Bennington County Regional Commission

Energy

The Bennington Regional Energy Committee was formed in 2008 in recognition of the critical role that energy plays in all aspects of our lives. As the fossil fuels that we have come to rely on are depleted and increase in price in coming years, we must be positioned to access local renewable energy sources and to find ways to maintain a strong economy and a high quality of life with less available energy. The growing importance of electricity as a means for delivering energy is another key consideration in regional planning, and issues associated with its generation, transmission, and distribution must be addressed. The Committee has worked to provide practical suggestions to residents, businesses, and local governments to promote energy conservation and is currently preparing a Regional Energy Plan that is intended to help people better understand energy issues while providing practical guidelines for meeting several stated goals and objectives (32 kb) .

Download the Regional Energy Plan (3.25 MB)

Committee members represent several towns and interest groups. The Committee meets monthly and attends special energy-related workshops and hearings as necessary. Scott Printz is Chair of the committee. Meeting minutes can be found here:

There is currently a public review draft of the Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan (2009). As stated within, “the Plan attempts to build on and highlight the growing array of overlapping and interrelated
initiatives of the Administration and state agencies, the Vermont General Assembly, Vermont’s educational institutions, the Federal Government, federal and state regulators, the community of
states and provinces in the Northeast U.S. and eastern Canada, and Vermont communities.”

Download the public review draft of the 2009 Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan (2.6 MB).