Profile AnalysisPrint State Energy Profile
(overview, data, & analysis)
Last Updated: January 15, 2026
Overview
Vermont's forest-covered mountains and fast-running rivers are home to substantial renewable energy resources, but the state has no fossil energy reserves.1,2,3 Less than 100 miles across at its widest, Vermont lies between the shores of the Connecticut River on its eastern border with New Hampshire and Lake Champlain on its western border with New York. The mountains that run the length of Vermont, from Canada in the north to the hills of Massachusetts in the south, occupy most of the state and have Vermont's greatest wind energy resources.4,5,6 Vermont is the only New England state without an Atlantic Ocean coastline. However, rivers that flow from the mountains and those that form the state's borders provide hydroelectric resources.7,8 Forests that cover almost three-fourths of Vermont support the state's wood products industry, whose byproducts fuel electricity generation and provide home heating.9 About one in nine Vermont households use wood for their primary heating source, more than eight times the national average and the largest share of any state.10
Vermonters use less total energy than the residents of any other state in the nation.
Vermont is the second-smallest state by population, after Wyoming, and the eighth-smallest state by area.11,12 More than one-fourth of Vermont's residents live around Lake Champlain in the northwestern county of Chittenden that includes the city of Burlington, the largest city in the state.13,14,15 Most other Vermonters live in small towns and on farms, and one in six Vermont homes are occupied only seasonally. Based on the percentage of its population that lives in rural census districts, Vermont is the second-most rural state, after Maine. 16,17 Vermonters use less total energy than the residents of any other state in the nation, and their total per capita energy consumption is among the lowest five states.18,19 Vermont consumes nearly six times more energy than it produces.20 The transportation sector accounts for 38% of state energy consumption. The residential sector, with its heating needs during the state's cold, snowy winters, closely follows with 29% of Vermont's energy consumption.21,22 The commercial sector uses 20% of state energy consumption. The industrial sector, which includes the manufacture of electrical components, food production, and agriculture, accounts for about 13% of state energy consumption.23,24 Agricultural production and processing generate only 3% of Vermont's GDP, but the state is the largest producer of maple syrup in the nation.25,26
Electricity
In 2024, 73% of Vermont’s electricity supply came from out of state.
Vermont's in-state electricity net generation has come almost entirely from renewable energy since the shutdown of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station at the end of 2014. Prior to its shutdown, Vermont Yankee alone accounted for about three-fourths of the state's net generation.27,28 Since the power plant's closure, generally more than 80% of Vermont's electricity supply came from out of state, but the share declined to 73% in 2024.29 Some of the decline is attributed to increased energy efficiency and net metering, primarily from solar power.30,31 The largest share of the state's electricity supply comes from hydroelectric power, most of which is generated in Canada.32 In 2024, hydroelectric power accounted for 51% of Vermont's in-state electricity generation. Solar energy's contribution increased steadily since 2011, when the first utility-scale (1 megawatt or larger) solar farm came online. Combined solar generation from utility-scale and small-scale (less than 1 megawatt) facilities provided 18% of in-state total electricity generation in 2024. Biomass accounted for 16% of in-state generation and wind power for 14%. Natural gas and petroleum-fired generation are used for grid reliability and when power demand is high. They fueled minor amounts of Vermont's in-state generation in 2024.33
Vermont uses the least amount of electricity of any state in the nation. Only 12% of homes in the state use electricity as their main heat source, also the lowest rate in the nation, and only 7% of homes use central air conditioning; both shares are the lowest among the states.34,35 Vermont ranks 11th-lowest among the states in both per capita electricity sales and residential per capita electricity sales.36 The residential sector accounts for two-fifths of the state's electricity consumption. The commercial sector uses more than one-third, and the industrial sector accounts for about one-fourth of the state's electricity use.37,38 In 2024, Vermont's average electricity price was the 10th-highest in the nation.39
Vermont is the only New England state that has not restructured its electricity industry to allow retail competition. The state has 17 electricity distribution companies: 14 municipal utilities, 2 rural electric cooperatives, and 1 investor-owned distribution utility.40 In 1956, Vermont's electric utilities pooled their transmission systems to connect with hydroelectric generators in New York and Canada, creating the nation's first statewide transmission-only company.41 That company represents the state's utilities in power pool matters with the New England regional transmission operator, Independent System Operator—New England, which is responsible for managing reliable electricity supplies across the six New England states.42,43
Vermont has the eighth-highest electric vehicle (EV) share of registered light-duty vehicles among the states and the highest number of EV charging locations per capita. However, in part because of the state's small population, Vermont ranks 37th in the nation in total number of registered light-duty EVs and 30th in total number of public charging locations.44,45,46
Renewable energy
Renewable resources provide nearly 100% of Vermont’s in-state electricity generation, the largest share of any state.
