For every kilowatt-hour requested by customers and provided by a Vermont farm, CVPS will pay the farmer 95 percent the market price for energy plus the Cow Power charge of 4 cents for the environmental benefits of the generation.  If not enough kilowatt-hours are available from participating CVPS farms, CVPS will attempt to acquire and retire Renewable Energy Certificates from other regional renewable generation, issued by the regional system operator, to support renewable generation in a broader sense.  If no certificates are available in the regional market for 4 cents per kWh or less, the company will deposit Cow Power payments into the CVPS Renewable Development Fund.  This fund, overseen by an independent board, will provide incentives to farmers to stimulate further renewable farm generation in Vermont.  CVPS will not profit from the program.

The CVPS Renewable Development Fund activities include: a) providing grants, loans and other incentives to farms to support methane generation, project development, operation and interconnection to the electric system; b) supporting efforts to commercialize renewable generation by farm-producers; c) demonstrating and commercializing renewable generation using agricultural products, byproducts or waste; d) educating potential farm-producers on energy technology and development; and  e) overcoming market barriers that prevent farm-producers from developing renewable generation projects in CVPS territory.

In addition to farm-based generation in CVPS’s service territory, other qualifying resources will include farm generation that may be located outside of the CVPS service territory, and solar, wind, small hydro and bio-mass producers certified by the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut for compliance with their renewable electric utility performance standards.  Like farm generation, the resources targeted in these performance standards are generally newer technologies that have yet to reach widespread commercial use.  These sources would only be relied upon if farmers in CVPS’s service territory did not supply enough electricity to meet demand.