The Energy Clinic at Vermont Law School, the first of its kind in the country, takes a community-minded approach by helping locals develop solar projects that yield both environmental and economic benefits. The clinic's current clients include the Vermont Natural Resources Council; the Town of Thetford, Vt.; Boardman Hill Farm in West Rutland, Vt.; and the VLS Sustainability Committee.
"We are focused on developing community solar projects and on educating solar consumers," said Professor Kevin Jones, deputy director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE), who leads the work of the six-month-old clinic. "While interest in community solar continues to grow, not all so-called community solar projects are the same. Many help the local community reduce their local carbon footprint at an affordable cost, but other developers are stripping away the environmental benefits and exporting them out of state while leaving the local community members with the inaccurate impression that they are buying local solar when they really aren't. We are committed to helping communities develop projects that leave a lasting green footprint and benefit the local economy."
Jones and IEE Fellow Samantha Mashler work with nine student clinicians to create legal structures and help clients apply low-cost, environmentally beneficial solar models to their projects.
"All of us at the Energy Clinic are committed to developing renewable and community-based energy projects in the Upper Valley and beyond," Mashler said. "In addition to working with the rest of the IEE fellows and staff to build an exceptional experiential program focused on building an energy future that maximizes environmental and social benefits, I supervise a team of student clinicians focused on addressing the challenges of building community solar projects on former landfills and other brownfield sites."
Mashler's team is engaged in helping the Town of Thetford explore options for solar development on a closed landfill in the village of Post Mills, and has developed policy materials addressing general issues inherent to such projects.
"Working at the Energy Clinic has been a truly rewarding experience," said VLS student Viggo Fish '15. "The clinic allows us to engage with clients to overcome the various barriers to renewable development and deployment that Vermont communities are facing. The work we are doing today will equip communities with a legal basis to develop renewable energy projects for the future."
At VLS, the Energy Clinic works with the VLS Sustainability Committee as it seeks to procure net-metering credits from a local solar photovoltaic system to meet part of the school's electric energy requirement while reducing its carbon footprint. To meet about half of the school's current electric energy requirement, VLS seeks a net-metering agreement with one 500-kilowatt solar installation. The clinic distributed a request for proposals on the school's behalf in mid-December.
For more information about the Energy Clinic at Vermont Law School, visit www.vermontlaw.edu/academics/clinics-and-externships/energy-clinic, call Kevin Jones at 802-831-1054, or email kbjones@vermontlaw.edu.
The Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School provides accessible resources on contemporary energy law and policy and is modeled on the fundamentals of a successful public policy consulting firm. The IEE distributes scholarly, technical, and practical publications; provides forums and conferences for professional education and issue development; and serves as a center for graduate research on energy issues, with environmental awareness. IEE research associates are selected from top students in the energy and environmental programs at Vermont Law School, ranked No. 1 in the nation for environmental law. The energy program offers a Master of Energy Regulation and Law degree, energy law concentrations within the juris doctor program, and an LLM in Energy Law for current lawyers. For more information about the Institute for Energy and the Environment, email jthomas@vermontlaw.edu or call 802-831-1151.