Solar is Hot in Chilly Vermont
by Kevin J. Kelly and Kathryn Flagg
November 12, 2014
Could the photovoltaic cell replace the Holstein cow as an iconic symbol of Vermont? Solar farms are sprouting along many of the state’s roads, while additional large-scale installations are arising more discreetly behind visual barriers. Thousands of homes and businesses now have arrays of solar panels affixed to their roofs or tucked into back lots. Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, is hyping its grand plan to make Rutland “the solar capital of New England.”
It’s suddenly hip to draw energy from the sun in one of the coldest and cloudiest states in the country.
“Renewables will save Vermonters hundreds of millions of dollars,” predicts Duane Peterson, copresident of SunCommon, the state’s largest residential solar company. “It’s kind of insane,” he adds, that the dirtiest, most expensive types of energy — gasoline, coal, fuel oil and natural gas — currently account for two-thirds of the power Vermont consumes. […]
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