Recent published scientific reports and media have required us to re-examine our decision to use biodiesel in our trucks. Currently we run B5 (5%) in the winter and B20 (20%) in the summer in about 38 vehicles. This equates to an average of 7,700 gallons of pure biodiesel, B100, used annually.

We converted to biodiesel for several reasons. To dramatically reduce emissions of our diesel vehicles, to become a leader in creating a biodiesel market in Vermont, and to use our purchasing power to invest in a renewable energy source developed from US agriculture. It also helps the long-term engine performance of vehicles by adding lubricity to the ultra low sulphur diesel fuel.

Now it is clear that the explosive growth of the biofuels industry worldwide has had unintended environmental consequences. The US is now a net importer of biofuels – many grown on former rainforest land cleared specifically to support the biofuels industry. It turns out that specifically ethanol, but also biodiesel, have a negative carbon impact on the world when you take into consideration the clearing of additional cropland. The increased prices of food around the world and also a result of redirection of agriculture from food to fuel, again to take advantage of the burgeoning market.

The future of biofuels is promising, with active research into “next generation” feedstock of algae and cellulosic sources that will trump the yields from current agriculture sources – without displacing food agriculture. Although they are still several years from being commercialized, they are the key to creating sustainable biofuels.

Green Mountain Power is struggling with the challenge of whether to continue our support of biodiesel in the short term – until either local or sustainable feedstock sources become available. We are clear is that moving toward a multi-fuel world is imperative. The question is what purchasing and investment decisions can Green Mountain Power make to help us get to that future in the quickest way with the least environmental damage.

There are options to stay at our current biofuels consumption, expand it to our four Westminster service center vehicles (which is currently planned for 2009), reduce to a lower percentage of consumption in the summer, or eliminate our usage all together.

What would you do and why?

Rebecca Towne

Manager, Fleet and Facilities

One of the major challenges for Vermont’s utilities is determining where we will get our power in the future. Contracts for two-thirds of the state’s current sources expire between 2012 and 2015, as Vermont Yankee’s license and the contract with Hydro Quebec expire. Before we make the decisions about how to replace that power we need to understand what Vermonters want. The Department of Public Service was charged by the Legislature to conduct extensive surveys of Vermonters to get a sense of how people in Vermont feel about the energy they will use in the future.

To learn about how the surveys were conducted and what we learned, go to www.vermontsenergyfuture.info. And we’d love to know what YOU think. Let us know here what is important to you.

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

I had an interesting dialogue recently with a writer at CSR Wire (the corporate social responsibility newswire). He wrote a piece that I felt unfairly criticized Green Mountain Power. Yet when I questioned him about it, he didn’t feel he had criticized us at all! Curious to know what others think.

Here's how it started: Green Mountain Power was featured prominently in GreenBiz.com's report, "State of Green Business 2008" for our work on reducing carbon in our operations and our low emissions fuel mix. Our achievement was picked up in USA Today and numerous other publications.

Here's what USA Today said: "As concern grows over global warming, Nike, (NKE) Dole Food, Coca-Cola, (KO) the Green Mountain Power utility in Colchester, Vt., and many others have vowed to become "climate-neutral companies" and reduce emissions from facilities, retail stores and employees' travel."

Yet Bill Baue took issue with the low emissions claim because a significant portion of our power comes from nuclear (low emissions, yet not popular among environmentalists). Take a look at CSR newswire and the conversation I had with Bill Baue. How would you have read his comment? And what do you think about low fossil fuel vs. nuclear power in the mix? Here’s the link: www.csrwire.com/News/10854.html.

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

Ever wonder about the folks behind the light switch? We'd like to introduce you to some of the people who work here at Green Mountain Power -- what they like and don't like, what inspires them and frustrates them. Take a look at our first one -- you'll see a profile of Don Tougas on the right side of the blog.

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

Apparently some people don't like honest admiration -- read what Philip Baruth says about our last posting and send us your feedback!

Big day yesterday. Chris Dutton announced his plans to retire in August. Mary Powell, our COO, will become President and CEO. Not unexpected, and we are lucky enough to move from one incredible leader to another amazing one. After working with Chris for more than 20 years and Mary for 10 years, my admiration for both only grows. Without Chris at the helm, I’m convinced we would not have survived our financial crisis nearly 10 years ago. His steady hand kept us from plunging into bankruptcy. Chris and Mary together led the reinvention of this Company, to where we are now recognized for our environmental work, for being a great place to work and for financial success. Most importantly, they changed our corporate culture. This is an amazing place to work. And one of the best things – they are the most approachable, friendly folks you’d ever want to work with.

