Recent comments in /f/vermont

Amyarchy t1_jbjuddd wrote

Reply to comment by 8valvegrowl in Breakfast spots in Chittenden Co but not BTV by MathGeekVT

If you're going up to Jeffersonville, I'd say 158 Main is a step above the Family Table - but I haven't been to the Family Table in a while so I guess I need to check again for quality control. :) Brunch at 158 is one of my favorite things (OH and if you're up that way check out My Favorite Things for lunch & dinner - upstairs from 158).

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nomadicbohunk t1_jbjtxws wrote

Reply to comment by Mr-Bovine_Joni in Vermont vs New Hampshire by Lucky-Specialist-790

I feel like I'm a great example of that. We moved to VT for family reasons as we needed to be in New England. My partner's job got sent to VT. We'll move away again in a few years. I don't think people realize how high the cost of living is here and how low the pay is.

I have a masters. I got a job in my field with a very well known nonprofit here. It was a cool job. I finally quit because I was making so little money and they expected too much of me even at a good salary. A nonprofit doing the same work at a nonprofit in states like Arkansas and Oklahoma would be paying me 2x as much. It was an eye opener when I realized something. After undergrad, I took classes for a summer at a midwestern state school. I got a day job at a telemarketing firm being on the phones. This would have been in 2006 or 2007. I don't remember for sure. I made more there taking inflation into account than I did in VT doing a professional job. I looked up the job at that same place and it took benefits into account. It was paying more than I was making in a low cost of living area.

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Aperron t1_jbjtho2 wrote

Reply to comment by Howard_Scott_Warshaw in Solar energy in Vermont? by star_tyger

That’s wonderful. A $40+ million dollar installation, being built in response to a state mandate to build battery storage.

The installation can supply power to a small area for between 3 to 10 hours and then becomes entirely useless once discharged.

Remove the political constraints and I bet the ROI on a gas turbine is much better.

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Aperron t1_jbjpb5y wrote

Reply to comment by Howard_Scott_Warshaw in Solar energy in Vermont? by star_tyger

The cost savings described in that article compare the cost of covering peaks above our contractually agreed capacity from HydroQuebec with Powerwalls versus needing to purchase the difference at the variable market rates from ISONE when they’re at their absolute highest due to demand.

They are not comparing against the cost of covering that shortfall with local GMP owned gas or even fuel oil fired peakers.

Of course, a site focusing on green energy isn’t going to make that type of comparison in a situation where fossil fuels might provide a cheaper solution.

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Aperron t1_jbjlfnb wrote

Reply to comment by Howard_Scott_Warshaw in Solar energy in Vermont? by star_tyger

Which is also incredibly expensive to install, requires eventual replacement of the most expensive component (the battery), and is finite in capacity. It would be cheaper to install a few gas turbine peaker plants around the state in locations where there is natural gas pipeline infrastructure than to install thousands of home batteries to achieve the same peak demand management results.

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Howard_Scott_Warshaw t1_jbjkiz0 wrote

Reply to comment by Aperron in Solar energy in Vermont? by star_tyger

Not all kWhs are created equally. That's what net metering attempts to help correct. A kWh produced where it's used is more "valuable" than a kWh produced at a gas fired plant 200 miles away that has to go through 8 transformers to get to the load.

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