House panel hears 1-year extension request for Ryegate biomass plant; state agency details costs and REC revenue

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on May 22 took testimony on a one-year extension request for the Ryegate biomass generating station’s efficiency-upgrade schedule, with the Vermont Department of Public Service describing the plant’s output, contract price and how renewable energy credits (RECs) factor into utility bills.

Department Director of Regulated Utility Planning TJ Ford told the committee the Ryegate plant provides about 20 megawatts of baseload capacity, typically running in most hours of the year with a capacity factor he described as “about 88 to 95%” in most years. “The price will not change. It will be extended for another year, that price, so in the context of this extension,” Ford said, referring to the roughly 10¢ per kilowatt-hour contract that utilities pay under the standard-offer arrangement.

Why it matters: the contract buys energy, capacity and RECs; the state testimony said the fixed-price contract acts as a hedge against volatile market prices but has shifted costs upward in some years. Ford told the panel that Department analysis showed the contract cost ratepayers roughly $5…