from the Boston Globe

MONTPELIER, Vt.-Gov. Jim Douglas on Wednesday signed into law a bill aimed at promoting renewable energy like solar and wind power, as well as new efficiency measures devoted to reducing Vermonters' use of oil and other heating fuels. more stories like this

The bill, dubbed the "energy efficiency and affordability act," will "help Vermonters better manage their heating resources, protect our environment and save money," Douglas told scores of lawmakers, administration officials, energy advocates and others who filled his Statehouse office for the bill-signing ceremony.

The signing came 10 months after Douglas vetoed legislation with similar goals in part because he didn't like that its efficiency programs would have been paid for with a new tax on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

Douglas, who also objected to how last year's bill would have structured the efficiency programs, called agreement on the new version "perhaps the best example so far this year of the progress we can make when everyone's point of view is respected and receives reasonable consideration."

The bill calls for the Department of Public Service to hold a series of "stakeholder workshops" beginning this spring to come up with a request for proposals, basically a work order for a contractor or contractors who would administer the new efficiency programs.

By next year, those programs should be up and running, providing Vermonters with grants and other financing to add new insulation, tighter windows and the like to their homes -- measures the bill's supporters say could cut heating bills by 20 to 40 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming.

In addition, the bill allows for new tax credits designed to promote renewable energy, which advocates said would be timely given the uncertainty over whether federal tax credits designed to promote installations of solar power will be renewed this year.

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/03/19/
douglas_signs_heating_efficiency_bill/