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

It isn’t every day you get to look a bit silly on statewide television! WCAX filmed the various initiatives Green Mountain Power is doing to lower the carbon footprint of our vehicles. Not only do we use biodiesel in our fleet, own nine hybrids, two GEM vehicles, encourage carpooling and discourage idling, we now offer employees a $1500 incentive to purchase high-mileage vehicles. So for the benefit of showing television viewers one of Green Mountain Power’s hybrids, I drove it off the lot. Well, I guess you can tell I’ve only driven it a few times – watch my caution as I can’t tell that I turned it on! The darn thing is so quiet, I couldn’t believe it was really on! It certainly is one of the pleasures of driving a hybrid – no noise when you are running on battery power.

Here’s the link to our press release on the vehicle incentive:

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

Green Mountain Power

Fall is ticking away and soon Vermont’s winter will be here before you know it!  There are many things to do in preparation for a Vermont winter.  Did you know that every winter, many Vermonters face the possibility of having cold homes because they cannot pay their fuel or utility bills?  That is why the WARMTH support program has been put in place.  Green Mountain Power Shareholders have contributed $40,000 to WARMTH and Power Partners since 2003.  During this same time, our customers have contributed $77,000.  Green Mountain Power was involved in setting up this program and continues to offer financial assistance for administrative support and solicits donations from its customers.

With its cold and often stormy weather, winter presents many safety challenges ­both indoors and out.  By being prepared and following safety tips it can help you stay safe and warm this season.  It is important to learn how to read your meter, use your electricity efficiently, and be safe around electrical equipment.  When preparing for a Vermont winter you want to make sure that your heating equipment is installed properly.  In preparation for this, make sure to have a trained specialist inspect your heating system every year.  You also want to make sure that if you use a kerosene heater, use only the fuel recommended by the manufacturer.  If you use a wood-burning stove, have the chimney connection and flue checked each year.  Before the cold weather hits, you should also make sure you have a way to heat your home during a power failure.  A lot of times power failures occur during the winter months due to snow storms or other unexpected situations.  Remember to keep a multipurpose, dry-chemical fire extinguisher nearby when using alternative heating sources.  Lastly, remember that winter tends to bring a lot of downed power lines, which is actually one of the biggest issues during the Vermont winter months.  It is very important that Vermonters, know what to do when they see a downed utility line.  First of all, you should call your local fire department and then your electric company.  I hope these tips for surviving a Vermont winter help you out this winter season!

The State of Vermont is holding a series of workshops to hear from the public about their opinions of how they'd like Vermont's Energy Future to look. Here's your chance to learn and let others know what you think. Register to attend a workshop near you. Here's the scoop:

Vermont’s Energy Future: Regional Workshops

Description and Registration (below)

Vermont wants your help in shaping the future mix of electricity sources for the state. Five evening public workshops will be held in locations throughout the state this fall. You can attend the workshop closest to you. These workshops were authorized by the Vermont Legislature, endorsed by the Governor, and spearheaded by the Department of Public Service. The locations, dates, and times are listed below.

The Workshops are free but registration is required.

The goal of the workshops is to gather informed and thoughtful citizen and ratepayer input for the State and its electric utilities as they make decisions about how and where Vermont obtains its electric power for the coming decades. In 2012, contracts providing for two-thirds of the state’s electric power begin to expire. This leaves the future source of Vermont’s electricity open for discussion and examination. Choices about the future will have to be made and will weigh trade-offs among cost, reliability, environmental impact, large and small scale generation, and in versus out-of-state sources

All workshops will begin at 5:30 p.m. with light dinner fare and a prompt start at 6 p.m. and end around 10. During the workshops there will be a brief presentation, small group facilitated discussions, a chance to ask questions to a panel of experts, keypad polling to register your preferences and opinions, and an open mike at the end to record any additional thoughts you might have. The regional workshops will be held on the following dates in the following locations.

Oct. 3, 2007 St. Johnsbury Elementary School
Oct. 17, 2007 Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School Cafeteria, South Burlington, VT

Oct. 18, 2007 Montpelier Elks Club , Montpelier, VT
Oct. 29, 2007 Dean Technical Center, Springfield, VT
Oct. 30, 2007 Rutland Intermediate School, Rutland, VT

Please register and attend the workshop closest to you. To ensure broad and diverse participation from across the state, participants may only register for one workshop.