Vermont has the largest share of in-state electricity net generation from renewable resources of any state, reaching almost 100% every year since 2015.47 In 2024, conventional hydroelectric power was the largest source of total in-state electricity generation at 51%.48 Most of Vermont's 46 hydroelectric plants are run-of-river plants, which means they do not have a reservoir.49,50
In 2024, solar energy from both utility-scale (1 megawatt and larger) and customer-sited, small-scale (less than 1 megawatt) photovoltaic installations accounted for about 18% of Vermont's total generation, the fifth-highest among the states.51 Solar power has surpassed wind's contribution each year since 2021.52 By October 2025, Vermont had about 343 megawatts of solar capacity installed at large- and small-scale sites across the state.53 The state's largest solar plant, with almost 20 megawatts of generating capacity, began operating in December 2018. Two new solar plants, 20 megawatts and 2 megawatts in size, plan to come online by the end of 2026.54
Biomass, almost entirely from burning wood and wood waste, accounted for about 16% of Vermont's total generation in 2024.55 Vermont has two utility-scale wood-fired power plants.56 In addition to the one in nine Vermont households that rely on wood for heat, one in six Vermont students attend a school heated with wood.57,58 Vermont's biomass resources also provide feedstock to the state's one wood pellet manufacturing plant, which has a production capacity of 14,000 tons per year.59 As part of its renewable energy goals, Vermont plans to meet 35% of its thermal energy needs from wood by 2030.60
In 2024, Vermont's five utility-scale wind farms contributed 14% of the state's total generation, a larger wind power share than in two-thirds of the states.61,62 Two of Vermont's commercial wind farms are on mountain crests near the state's southern border. The others, including the state's largest, are located in northern Vermont near the state's best wind resources.63,64 In October 2025, Vermont had 150 megawatts of utility-scale wind capacity.65
Vermont is a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which was established in 2005 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation.66 The state has the lowest energy-related carbon dioxide emissions of any state in the nation.67 Proceeds from the sale of RGGI carbon allowances help fund state programs that provide energy efficiency services to consumers.68
Vermont enacted a renewable energy standard (RES) in 2015, and updated it in June 2024. The RES requires that the state's retail electricity suppliers obtain 63% of their annual electricity sales from eligible renewable sources by 2025, increasing by at least 4% every three years until reaching 100% by 2030, including a 5.8% carve-out for new, in-state renewable generation at customer-sited facilities with capacities of 5 megawatts or less. Municipal utilities with 7,000 or fewer customers have a lower requirement.69 The state allows net metering of up to 500 kilowatts of capacity from customer-sited installations that use eligible renewable energy resources. State regulations limit net metering of combined heat and power systems that use non-renewable fuels to 20 kilowatts and requires that they meet efficiency standards.70
Petroleum
Vermont has no crude oil reserves or production, nor does it have any petroleum refineries.71 Although there are no petroleum product pipelines in the state, there is a petroleum product terminal in the Burlington area.72 Refined products arrive by rail and truck from neighboring states and Canada.73 One intermittently used crude oil pipeline, the Portland-Montreal pipeline, crosses Vermont, but makes no deliveries in the state.74
About 62% of the energy consumed in Vermont is petroleum-based, the second highest share in the nation, after Hawaii.75 Although the state uses less petroleum than all the other states, Vermont uses more petroleum per capita than almost two-thirds of the states.76 Vermont's transportation sector accounts for the largest share, accounting for almost three-fifths of the state's total petroleum use.77 The state has strategies to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector, including increased vehicle efficiency, increased use of alternative-fueled vehicles, increased use of biofuels, and land-use planning that reduces the need for automobiles.78 The residential sector accounts for nearly one-fourth of Vermont's petroleum consumption.79 Almost 6 in 10 Vermont households use fuel oil, kerosene, or propane to heat their homes—seven times the national average—and a larger share than