Tag Archives: green mountain power

$17,500 Off a Nissan Leaf Electric Car Now Extended to all of Williston (and Beyond)

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In a recent post, we reported that Green Mountain Power customers could participate in a program that gives a $10,000 discount on a 2017 Nissan Leaf. More recently, Vermont Electric Co-op has worked out a partnership with Nissan to also offer a that $10,000 discount to all its customers.

There’s more information in the previous post, but to recap: the Nissan Leaf is a reliable, well-reviewed, all-electric vehicle with an estimated 107-mile range between charges. EVs like the Leaf have much lower fuel cost than the average gas car (on average, just over 1/3 the cost) plus much lower maintenance costs. The batteries have proven durable and lasting, and by some careful estimates an EV like the Leaf will last twice as long as a gas car. The biggest limitation, of course, is that you have to recharge, and that takes longer than pumping gas. However, you can charge at home overnight, and there are a lot more charging stations in the area than you might guess:

Interactive charging station map available at ChargeHub

In addition to the $10,000 discount, most taxpayers can qualify for a $7,500 tax credit (note that this is a credit deducted from your tax liability, not just a deduction from your income calculation). Vermont Electric Co-op also offers a $250 bill credit to customers who buy an electric car.

Not all Nissan dealerships are participating, but there are three in the region where you can get a Leaf with this discount, so you can comparison shop. You don’t have to pay sticker price minus the discount: you should be able to get a better price from your dealer. The three participating dealerships are:

$17,500 Off a New Electric Car for GMP Customers

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Green Mountain Power has just announced a new program for its customers in partnership with Nissan, giving buyers of the 2017 Nissan Leaf a $10,000 discount. This is in addition to a $7,500 tax credit for which most new Leaf buyers will qualify. The base MSRP for a Nissan Leaf is $30,680, meaning buyers who take advantage of the discount and who qualify for the tax credit can get a new Leaf for $13,180.

In addition to savings on purchase of the car itself, electric car buyers enjoy much lower fuel costs and much lower maintenance costs, with no oil changes and few moving parts to wear out.

You may have heard that electric cars aren’t really any better for the environment than gasoline cars. That story has gone around the Internet a lot, but it’s not true. You can read some of the details here.

Transportation is the single biggest factor in most individuals’ and families’ carbon footprints, and cars are the biggest part of the transportation carbon problem. Buying an electric car is one of the very best ways you can reduce your carbon footprint.

The 2017 Leaf has an estimated electric range of 107 miles on a full charge. This goes down a little in winter, but it’s also a conservative number; careful driving can get better range. Many families have an electric car for local transportation and a gas car or hybrid for longer drives. Other electric cars currently available have a greater range: for instance, the Chevy Bolt has a range of 238 miles, and the Chevy Volt (yes, it’s ridiculous that they have two cars with such similar names), while it has only a 53 mile electric range, has a backup gasoline engine that kicks in automatically when the battery runs out of power.

In this deal sounds too good to be true, I can explain Nissan’s motivation here: in a few months they’ll start selling the 2018 Leaf, which has much greater range and some other advantages. Discounting the 2017 models so steeply offers them a change to generate interest in the brand and get the old stock off the lots before it’s eclipsed by the new model.

Questions or concerns about electric cars? Check out the information at Drive Electric Vermont, comment here, or contact us.

Green Mountain Power Proposes Strategic Extension of Net Metering for Vermont Homeowners & Businesses

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Here’s a press release from Green Mountain Power about the net metering extension:

Green Mountain Power Proposes Strategic Extension of Net Metering for Vermont Homeowners & Businesses

GMP Also Launches New Solar Map to Empower Customers

Colchester, Vt. – Green Mountain Power announced today that it has created a new solar map, which can be found on its website www.greenmountainpower.com, so Vermonters can see where solar is powering our state. The map allows Vermonters to see where solar energy is being generated and how it ties into the grid. This effort comes at a time when GMP is proposing a strategic limited extension of net metering so more Vermonters can put solar on their homes or businesses.

solar_map

“As Vermont’s Energy Company of the Future, we are all about empowering customers with clean, reliable and cost-effective power,” said GMP President and CEO Mary Powell. “That means partnering with homeowners and businesses on an energy transformation that moves away from doubling down on the current grid system, and focuses more on homes, businesses, and communities, so we are generating power closer to where it is needed as we lower costs and increase reliability through innovations like battery storage.”  Through its eHome and eBiz program, GMP is working with customers to accelerate the adoption of homes and businesses that are cost effective, use dramatically less energy and can operate more independently of the grid.

