Ryegate owner asks House committee for one-year extension to meet efficiency upgrade tied to PPA

Montpelier — The new owner of the Ryegate biomass power plant asked the Vermont House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure on May 20 for a one-year extension to meet a 50% efficiency upgrade required under the plant’s power purchase agreement that runs through 2032.

Liddy Carter, principal at Mizzen Capital and who said she became owner of Ryegate about three weeks earlier, told the committee the plant has been working to complete a major efficiency retrofit but that plans to import specialized dryers and other equipment were upended by financing withdrawals and recent tariffs. “What we’re asking for is a year,” Carter said, adding that the extra time would let the company re‑engineer the project with U.S.-sourced equipment and avoid costly mistakes in a complex retrofit.

The request came at a hearing previewing a proposed Senate amendment to H.319 that would give Ryegate an additional 12 months to meet conditions tied to its purchase power agreement (PPA). The committee took no formal vote; members discussed scheduling a straw poll and further testimony from state agencies before the House acts.

Why it matters: State forestry officials, loggers and industry groups told the committee that Ryegate and the McNeil plant in Burlington are among the only local markets for large volumes of low‑grade wood. Oliver Pearson, director of the…