Vermont's Department of Public Service announces winner of two-year contract

The Douglas administration announced Monday that the state's Department of Public Service, after a competitive bidding process, had awarded the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) a two-year contract to administer the Vermont Small-Scale Renewable Energy Program. 

VEIC is a non-profit company aimed at promoting energy-efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources. The energy program is intended to boost the demand for and installation of renewable energy systems, such as solar and wind power.  

"This important program is helping us to further diversify our energy portfolio and reduce the need for more expensive oil and other fossil fuels by helping individuals, businesses, farms, schools, and municipalities install solar, wind or hydropower systems," Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Middlebury) said in Monday's statement. "And we've put an emphasis on helping schools, local governments and low-income multi-family housing buildings reduce their energy costs using these innovative renewable sources."

The Department of Public Service's Clean Energy Development Fund will provide $1.5 million in funding for the program. With that monetary support, the governor anticipates the installaion of about 250 renewable energy systems, and said these could generate an additional 540 MWh of electricity annually. 

Since the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Program's inception in June 2003, over 580 new systems have been installed