Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
VPIRG urges strict renewable procurement, peak limits for data centers in H.727 testimony
Summary
Ben Andrew Walsh of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee H.727 should require data centers to contract for 100% new regional renewables, pay existing energy-efficiency charges, and demonstrate measures (batteries or curtailment) so new facilities do not raise Vermonts coincident peak. He opposed waivers and self-managed utility carve-outs.
Ben Andrew Walsh, testifying for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) on Feb. 26 before the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee, recommended H.727 use a contract-based enforcement approach to ensure data centers purchase 100% new renewable energy and do not increase Vermonts peak demand.
Walsh told the committee that a 20-megawatt data center (the scale referenced in H.727 as introduced) is small compared with current industry averages and growing projects; he cited industry analysis putting the typical data center at roughly 40 MW today and projecting about 60 MW by 2028. "A 20-megawatt data center is roughly the same electric usage on an annual basis as 35,000 EVs," Walsh said, noting that figure is an approximate comparison to help the committee gauge scale.
Why it matters: Walsh said data centers have unusually high load factors (he cited roughly 80% from utilities in…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
