealthy spokespersons (Kerry and Gore, David Blittersdorf of “The Post Carbon Institute” and “ridiculous rail solutions “, Burns of VPIRG come to mind.) leads to furthering the increase of wealth for the wealthy at the expense of all other classes of people.
All of the current legislative mandates and the GWSA are NOT sound energy policy. These laws and those proposed are income redistribution, not environmental or energy policy. These laws and regulations are regressive taxes upon a population already overburdened with taxes and fees to support government largesse and Vermont’s transition to socialism.
Currently,it seems Vermont politicians want to emulate California energy and emissions policies. The desire to make the air cleaner for unicorns to frolic may be admirable, but the cold truth is that will never happen. Like California, the migration out will further rob Vermont of its middle class, skilled tradesman and more- the folks that make life possible here in the green mountains.
The US and Vermont has entered uncharted territory, thanks to biden’s
executive orders and continued corruption in our legislature. $100 a barrel oil is here, with talk of increases to $200. Meanwhile we still have no acceptable replacement for oil and gas- with climate zealots only promising higher costs for energy, not any true solution- while many Vermonters refuse to give up their Pollyannish views of their representatives.
Wise choices need to be made at the polls- On Tuesday and in November.
There is an election coming up!
Wood is a renewable resource, and is radiant heat, and is the ONLY heating source that makes sense in Vermont.
Wood emissions are carbon neutral.
Why are we ignoring this valuable resource for ALL Vermonters to stay warm and try 24/7?
I will never give up my wood stove for a ‘heat pump’ (the very name gives away its inefficacy in Vermont – great in Florida but sucks in Vermont and paying Oman for the privilege) and I will have unlimited heat potential from start to finish, in cutting, splitting, stacking, and carrying then burning the wood. That’s the Vermont way.
It makes sense so will be rejected!
Hydro Quebec. Green, abundant, inexpensive, and readily available electricity.
Hello.
I am not sure why the members of the Vermont Fuel Dealers association have not stopped delivering oil and propane to everyone of the legislators who voted for the GWSA as well as everyone serving on the GWSA council. These people have declared war on the working Vermonter and elderly as well as all the businesses that serve them.
If the GWSA legislators and bureaucrats want to show Vermonter’s the purity of their ideological convictions they should have shut off their own fossil fuel spigots years ago. It is never too late to stop being hypocrites.
That is exactly what I was thinking – As I’ve stated before – I wrote every single house and senate member and asked them to sign a vow that they would never use air travel again. “After all – we have a crisis on our hands and if you believe this you will sign this vow. Obviously if you all believe what you say there is no way you would use air travel and there will be no hesitation to sign on immediately.” Of course they are ALL total hypocrites so I got crickets! btw – how can it be legal to put his on the fuel dealers?
Please explain…how will I heat my house? And what service provided will be left here in wonderful VT to provide with whatever that is?
You will lose another viable taxpayer .
Why do we keep voting these dumb assets Into thE legislature
Are there any limits to idiocy, stupidity, ingorance, irrationality
Herd mentality??
Force the State house and Legislature offices to go completely cold.
” CARBON NEUTRAL !?!?”
NOW! TOMORROW MORNING, READY FOR A DAYS WORK?!
EVERYBODY BRINGS IN THEIR 1500 WATT ELECTRIC HEATER, THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM OVERHEATS, People still cold, AS THE BUILDING BURNS TO THE GROUND.
PROBLEMS SOLVED ?
another indication that legislators have no idea what life is like for average Vermonter
How can a beautiful state like Vermont put such a collection of representatives in Montpeiier who have obviously never balanced a budget. Where is the beef (I mean gold)? Maybe we should copy
Africa and burn dung, wood and charcoal. They have the lowest carbon footprint, a death in the hundered of thousands from particulate and the lowest standard of living. Put down the costs of all these goals, compare it to the money the public is willing to prioritize. Just total delusion.