Burlington Electric Department

During the 1970s, the rising demand for electricity and the retirement of some existing power sources prompted BED to look for ways to provide additional power to meet the city's growing need for electricity. BED conducted studies to find a fuel source that would be locally available, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable. Wood scored high on all counts. Using wood fuel would put money back into the Vermont economy, improve the condition of Vermont’s forests and provide jobs for Vermonters. That is how the Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station came to be. In 1978 71 percent of the voters supported the bond to finance construction of the plant. A Certificate of Public Good, which ensures that the McNeil Station operates in a manner that will protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public and maintain the quality of the natural environment, was approved by the Vermont Public Service Board on Sept. 14, 1981. Final construction cost was $67 million ($13 million under budget), and the unit was completed ahead of schedule. It came on line and started to produce power for the New England grid in June of 1984.