Energy

Act 174 Enhanced Energy Planning

The Windham Region and many of the Region’s towns have developed enhanced energy plans. These plans focus on the intersection of energy and land use planning, aiming to achieve the State’s “90×50” goal of meeting 90% of Vermont’s energy needs from renewable resources by 2050. Developing these plans is optional. Key sections of enhanced energy plans include:

• An analysis of current energy use, projections, and energy targets
• Pathways and policies to achieve goals
• Supporting maps which analyze renewable resource availability

What’s the Draw?
Besides the opportunity to delve deep into local/regional energy and land use policies, a plan which meets the State’s requirements has more standing in the energy generation development permitting process. Enhanced energy planning is described in greater detail below.

Act 174 Background & Basics

Act 174 of 2016 introduced enhanced energy planning in Vermont, encouraging regions and municipalities to plan for their energy landscapes and contribute to advancing Vermont’s climate and energy goals. The Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) is the agency that administers the enhanced energy planning program and determines whether regional plans comply with the Act 174 Energy Planning Standards.

Policies in Act 174-compliant regional or municipal enhanced energy plans receive “substantial deference” in the Section 248 process. Section 248 (30 V.S.A. § 248) requires that energy developers obtain a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) before constructing an electric generation or transmission facility. The PUC does not consider local zoning during the project permitting process but does give “due consideration” to the land use policies in the town and regional plan. “Due consideration” is not defined in statute, but substantial deference is:

“In this subdivision (C), ‘substantial deference’ means that a land conservation measure or specific policy shall be applied in accordance with its terms unless there is a clear and convincing demonstration that other factors affecting the general good of the State outweigh the application of the measure or policy.”

Local enhanced energy plans are a planning tool that municipalities can use to regulate the development of energy projects in their community.

Municipal Technical Assistance

WRC is responsible for providing technical information to towns to support the development of municipal enhanced energy plans. This information includes estimates, targets, data analysis, and maps to help municipalities meet the enhanced energy planning standards. Currently, this technical information is available upon request. WRC will be updating this page with resources shortly.

In addition, WRC can also provide custom technical assistance to towns looking to develop a municipal enhanced energy plan. Typically, WRC receives grant funding to support this work. Municipalities can also contract WRC directly for enhanced energy planning assistance (refer to our Municipal Services Policy for further information).

How do we (towns) Receive a Determination of Energy Compliance?

Like town plans, enhanced energy plans must address a list of statutory requirements to demonstrate consistency with state goals. The requirements for enhanced energy plans are more specific and involved than town plans. The Vermont Public Service Department publishes a checklist that organizes the enhanced energy planning requirements into distinct standards. Towns can adopt enhanced energy plans as a standalone document or as part of a town plan (as an “element” rather than a standalone plan). For municipalities interested in receiving a determination of energy compliance, the town must first have a locally adopted enhanced energy plan or element. For information on the town plan amendment and adoption process, visit the Town Planning page. The town will then submit a request to the Windham Regional Commission for Determination of Energy Compliance. The request should include:

• The locally adopted energy plan
• Completed “Energy Planning Standards for Municipal Plans” checklist document
• Minutes for the meeting in which the plan was adopted
• A brief report on the internal consistency between the energy plan and the other elements of the municipal plan.

WRC’s process for Determination:

1. WRC staff will review the checklist and plan for consistency
2. WRC will host a hearing on the energy element.
3. Commission staff will send their recommendation for determination (positive or negative) to the Full Commission for a vote.

If the town is pursuing regional approval of the entire town plan, the request for determination will be integrated into the overall request for review. WRC staff will review both the plan in its entirety and the enhanced energy element. Because of the requirements in the Standards, the enhanced energy element hearing must be held after and separate from the town plan hearing. To make the process as simple as possible, the municipal plan hearing can be held on the same night as the enhanced energy element by opening the town plan hearing, closing that hearing, then opening the enhanced energy element hearing directly afterwards. In other words, the two review processes will be happening simultaneously, on the same timeline, using the same dates for hearings and votes.

This process must be completed between 30 and 60 days after receiving the request for determination from the town.

Regional Energy Planning

On August 21, 2025, WRC submitted the Windham Regional Plan for a request for a determination of energy compliance from the Vermont Public Service Department. As with the rest of the 2025 Windham Regional Plan, the Energy Element is available in a web-based format accessed here: http://plan.windhamregional.org/energy.

WRC is pleased to announce that the Regional Plan received an affirmative determination from the Public Service Department on October 21^st, 2025. This certificate enables WRC to review local enhanced energy plans for a determination of energy compliance. With a local affirmative determination, towns will receive substantial deference from the Public Utility Commission during Section 248 proceedings. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the Plan.

A Copy of the Certificate can be found here, while the Companion Document can be found here.