The good folks at Renewable Energy Vermont have issued a new report called “No Good Reason” which chronicles the extreme slowdown in solar energy projects since 2016. As seen in the above graph, Vermont’s rollout has slowed at the same time that solar is on the rise across America.

Two words missing from the report: “Phil Scott.”

Yep. the report shows that since 2016, state regulators have done their level best to delay and defeat solar energy development in Vermont. But while it assigns blame to the Public Utility Commission, the Department of Public Service and the Agency of Natural Resources, it skirts around naming the man responsible for appointing those officials and setting the policy course they all follow. Also unmentioned: political appointees like DPS Commissioner June Tierney, ANR Secretary Julie Moore, PUC Chair Anthony Roisman, and PUC Commissioner Margaret Cheney, a.k.a. the wife of U.S. Sen. Peter Welch.

Maybe REV is trying to be diplomatic. Myself, I think they’re cowards.

Still, it’s a great report that quantifies what’s been obvious for years: the Scott administration is happy to obstruct solar in Vermont and meet our renewable energy needs with power from Hydro Quebec.

The result: Vermont ranks 48th in the nation in meeting its electricity needs within its borders. Only Massachusetts and Delaware, small states that consume a lot more energy than Vermont, rank lower.

A few key passages from the report:

Over the last half- decade, the process of permitting renewable energy projects has become increasingly unpredictable. Today, the process is impeding the deployment of renewable generating capacity, blunting climate mitigation efforts, and raising the cost to consumers of transitioning to clean, renewable energy.

…Over the last half-decade, REV members have faced an increasingly adversarial approach from the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) towards renewable development.

…REV members that work in multiple states report that the regulatory review process in Vermont is especially challenging for all but the smallest rooftop projects. This is driven by increasing unpredictability and extended project permitting timelines.

Now tell me Vermont is a leader in fighting climate change.

The report details ten cases in which proposed solar developments have been obstructed, delayed, and usually defeated for, as the title says, No Good Reason. The PUC has gone out of its way to seek additional testimony and commission study after study, and ultimately reject proposals for the thinnest of reasons.

Scott has made it clear he’s perfectly happy to get our renewable energy from the massive power projects of Hydro Québec. He ignores the downsides of the arrangement, starting with the widespread environmental damage HQ has wrought on First Nations lands.

Right now, Vermont is in the middle of a 25-year contract with HQ that provides power at relatively low rates. But we are a bit player in the regional energy marketplace. When that contract expires and Scott is long gone, we’ll be bidding against Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, whose purchasing power will overwhelm Vermont’s.

Those southern New England states look to be facing a renewables crunch of their own, as offshore wind proposals have run into heavy weather:

Four major offshore wind developers in Massachusetts and New York say their signed contracts to deliver electricity are no longer adequate to secure financing for the projects… The developers say they need more money to build their wind farms, which is putting regulators in a very awkward situation. States need the wind farms to have a chance of meeting their climate change goals, but giving in to the demands of the developers could set a dangerous precedent and translate into much higher prices for electricity ratepayers.

Failing to develop in-state renewables is astoundingly short-sighted, when we could easily generate much more of our own power — keeping our money right here at home and reducing our dependence on outside providers.

Speaking of the GWSA, it did establish emissions targets in the law. If we fail to meet them, the door is open to lawsuits against the state. And you can bet there are organizations and individuals ready to file suit if Vermont falls short.

I haven’t mentioned the moral dimension — our obligation to do our part in fighting climate change. We’re failing right now, and as much good work as the Democratic Legislature has done on the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Affordable Heat Standard, they have yet to seriously tackle reforms that would eliminate roadblocks to solar development. We sure as hell can’t expect the Scott administration to do so on its own.

Problem is, there’s a decided lack of political will on expanding renewables. Across the board — Republican, Democratic and Progressive. That story is written plain as day in Margaret Cheney’s complicity in Scott’s anti-renewables policy. NIMBYism is at epidemic levels in Vermont. We just love our little theme park of a state, and don’t want anything to intrude on anybody’s viewshed.

It’s a massive failure to come to grips with the realities of climate change, which are going to alter our B.L.S. in ways we can scarcely imagine. If you think a solar array is a bridge too far, just wait until our weather is more like Virginia’s than Vermont’s, the maple and winter tourism industries are all but gone, and our population has spiked due to an influx of climate refugees.

We talk a good game about fighting climate change, but we have yet to get serious about it. The REV report ought to be a wake-up call.

Funny thing. “No Good Reason” was released on Wednesday — the scheduled second day of the Legislature’s veto override session. As it happened, the Leg adjourned on Tuesday, but Wednesday was a bad day to issue a major press release. Our small cadre of political reporters worked overtime on Tuesday, and likely took some comp time Wednesday.

Which might explain why, as far as I can tell, none of our media outlets has breathed a word about the report. (Well, the Vermont Business Journal dutifully regurgitated REV’s press release.) Bad luck or bad planning on REV’s part? Or were they effectively burying their own report?

I’m inclined to think bad planning. But for whatever reason, this report has fallen like a tree in the forest. Scarcely anybody heard.