in all other states except Maine and New Hampshire.80 As a result, the state is particularly vulnerable to heating oil shortages and price spikes during the winter months. The U.S. Department of Energy's Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve—created in 2000 in response to heating fuel supply disruptions in the region—holds about 1 million barrels of heating oil at storage sites in four states.81,82 The commercial and industrial sectors use almost all the rest of the petroleum consumed in Vermont, and together account for about one-fifth of the state's total petroleum use in 2023. The electric power sector intermittently uses a very small amount of petroleum during times of peak electricity demand.83
Natural gas
Vermont has no natural gas reserves or production.84 Vermont's single natural gas utility receives its supply from a small-capacity pipeline that brings natural gas south from Canada.85 The utility distributes natural gas in the counties along Lake Champlain down to the Burlington area and Addison County.86 The northwestern part of the state remains the only area with access to natural gas service.87 As a result, Vermont is the nation's second-smallest total natural gas consumer and the second-smallest per capita natural gas consumer among the states, only above Hawaii.88
One in five Vermont households rely on natural gas for their primary home heating fuel.
Vermont's commercial sector accounts for 55% of the natural gas consumed in the state, and the residential sector uses 28%.89 Because much of the state's population lives in the Greater Burlington area, where a natural gas pipeline network is available, one in five Vermont households rely on natural gas for their primary home heating fuel.90,91,92 The industrial sector accounts for most of the rest of the state's natural gas consumption. The transportation sector uses very small amounts of natural gas as vehicle fuel.93 The state has two compressed natural gas vehicle fueling stations, both located near Burlington.94 The only natural gas used in the electric power sector is as a secondary energy source at two biomass-fueled power plants.95,96,97,98
Coal
Vermont does not have any coal mines, coal reserves, or coal-fired power plants. It is one of nine states that had no coal-fired generation in 2024.99,100 Vermont is part of the six-state ISO-NE regional grid, which receives a decreasing share of its power from coal-fired power plants. In 2023, ISO-NE received 0.2% of its electricity supply from coal-fired power plants. However, ISO-NE relies on out-of-state coal-fired facilities during periods of peak electricity demand.101
Endnotes
1 National Laboratories of the Rockies, Forest Residues in the United States (January 15, 2014).
2 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The 2022 National Hydropower Map (July 26, 2022).
3 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Vermont Profile Data, Reserves, and Environment, accessed December 2, 2025.
4 NETSTATE, Vermont, Vermont Almanac, updated March 9, 2018.
5 Sanford, Gregory and Charles Thomas Morrissey, Vermont, Land, Relief, Britannica, updated November 22, 2025.
6 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WINDExchange, Wind Energy in Vermont, accessed December 2, 2025.
7 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missions, Civil Works, Shore Bank Protection, Vermont, accessed December 2, 2025.
8 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation, Hydroelectric Power, accessed December 2, 2025.
9 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Wood Energy, accessed December 2, 2025.
10 U.S. Census Bureau, Tables, Table B25040, House Heating Fuel, United States, All states within the United States, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
11 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table N1, Population, GDP, and Degree Days, Ranked by State, 2023.
12 U.S. Census Bureau, Vermont, accessed December 2, 2025.
13 U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census: Vermont Profile.
14 Vermont Center for Geographic Information, 2020 Census Data, VT County Population: 1791-2020, updated August 12, 2021.
15 State of Vermont, Historic Downtown Burlington, accessed December 2, 2025.
16 U.S. Census Bureau, Tables, Table B25002, Occupancy Status, Vermont and Table B25004, Vacancy Status, Vermont, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
17 Vermont Tax Structure Commission, Population Changes and Vermont State Revenue (December 6, 2019), p. 11-12.
18 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F35, Total Energy Consumption, Price, and Expenditure Estimates, 2023.
