BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – There was some disruption at the Summervale Festival in Burlington tonight.
A dozen climate change protestors called for the retirement of the McNeil Plant.
The biomass power plant, which provides 40% of the electricity for the city of Burlington, received approval to start a project where its steam byproduct would heat the University of Vermont Medical Center.
“We need to cancel the steam pipe that would be a 20-year contract, a $43 million massively misplaced investment that we don’t need to do, we can’t afford to do. We can retire this plant right now, we can stop operating it, it’s operating at a loss,” said Chris Gish from Stop Vermont Biomass.
Protestors called on the community to sign a letter for Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak to cancel the steam pipe project, obtain a third-party feasibility study of the plant, and commit to a just transition for the 300 local workers at the plant. Burlington Electric has yet to request an Act 250 permit to build the steam pipe.