Vermont has decided to go "green" for heating. They passed the Green Heat Standard which forces firms that sell fossil fuels to buy or create "Clean Heat Credits". https://www.vpr.org/vpr-news/2022-0...ll-aimed-at-reducing-emissions-from-buildings. This applies from big suppliers down to mom and pop oil dealers. In theory it will be pass through to the consumer. So someone who buys fossil heating oil will be paying some sort of surcharge to the dealer to either buy these credits or create their own by paying to reduce fossil use elsewhere in the state. Not sure how the numbers work but in theory if they get one household to reduce their fossil usage by subsidizing an electric heat pump, that creates a credit that is used to offset sale of fossil fuel. Same thing applies if they get a pellet boiler installed. The dealer also in theory could go to a biodiesel blend but contrary to popular belief, there is not that much used fryer oil out to make biodiesel and the used oil from restaurants and other sources is in great demand. The only current source of biodiesel in large quantities is made with Indonesian palm oil and that source is definitely not regarded as "green" by most groups. Wood heat is still regarded as green, although some environmental groups are fighting that assumption, so I expect the demand for wood stoves and wood will go up along with hack installs and inevitable chimney fires. Vermont's electric grid and local distribution systems in general are relatively unreliable and winter temps are too low for heat pumps without a backup.
Note there is some natural gas in the state but most rural areas do not have it as the housing density is too low and installation costs high so heating oil is the primary heat.
My guess is the mom and pop oil dealers servicing rural customers will probably close up shop while larger dealers take over the market reducing competition. It will probably increase the gap between "haves" and "have nots" in the state, There is a lot of very old housing stock in the rural areas hidden away in the less affluent areas of the state that depend on fuel subsidies to heat their homes as the cost to tighten them up and replace the heating system is unaffordable for either the owner or the landlord. Many of those homes require near gutting to get them to the point where they can be heated efficiently. My guess is the more modern housing will get the lions share of the money and the rural homes will get ignored.
Note there is some natural gas in the state but most rural areas do not have it as the housing density is too low and installation costs high so heating oil is the primary heat.
My guess is the mom and pop oil dealers servicing rural customers will probably close up shop while larger dealers take over the market reducing competition. It will probably increase the gap between "haves" and "have nots" in the state, There is a lot of very old housing stock in the rural areas hidden away in the less affluent areas of the state that depend on fuel subsidies to heat their homes as the cost to tighten them up and replace the heating system is unaffordable for either the owner or the landlord. Many of those homes require near gutting to get them to the point where they can be heated efficiently. My guess is the more modern housing will get the lions share of the money and the rural homes will get ignored.
