Eighteen months in the works, a bill aimed at promoting renewable energy and conserving home heating oil has won final approval in the Vermont Legislature.
The bill, which now heads to Governor Douglas, calls for new programs to help Vermonters tighten up their homes in order to save on heating costs. It also calls for expansion of “net metering,” in which people who make power with solar or small wind generators can sell it back to their utility provider.
The Legislature passed a similar bill last year, but Douglas vetoed it because it called for a new tax on Vermont Yankee to help pay for the energy conservation programs. That tax has been removed, and now Douglas is expected to sign it.
His spokesman, Jason Gibbs, says the bill is an example of what can happen when the Legislature and the governor work together.