Vermont launches new energy loan program

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, wind turbines line the hillside at First Wind's project in Sheffield, Vt. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging Vermont lawmakers not to put a three-year moratorium on the construction of new wind power projects in the state. Sanders says that if Vermont ceases new wind development, the message will out across the country that even in Vermont, there is not a serious commitment to combatting global warming.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 photo, Robin Morris, center, watches Frank Pace, left, and Florin Ungureanu, butcher a pig in Waitsfield, Vt. Vermont officials are exploring a new round of value added agriculture, hoping their livestock industry might take advantage of the burgeoning world of charcuterie. “You can buy a pig for $3 a pound. You turn it into cuts and you'll get $4, $5, $6 a pound. Turn it into bacon and you're getting $8 maybe $9 a pound. Turn it into cured products, the world's your oyster,” said Robin Morris, founder of the Mad River Food Hub, an incubator for new food businesses that is adding rooms for producers to dry cure meats such as salamis, prosciuttos and sopressatas. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
In a Dec. 20, 2012 photo, Pete Colman makes sausage, in East Montpelier, Vt. Along with its craft beer, artisan cheese and a demand for locally produced foods, Vermont is hoping to expand production of speciality cured meats as it works to develop a meat industry in a state that has been primarily dominated by dairy cows. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Protesters march onto the Maine State Pier in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 to attend a rally against the possibility of tar sands oil being piped from Canada across northern New England to Portland, Maine. Critics of so-called tar sands oil say Canadian energy firm Enbridge Inc. is eyeing an existing oil pipeline that carries oil from Portland to Montreal with the idea of reversing the flow and sending the oil across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to Portland. (AP Photo/Portland Press Herald, Gregory Rec)
FILE - This is an undated file photo showing an aerial view of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt. On Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, a federal appeals court is set to hear oral arguments over whether Vermont's only nuclear plant can continue operating without the approval of state regulators. (AP Photo/Vermont Yankee Corporation, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, wind turbines line the hillside at First Wind's project in Sheffield, Vt. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging Vermont lawmakers not to put a three-year moratorium on the construction of new wind power projects in the state. Sanders says that if Vermont ceases new wind development, the message will out across the country that even in Vermont, there is not a serious commitment to combatting global warming.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, wind turbines line the hillside at First Wind's project in Sheffield, Vt. Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging Vermont lawmakers not to put a three-year moratorium on the construction of new wind power projects in the state. Sanders says that if Vermont ceases new wind development, the message will out across the country that even in Vermont, there is not a serious commitment to combatting global warming.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
In this Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 photo, Robin Morris, center, watches Frank Pace, left, and Florin Ungureanu, butcher a pig in Waitsfield, Vt. Vermont officials are exploring a new round of value added agriculture, hoping their livestock industry might take advantage of the burgeoning world of charcuterie. “You can buy a pig for $3 a pound. You turn it into cuts and you'll get $4, $5, $6 a pound. Turn it into bacon and you're getting $8 maybe $9 a pound. Turn it into cured products, the world's your oyster,” said Robin Morris, founder of the Mad River Food Hub, an incubator for new food businesses that is adding rooms for producers to dry cure meats such as salamis, prosciuttos and sopressatas. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
In a Dec. 20, 2012 photo, Pete Colman makes sausage, in East Montpelier, Vt. Along with its craft beer, artisan cheese and a demand for locally produced foods, Vermont is hoping to expand production of speciality cured meats as it works to develop a meat industry in a state that has been primarily dominated by dairy cows. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Protesters march onto the Maine State Pier in Portland on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 to attend a rally against the possibility of tar sands oil being piped from Canada across northern New England to Portland, Maine. Critics of so-called tar sands oil say Canadian energy firm Enbridge Inc. is eyeing an existing oil pipeline that carries oil from Portland to Montreal with the idea of reversing the flow and sending the oil across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to Portland. (AP Photo/Portland Press Herald, Gregory Rec)
FILE - This is an undated file photo showing an aerial view of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt. On Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, a federal appeals court is set to hear oral arguments over whether Vermont's only nuclear plant can continue operating without the approval of state regulators. (AP Photo/Vermont Yankee Corporation, File)

Vermont launches new energy loan program

Print Page Updated: 03:51:57 PM, Thu 21 February 2013

MONTPELIER, Vt. () — The state of Vermont is launching a new program to make low-interest loans available to businesses for renewable energy and efficiency projects.

Jo Bradley, CEO of the Vermont Economic Development Authority, says the initiative will consolidate and expand existing loan programs and is aimed at encouraging more private banks to get involved along with the state.

The Vermont Clean Energy Loan Fund is expected to provide up to $10 million in financing for energy efficiency projects undertaken by businesses.

Another, related loan fund will be devoted to loans of up to $150,000 for energy conservation projects.

Bradley pointed to a recent national study urging that states help promote financing for projects designed to help the nation move toward a low-carbon future.

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