GMP has reached the original net metering cap set and agreed on by solar developers and lawmakers. GMP will outline its plan and ask to extend the net metering program on a limited basis in a filing with the Public Service Board. Pending board approval, GMP will continue to allow homes and businesses to go solar by accepting net metering applications that are 15 kW and under. The proposal also allows for 7.5 MW of community projects for homes and businesses that cannot directly place solar on their home or property. This helps the landowner who would like to cover at least 50% of his or her power usage, or who will be getting 2% of the output from the project.  The Public Service Board is looking into a new net metering program that would start in 2017.

”Net metering is really important for business and residential customers, like us, who want to go solar,” said Kathy Harm, a homeowner in Rutland.  “We are excited about the benefits we have gotten and are very pleased that GMP is extending the program so more Vermonters like me can generate solar and be able to make good energy choices.”

“I commend GMP and Vermonters for leading on solar and reaching this milestone for the net metering program, which is delivering clean power throughout the state,” said Sen. Chris Bray of Addison County.  “Our state also requires utilities to provide energy that is affordable, so it’s prudent that GMP is now reassessing how to continue the movement to renewables while keeping an eye on costs for all ratepayers. I am confident that our energy future is bright in Vermont.”

“At GMP, we have internal solar siting standards that guide our work with homeowners, businesses, and communities,” said Powell. “Solar is a critical part of our energy future. This strategic limited extension of solar net metering fits with what customers tell us they want, which is to partner on energy transformation at the most local level.”

GMP’s new solar map helps inform customers where solar is being sited and how it ties into the grid. Using the solar map, you can see where projects are connected to the grid and operational and also where projects are proposed for the future by substation and circuit. GMP has created a color system to show Vermonters where capacity for new solar is abundant and where the grid is at or approaching capacity. The map itself is meant to help educate Vermonters about projects across the state and their impact on the grid system. The solar map will be updated weekly as more projects come online.

To check out the new GMP solar map, visit: http://www.greenmountainpower.com/innovative/solar/solar-map/

About Green Mountain Power:
Green Mountain Power (GMP) serves approximately 265,000 residential and business customers in Vermont and has a vision to be the best small company in America by partnering with Vermonters to improve lives and transform communities. GMP is focused on a new way of doing business to meet the needs of customers with integrated energy services that help people use less energy and save money, while continuing to generate clean, cost-effective and reliable power in Vermont. GMP is the first utility in the world to get a B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, accountability and transparency standards and committing to use business as a force for good. In 2014, Vote Solar named GMP a Solar Champion. More information at: www.greenmountainpower.com. Connect with GMP on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @GreenMtnPower.

Congress Extends Tax Credits for Renewable Energy, but Green Mountain Power Reaches Net Metering Cap

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Solar panels

There’s good news, good news, bad news, and (UPDATE) more good news for some Vermonters who want to participate in generating renewable energy. The good news is very good news: Congress has extended federal tax credits for new renewable energy installations, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and marine power (tidal generators, for instance–see April Fool’s Day post here), with solar and wind credits extending right out to 2020. This means that manufacturers, installers, homeowners, businesses, and communities can move forward with renewable energy plans without worrying whether or not tax credits will apply, and that makes a big difference in the numbers.

Read more about this at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/renewables-boom-expected-thanks-to-tax-credit

The other good news is that Vermont has added new solar generation capacity so quickly, several Vermont utilities have already met their net metering goals. This is also, unfortunately, the bad news, because it means that under normal circumstances, Green Mountain Power customers wouldn’t be able to add new net-metered solar. That doesn’t mean the power wouldn’t be useful, but it would take away the huge advantage to everyone of making that solar power available through the grid and being paid a price for it that takes into account the additional value of non-fossil fuel generation. However, here’s an UPDATE from Green Mountain Power:

we [have] proposed to the Public Service Board … a limited strategic extension of net metering, and as part of it will continue to allow rooftop solar. We have also proposed having community projects for folks who can’t go solar …

So that’s good news for Green Mountain Power customers. The problem remains, unfortunately, for Vermont Electric Co-op and Hardwick Electric customers, as these two companies have also reached their caps and unlike GMP have not (to the best of my knowledge) made the additional effort to work around the net metering cap. Williston’s electric customers are about evenly split, geographically, between Green Mountain Power in the north part of town and Vermont Electric Co-op in the south part of town.

This problem will continue until net metering caps are raised; let’s hope that’s soon!

Read more about the net metering cap at http://vtdigger.org/2015/11/10/green-mountain-power-poised-to-top-net-metering-cap/.