Aug 28, 2024

Montpelier – State Senator Anne Watson and Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough joined Montpelier resident John Snell and representatives of the Vermont Natural Resources Council and VPIRG today to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) at Snell’s home in Montpelier. Joined by local media, they toured his home and the energy upgrades made to it that were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. 

“We’ve been chipping away at making our home more efficient for years,” said John Snell of Montpelier. “The money the Inflation Reduction Act put on the table was a game changer – it allowed us to finally install heat pumps, and nearly eliminate our home’s fossil fuel use.”

Snell recently installed an induction stove, and in 2023 installed four heat pumps to complete his home energy upgrades. This event comes after the U.S. Department of Treasury released data on IRA tax credit uptake that shows 3.4 million Americans took advantage of the credits — more than double the federal government’s early projections.  

“The heat pumps and induction stove the Snell family have invested in is tested technology I hope every American will also be able to access and enjoy,” said Johanna Miller, Energy and Climate Program Director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council. “Clean energy is more affordable, efficient and better for public health than the dirty, dinosaur energy we’ve relied on for far too long. With the Inflation Reduction, we have an unprecedented opportunity to help all Vermonters afford and benefit from cleaner energy.”  

Advocates on hand also shared an analysis of Treasury data showing Vermont households adopted efficiency measures at twice the pace of the typical American household over the course of the first full year since the Act’s passage (2023).

“I am proud to hear that Vermonters are outpacing almost every other state in the nation in taking advantage of the cost-saving and pollution-reducing incentives available through the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Vermont State Senator Anne Watson. “As these stats make clear, Vermonters are ready and eager to make investments in cleaner, healthier, more efficient and lower-cost energy solutions. They want to move off of high-cost, dirty fossil fuels. So many are already doing it – and we have an opportunity to leverage the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure everyone can do it.”

An analysis by media outlet Heatmap found that Vermonters utilized IRA efficiency incentives at the third fastest clip in the nation. All told, over 10,000 Vermont households took advantage of IRA energy improvement tax credits over the course of 2023 – 3.5% of all households in Vermont – bringing nearly $24,000,000 in federal funding into the state. 

“IRA incentives are being utilized at twice the pace the federal government anticipated – and here in Vermont, we’re adopting heat pumps and other efficiency measures even faster – twice as quickly as the nation as a whole, in fact,” said Ben Edgerly Walsh, Climate & Energy Program Director with VPIRG. “That’s remarkable, and a sign of how ready Vermonters are for this energy transition. We’re deeply grateful for the hard work Vermont’s federal delegation and so many others did to make this law’s passage possible.”

“We saw the effect of climate change here in Montpelier and across Vermont in this past year’s floods,” said Jack McCullough, mayor of Montpelier. “While cutting carbon pollution is only one piece of the puzzle – and we have so much more work to do to make our communities more resilient in the face of climate change – the fact that this law has already helped thousands of Vermont families save money on their energy bills and reduce fossil fuel use is an incredible success story.”

While today’s event highlighted the household benefits the Snell family has enjoyed from their recent clean energy investments, the economic benefits made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act to date have enabled 3.4 million U.S. families to save $8.4 billion on clean energy and energy efficiency. The decade-long program offers far more opportunities to leverage financial, public health and environmental benefits for many more people however. Find out more about the opportunities for your home, business or community by visiting: https://www.efficiencyvermont.com/blog/our-insights/how-the-new-climate-law-could-help-you-save-money. While there, check out Rewiring America’s Vermont-specific calculator, which highlights the various incentives available to households, including those via the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as those available through Efficiency Vermont, your utility and through other programs – including those supporting opportunities for low- and moderate-income Vermonters.