Markowitz sees green future

By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER – Deb Markowitz said Wednesday that the state needs to start planning now for a "green energy silicon valley" to replace the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, whose chances of relicensing are looking dimmer each day.

Markowitz, the secretary of state running for the Democratic nomination for governor this year, made the announcement at the Statehouse Wednesday afternoon, one day after Senate leaders announced they would vote to close the nuclear reactor next week.

That was a suggestion that Markowitz made one month ago.

"Sen. [Peter] Shumlin said we need a vote on Vermont Yankee and I applaud that," Markowitz said. "We called for that over a month ago. We're happy to see some action in the Senate."

Markowitz, in one of her first major energy policy announcements, said the state should plan for what she calls a Green Zone in Windham County – a series of renewable energy business incubators that could retrain and hire the Vermont Yankee workers displaced if the facility closes in March 2012.

She said Vermont should use a combination of state incentives and federal stimulus dollars to spur this development and said it must do so soon before time to plan for the state's green energy future runs out.

Markowitz said the state should rely on the expertise of renewable energy businesses already working in Vermont and use a combination of public and private financial investment to create these jobs.

"A year from now, I expect to be the governor of Vermont and I expect to be less than a year from closing Vermont Yankee," Markowitz said. "That will not leave enough time to prepare for the economic and energy shift that will have to occur."

Vermont Yankee now employees about 650 people, but fewer than half of those are Vermonters. Markowitz said it is too early to say how many of those nuclear jobs could be replaced with green energy jobs or how much federal investment might be needed.

But she noted that the federal resources are there: The Department of Energy is offering $7.6 billion in funding for similar projects and the Department of Labor has allocated another $9.1 billion to retrain displaced workers. And the Agency of Commerce has another $1.1 billion to spend as part of President Obama's stimulus package.

"We would need to tweak these a bit to work for Vermont, but the funding is there," she said.

As the future of Vermont Yankee has heated up at the Statehouse this year, more and more gubernatorial candidates have been speaking out on the issue and offering their thoughts on how the power should be replaced.

Markowitz and former State Sen. Matt Dunne, a Windsor County resident also running for governor as a Democrat, were among the first out of the gate earlier this year to call for Vermont Yankee to close in 2012.

"I welcomed action finally coming out of Montpelier that will provide clarity on Vermont Yankee's future," Dunne said in a statement Tuesday about next week's Senate vote. "Concerned Vermonters have long awaited today's announcement that a Senate committee will begin considering legislation related to the relicensing of this aging facility."

Three members of the Vermont Senate who are also running for governor as Democrats will vote next week on the future of the plant. Shumlin, the Senate President Pro Tem from Windham County, Sen. Doug Racine of Chittenden and Sen. Susan Bartlett of Lamoille are all expected to vote against the continued operation of Vermont Yankee.

Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com