19 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Rankings: Total Energy Consumed per Capita, 2023.
20 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table P3, Energy Production and Consumption Estimates in Trillion Btu, 2023.
21 North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, NOAA National Center for Environmental Information, State Climate Summaries 2022, Vermont, accessed December 2, 2025.
22 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F35, Total Energy Consumption, Price, and Expenditure Estimates, 2023.
23 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F35, Total Energy Consumption, Price, and Expenditure Estimates, 2023.
24 NETSTATE, Vermont Economy, updated December 19, 2017.
25 University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture, Research & Extension, Economic Impact of Agriculture, Vermont, accessed November 6, 2024.
26 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Northeastern Region, Maple Syrup Report (June 9, 2023).
27 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, updated March 9, 2021.
28 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), Vermont, Annual, 2001-24.
29 U.S. EIA, Vermont Electricity Profile 2024, Table 10, available in XLSX format.
30 Vermont Department of Public Service, 2025 Annual Energy Report (January 15, 2025), p. 37.
31 ISO New England, Where We're Going, Solar Power Impact, accessed December 2, 2025.
32 Vermont Department of Public Service, 2022 Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan, p. 243.
33 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), Vermont, Annual, 2001-24.
34 U.S. Census Bureau, Tables, Table B25040, House Heating Fuel, Vermont, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
35 U.S. EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), 2020 RECS Survey Data, State Data, Housing characteristics, Highlights for air conditioning in U.S. homes by state, 2020.
36 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C17, Electricity Sales to Ultimate Customers, Total and Residential, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2023.
37 U.S. EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), 2020 RECS Survey Data, State Data, Consumption and expenditures, Table CE4.1EL.ST - Electricity by end use by state - totals, 2020.
38 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Retail sales of electricity (million kilowatthours), Vermont, End-Use Sector, Annual 2024.
39 U.S. EIA, Electric Power Annual (October 16, 2025), Electricity Sales, Table 2.10.
40 Vermont Department of Public Service, Electric, Vermont Electric Utilities, accessed December 2, 2025.
41 Vermont Electric Power Company, Who We Are, accessed December 2, 2025.
42 Vermont Electric Power Company, What We Do, accessed December 2, 2025.
43 ISO-New England, Who We Are, accessed December 2, 2025.
44 Massachusetts Department of Public Service, 2025 EVICC Second Assessment, 4. EV Charger Deployment, p. 60.
45 U.S. EIA, Monthly Energy Review (December 2025), Appendix F monthly state file, XLS, Public Ports only and Public & Private Ports combined.
46 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F54, Electric light-duty vehicles overview, 2024.
47 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), All states, All fuels, Conventional hydroelectric, Other renewables, Small-scale solar photovoltaic, Annual, 2015-24.
48 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), Vermont, Annual, 2001-24.
49 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Operating Generators as of November 2025, Plant State: Vermont, Technology: Conventional Hydroelectric.
50 Dowds, Jonathan, "Getting the most from Vermont's hydro power," Mountain Times (July 10, 2024).
51 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), All states, All fuels, All solar, Small-scale solar photovoltaic, Annual, 2024.
52 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousands megawatthours), Vermont, All fuels, Wind, All solar, Small-scale solar photovoltaic, Utility-scale solar photovoltaic, Annual, 2001-24.
53 U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly (October 2025), Table 6.2.B.
54 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Operating and Planned Generators as of November 2025, Plant State: Vermont, Technology: Solar Photovoltaic.
55 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), Vermont, Annual, 2001-24.
56 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Operating Generators as of November 2025, Plant State: Vermont, Technology: Wood/Wood Waste Biomass.
57 U.S. Census Bureau, Data, Tables, Table B25040, House Heating Fuel, Vermont, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
58 State of Vermont, Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Wood Energy, accessed November 24, 2025.
59 U.S. EIA, Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report (December 4, 2025), Table 1, Densified biomass fuel manufacturing facilities in the United States by state, region, and capacity, August 2025.
60 State of Vermont, Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, Wood Energy, accessed November 24, 2025.
61 U.S. EIA, Electricity, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860), Inventory of Operating Generators as of November 2025, Plant State: Vermont, Technology: Onshore Wind Turbine.
