Vermont utilities eye new power plant

[jpak]

http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/022007/NewPower.shtml

RUTLAND — In the coming weeks, the state’s largest utilities will begin, in earnest, to determine what it would take to build a new major source of electricity, capable of providing a sizeable chunk of Vermont’s base power needs.

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One of the larger questions facing Vermonters, and their future, is where they will get their power from if, and when, Vermont Yankee goes offline and a series of contracts with Hydro Quebec begin to expire. This all begins in 2012.

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Several officials close to these discussions do not believe that siting a new, nuclear power plant in Vermont is a realistic option, nor do they think a coal-fired plant has any chance of being sited. That leaves a plant fueled by biomass, natural gas, or a combined fuel source.

“Coal and nuclear would seem somewhat unlikely, but natural gas, or a combination of fuels, such as biomass are likely candidates,” said Steve Wark, a spokesman for the Department of Public Service (DPS).

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