Here's what people predicted for Vermont in 2020. Were they right?

State agencies and lawmakers have set up lofty goals for Vermont over the years. Here are a few of the predictions, some practical, others far-fetched, that people thought would come true by 2020:

An aging Vermont

A Census Bureau report predicted that by 2020, when the state's baby boomer generation would reach retirement age, Vermont's population would age at a faster rate than the rest of New England.

In 1995, about one-eighth of Vermonters were over the age of 65. By 2020, they were expected to make up one-sixth of the state's population, clocking in at 110,000 people.

Those predictions weren't far off: there are roughly 113,000 people over the age of 65 in Vermont, according to an estimate from a 2018 American Community Survey. While we won't have an official count until after the 2020 Census is completed, the growth in Vermont's aging population isn't expect to slow down.

The push for renewable energy

The trend toward using renewable energy is continuing to grow across the country, and nowhere is that more clear than in Vermont. In 1997, the state's Public Service Department published a report with recommendations on how to reduce Vermont's oil dependence and environmental impact. 

Of the biggest carbon emitters in the state, the report listed transportation as "the largest energy end use in Vermont, accounting for about 44 percent of our total energy use in 1995."

That number has dropped as of 2017. The transportation sector is now responsible for 37 percent of total energy consumption in Vermont, according to the state's Agency of Transportation.

Included in the original report were predictions that Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant would eventually close (it did in 2014) due to the unlikelihood of the state renewing the plant's license.

Health insurance costs looming large

An Associated Press report from 2011 predicted that health care costs would double in Vermont by 2020. Health care spending across the state was growing faster than the rest of the country, in part due to the aging population and efforts to expand medical coverage for uninsured residents.

At the time, Vermont lawmakers were pushing for a roughly $9 billion single-payer system. While costly, the plan was expected to be more cost-effective than one including private insurers.

Contact Ethan Bakuli at (802) 556-1804 or ebakuli@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BakuliEthan. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up for a digital subscription.