Energy News Roundup: October 16-October 22

This week in regional energy news …

• Northeast Utilities and NSTAR made headlines nationwide by announcing their merger, which will create the largest utility in the Northeast with around 3.5 million customers.  Coverage in the Financial Times, Bloomberg, WSJ, Boston Globe, and NYTimes DealBook.
• While interested parties in Vermont debate the merits of wind project developments in that state, Vermont’s two largest utilities have agreed to purchase power from wind parks in New Hampshire.
• Researchers and project developers met in Northport, Maine, for the first Maine Deepwater Offshore Wind Development Conference.
• First Wind’s 40-turbine Rollins Mountain wind project is now under construction near Lincoln, Maine.
• Tidal turbines will be tested at the Tidal Energy Demonstration and Evaluation Center in Castine, Maine.  The center has benefited from funding from the Department of Energy and the Libra Foundation.
• Hydropower will flow from Hydro-Quebec’s generators to New England by way of Franklin, New Hampshire, where a large-scale power system facility will be constructed.  The permitting process will take about two years, officials say.
• Controversy erupts in Maine over the health impact of smart meters.