Vermont's First Fully Storm Resilient, All-Electric Neighborhood Launched
May 23, 2023 -- Construction is now underway for Vermont's first all-electric, fully storm resilient neighborhood. U.S. Senator Peter Welch joined Governor Phil Scott and the President and CEO of O'Brien Brothers, and the President and CEO of Green Mountain Power (GMP) for a groundbreaking celebration for Hillside East in South Burlington, Vermont. The neighborhood and homes are designed with climate and storm resiliency in mind and the Hillside East residents won't need fossil fuel to run their homes. The neighborhood plan includes a mix of 155 single family, multi-family and permanently affordable homes and will create a model for taking on the damaging impacts of climate change across Vermont.
'Vermonters are facing two overlapping challenges: a dire housing shortage and the ongoing climate crisis,' Senator Peter Welch, a longtime environmental steward and co-sponsor of the Green New Deal nationally, said. 'This project helps tackle both problems head-on, creating more than 150 100% fossil fuel-free homes using Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. It's the kind of ambitious project we need more of in Vermont and across the United States. I'm proud to have played a part in passing this important legislation and bringing these tax credits to Vermont, and I'll continue to fight for the support Vermonters need to build sustainable housing. Congratulations to O'Brien Brothers, Green Mountain Power, and all others who are helping to bring this exciting project to life.'
Each home at Hillside East will come equipped with a resiliency package with Tesla Powerwall batteries and rooftop solar panels to recharge them, and there will also be a community microgrid with utility scale batteries to keep the whole neighborhood powered up.
Combined, the batteries in the homes and neighborhood will create a virtual power plant lowering energy costs for all GMP customers on peak energy days. Also, the increased electric use by the homes will drive down costs for all GMP customers, and show that a whole community can be electric and deliver grid benefits.
'My Administration has made investing in housing a top priority, which is why it's great to be at Hillside East to see firsthand the progress that's being made,' said Governor Phil Scott. 'We know there is much more work to do, and I want to thank O'Brien Brothers, GMP and Senator Welch for their commitment to Vermont.'
Residents will move into homes ready for green living; each home will have ducted heat pump systems for heating and cooling, all electric appliances and a Span Drive level 2 EV charger in the garage. Span Smart Panels will give homeowners easy and complete control over electric loads to manage energy use and resiliency, and the neighborhood's power lines will be underground for added protection from damaging storms. The South Burlington community will be built in multiple phases with the first units ready for occupancy estimated for the fall of 2023.
'At O'Brien Brothers we believe that providing high-quality housing and protecting our environment for our children and future generations do not need to be mutually exclusive. Both are imperatives, and we have chosen to lead by example and contribute to the community and state that we cherish so much,' O'Brien Brothers' CEO Evan Langfeldt said. 'The energy efficiency measures, solar power generation and battery storage capacity will all work together to significantly decrease homeowners' carbon footprints, strengthen the overall power grid and help Vermont move towards its climate goals, all while providing housing to 155 families. This is a win-win-win for all of us.'
Hillside East buyers have affordable heating and cooling all year long in their efficiently built homes through clean electric heat, offering significant savings compared to heating with fossil fuels. The resiliency package of home batteries paired with solar panels will be an estimated $85 per month with no upfront costs - a significant savings over the upfront cost involved in retrofitting a home with equivalent solar panels and batteries on your own. The batteries and EV chargers at Hillside East will add about 3 MW to GMP's growing network of 50 MW of stored energy across Vermont.
'This is the future of the grid happening right here in Vermont. Our customer programs for energy storage, heat pumps, discount EV charging and smart panels are pulled together to bring real resilience to this community, decentralizing the grid and lowering costs for all customers. Devastating climate impacts are here and we must move quickly to use this innovative model to bring solutions to Vermonters all over the state,' said Mari McClure, GMP's president and CEO.
Vermont is experiencing more severe weather due to climate change, and the Hillside East neighborhood is just the latest project for GMP as the company accelerates work across Vermont to help customers stay powered up and communities be more storm resilient. Some of this work includes the first all-renewable distribution circuit microgrid in Panton, Vermont, Resiliency Zone projects in partnership with the communities of Brattleboro, Grafton and Bethel, and popular home battery programs that also produce cost savings for all GMP customers. GMP's annual energy supply is 100% carbon free and 78% renewable.
Source: Green Mountain Power
--------------------------------------------
Upcoming conferences organized by SGO:
8th Grid Modernization Forum, June 13-14, 2023 | Washington, D. C.
3rd EV Charging Infrastructure Summit - North America, July 11-12, 2023 | Chicago
17th Microgrid Global innovation Forum - EMEA, September 26-27, 2023 | London
2nd V2G Business, Policy and Technology Forum, October 17-19, 2023 | Detroit
Customer comments
No comments were found for Vermont's First Fully Storm Resilient, All-Electric Neighborhood Launched. Be the first to comment!