We look forward to your help. To register for this event, go to www.vermontsenergyfuture.info. For problems with registration or any other specific questions, please email Susan Rivo at susan@raabassociates.org or call the Department of Public Service at 1-800-622-4496 (in-state) or 802-828-2332

Whew! About 1,500 of our friends and neighbors joined us at Green Mountain Power's Community Energy Fair on Saturday. The rain held off, so folks streamed in to learn about alternative energy sources and energy efficiency. Lots of people -- adults and kids -- bravely took a ride up in the bucket of our linetrucks. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with so many customers, including a young girl who couldn't be older than seven who thanked me so nicely for hosting the fair and told me it was her fourth year coming to our fair -- wouldn't miss it, her parents said!

I'd love to hear from anyone who attended the fair -- did you pick up some energy tips that will help you? Did you have fun? How about the fabulous bluegrass music, courtesy of Steel Rail bluegrass band? Aren't they great? Most importantly -- what should we do differently to make it an even better experience? Let us know.

Dorothy Schnure, Manager of Corporate Communications

Below is an interesting link to Acid rain and the "Vermont Perspective". This is a very interesting site explaining what acid rain is and how it is affecting our Green Mountain State. As an employee of Green Mountain Power I am very pleased with the company's ongoing involvement of protecting our environment. As life long Vermonter, I want to see the continued quest in keeping it a safe and beautiful place to live. We need to be involved in protecting our beautiful state!

Be Well!

Paul

Lots of folks don't seem to know that Green Mountain Power owns and operates the six-megawatt wind plant in Searsburg.  Green Mountain Power and that plant actually played a very important role in the development of wind power across the east coast. One thing that we understood was that it was very important to have the support of the local community. Take a look at what a well-respected wind consultant says here.

Excerpt from interview with Ed DeMeo, Renewable Energy Consulting Services, Inc., :

The Wind Turbine Verification Program (TVP), formed jointly by EPRI, DOE, and NREL in 1992, is also a highlight. Through that program, we facilitated the entry of several major utilities into the wind power arena and helped several turbine manufacturers refine their products and correct shortcomings before they hit the big time. I am particularly proud of the TVP project at Green Mountain Power (GMP) in Vermont. Budget pressures at EPRI, GMP, and at DOE nearly killed that project on several occasions, but several of us, representing all of these organizations, were able to keep it alive. In addition to the contributions mentioned above, this project demonstrated that a wind plant could be built in an environmentally sensitive location like the Green Mountains of Vermont and actually be embraced by the local community. I believe this provided a critical proof of concept for wind development in the Eastern United States. Central to this success was the GMP wind staff's outstanding job in involving the community in its plans from the outset.

If you are on the fence about wind, it is good to see what wind turbines actually look like. I saw wind plants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey while on vacation this summer. Glad to see them putting clean energy on the system. And they looked cool!

If you are near southern Vermont this weekend, go to the Deerfield Valley Fair in Wilmington on Saturday (Aug 25) and take a bus to Green Mountain Power's wind plant. Then let us know what you think.

Dorothy Schnure, Manager of Corporate Communications, Green Mountain Power

It was great to see the Public Service Board approve UPC's wind plant in Sheffield last week. Green Mountain Power's plant in Searsburg has been operating successfully for 10 years now, and it has taken 10 long years for another plant to be approved. Construction of this plant should really help the wind debate in Vermont -- we'll all be able to see the new, larger turbines and realize that they can be part of the working landscape in Vermont.

To learn more, check out the Rutland Herald's article "Wind Win". 

Dorothy Schnure

Manager, Corporate Communications

Green Mountain Power

Welcome to Green Mountain Power's new blog. In April we announced the creation of choose2bgreen, where our customers can choose to become carbon neutral by purchasing renewable electricity and by offsetting the carbon footprint of their home and driving through Native Energy's CoolHome and CoolDriver.

This spring, Green Mountain Power evaluated all it has done to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations --  we use biodiesel in our trucks, we bought hybrid vehicles, and we improved the energy efficiency of our office space, for example. We decided the next step was to become carbon neutral in our operations, including offices, facilities, trucks and all business travel. We'd love to hear what you think about becoming carbon neutral, and what sorts of steps you are taking to protect the environment.

Wherever you are, we hope you'll choose2bgreen!

(Apologies to those who posted earlier -- the entries were accidentally erased. We're still learning!)

Dorothy Schnure, Manager of Corporate Communications, Green Mountain Power

This New York Times article (http://greener.squarespace.com/carbon-neutral/) explores the pros and cons of becoming carbon neutral. We wonder what you think. We think that using offsets to become carbon neutral makes sense if you've already taken significant steps to reduce your use of carbon-emitting fuels. Love to hear your comments.

Dorothy Schnure, Manager of Corporate Communications, Green Mountain Power