62 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, Net generation for all sectors (thousand megawatthours), All states, All fuels, Wind, Small-scale photovoltaic, Annual, 2024.
63 U.S. EIA, Vermont Profile Overview, Interactive Map, Layer List: Wind Power Plants, accessed December 2, 2025.
64 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, WINDExchange, Vermont 50-Meter Community-Scale Wind Resource Map, accessed December 2, 2025.
65 U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly (October 2025), Table 6.2.B.
66 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc., A brief history of RGGI and Elements of RGGI, accessed December 2, 2025.
67 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table CO2.7, Total CO2 emissions from energy consumption, per capita CO2 emissions, and carbon intensities, ranked by state, 2023.
68 NC Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Efficiency Vermont, updated January 18, 2024.
69 NC Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Vermont, Renewable Energy Standard, updated November 20, 2025.
70 NC Clean Energy Technology Center, DSIRE, Vermont, Net Metering, updated February 27, 2025.
71 U.S. EIA, Vermont Profile Data, Profile Data, Reserves and Supply & Distribution, accessed November 21, 2025.
72 U.S. EIA, Vermont Profile Overview, Interactive Map, Layer List: Petroleum Product Pipelines, accessed November 21, 2025.
73 Global Companies, LLC, Where We Are, Launch the interactive terminal map, Find Terminals, Terminal Search, Global Burlington, accessed November 21, 2025.
74 Canada Energy Regulator, Pipeline Profiles: Montreal and Throughput and capacity, accessed November 21, 2025.
75 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C1, Energy Consumption Overview: Estimates by Energy Source and End-Use Sector, 2023.
76 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C15, Petroleum Consumption, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2023.
77 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2023.
78 Vermont Department of Public Service, 2022 Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan, Executive Summary, p. ES-9-ES-12.
79 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2023.
80 U.S. Census Bureau, Tables, Table B25040, House Heating Fuel, Vermont, United States, All states within the United States, 2024, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
81 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, Petroleum Reserves, NHHOR History and The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, accessed November 21, 2025.
82 U.S. EIA, Petroleum & Other Liquids, Northeast Reserves, accessed November 21, 2025.
83 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table F16, Total Petroleum Consumption Estimates, 2023.
84 U.S. EIA, Vermont Profile Data, Profile Data, Reserves and Supply & Distribution, accessed November 20, 2025.
85 State of Vermont, Public Utility Commission, Natural Gas, accessed November 20, 2025.
86 Vermont Gas Systems, Inc., Coverage Map, accessed November 20, 2025.
87 U.S. EIA, Interactive GIS Data Viewer, Layer List: Vermont, Natural Gas Pipelines, accessed November 20, 2025.
88 U.S. EIA, State Energy Data System, Table C16, Natural Gas Consumption Estimates, Total and per Capita, Ranked by State, 2023.
89 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use (Million Cubic Feet), Vermont, 2019-24.
90 Vermont Center for Geographic Information, 2020 Census Data (August 12, 2021).
91 Vermont Gas Systems, Inc., Coverage Map, accessed December 15, 2025.
92 U.S. Census Bureau, Tables, Table B25040, House Heating Fuel, Vermont, 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
93 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use, Vermont, 2018-24.
94 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, Alternative Fueling Station Locator, Advanced Filters, Vermont, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Public & private access, accessed November 20, 2025.
95 U.S. EIA, Electricity Data Browser, List of plants for natural gas, Vermont, all sectors, 2024.
96 U.S. EIA, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Consumption by End Use, Vermont, 2019-24.
97 Burlington Electric Department, McNeil Generating Station, accessed November 20, 2025.
98 Middlebury College, Offices and Services, Facilities Services, Maintenance and Operations, Energy Production, Distribution and Management, accessed November 20, 2025.
99 U.S. EIA, Annual Coal Report (November 19, 2025), Table 1, Table 15.
100 U.S. EIA, Electric Power Annual (October 16, 2025), Net Generation, Table 3.8.
101 ISO New England, Resource Mix, Sources of Electricity Used in 2024.