Burlington's greenhouse gas emissions are down 19% since 2018: New energy incentives begin
Burlington’s greenhouse gas emissions are down 19% since 2018: New energy incentives begin
Burlington’s greenhouse gas emissions are down 19% as of 2024 compared to 2018, but the work is not done, as the city and Burlington Electric Department announce more electrification programs.
Burlington’s Net Zero Energy Roadmap 2024 update was presented by Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and BED April 9, along with new initiatives that will be kicking off this year.
First pitched in 2019, the NZE Roadmap offers incentives to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the city, including switching to electric or hybrid vehicles and installing heat pumps. Those proved to have panned out positively and the plan has been executed and updated every year since.
Positive progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
The roadmap update shows that Burlington’s greenhouse gas emissions in the ground transportation and thermal and buildings sectors are down 19% compared to the 2018 baseline. The reduction from the previous year, 2023, is 2.8%, something Mulvaney-Stanak said demonstrates continued climate progress in the two largest emissions sectors in the state.
“Climate action is among the top priorities for my administration, and I appreciate that the Net Zero Energy Roadmap update shows continued reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
Last year also represented the lowest natural gas consumption for Burlington since tracking began in 2018. Darren Springer, General Manager of BED, said that is likely due to warmer winter weather, energy efficiency and continued deployment of heat pumps and other electrification technologies.
The city also say progress with continued vehicle electrification, with nearly 1,300 electric vehicles and hybrids registered as of 2024. That number represents nearly 6% of all vehicles registered in Burlington.
Springer also stated that it’s important to note that Burlington is “outpacing state and national trends in our emissions reduction progress.”
He compared Burlington’s natural gas consumption to the rest of Vermont, stating that the city had a “nearly double” reduction of 18.1% compared to 9.4% statewide over the same timeframe.
Burlington also saw larger reductions in ground transportation emissions and fossil fuel consumption than was seen statewide.
New and expanded electrification incentives
In January, BED previewed upcoming pilot programs for both residential battery storage and a heat pump bill credit rate. BED has officially announced next steps regarding those pilot programs, plus introduced a new option under its home EV charging rate and a new pilot to offer certain rebates as on-bill credits.
- EV charging rate: BED offers a new home EV charging rate option — flexible load option — which expands the permissible off-peak charging window. With the current rate, customers avoid charging from 10 p.m. to noon the next day. Under the flexible load option, customers may charge any time of day or night and receive the charging credit, except during a limited number of peak events each month, each lasting on average three to five hours.
- The flexible load option, compared to the fixed schedule option, will significantly expand the number of daily hours eligible for the EV charging credit, making EV driving even more cost-effective and affordable for BED EV rate customers. To learn more and sign up for the flexible load option of the EV charging rate, visit burlingtonelectric.com/evrate.
- Residential battery storage pilot: BED will begin a customer sign-up process for a residential battery storage pilot. Working with Moduly, an energy business, BED will offer 10 customers at a time the opportunity to pilot Moduly’s in-home battery storage technology, which operates by plugging the Moduly stand-alone unit into a regular 120-volt wall outlet. This configuration – with no permanent installation – will begin to make battery storage technology available to more customers, including renters. Moduly batteries are available in modular form and may be stacked to increase electricity storage. Interested customers should visit the BED website to sign up.
- Heat pump bill credit pilot: BED will provide heat pump customers with a free smart thermostat and home energy monitor to enable peak reduction initiatives that may result in savings for all BED customers. BED’s goal is to enroll in this program 1,000 or more heat pumps of the 2,500 installed in Burlington. Under a pilot rate tariff, BED would provide participating customers with a $5 per month bill credit as a first step toward reducing the operating cost of a heat pump. Longer term, BED hopes to offer a permanent end-use heat pump rate, similar to BED’s home EV charging rate, which would provide a reduced operating cost for heat pumps during off-peak periods.
- On-bill rebate credit pilot: This spring, BED will implement a trial of providing rebates for certain beneficial electrification efforts as bill credits rather than through the issuance of paper checks. Specifically, BED will provide rebates for electric lawnmowers, induction cookstoves and efficient clothes washers as credits on customer electric bills.
Sydney P. Hakes is the Burlington city reporter. Contact her at SHakes@gannett.com.