Energy News Roundup: July 10-July 16

This week in regional energy news …

• The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill to streamline the permitting of wind turbine projects in the state.  As we previously reported, a different version of the bill has already been approved by the Senate.  Governor Deval Patrick is a strong supporter of the streamlining proposal.
• In Cape Wind news: NStar has opted not to purchase electricity from Cape Wind; Cape Wind Associates fights Mass. AG Coakley’s demands for profit and cost estimates, which CWA says are proprietary; and WBZ reports on the possible effects on ratepayers’ bills.
• The New York Times interviewed a representative from the Biomass Power Association, a trade group based in Maine, in reporting on the recent controversy surrounding biomass fuels in New England.
• In Lenox, Mass., Maine Governor Baldacci signed a memorandum with Nova Scotia Premier Darrel Dexter agreeing to collaborate on tidal and offshore wind energy development.  New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers also agreed to benchmarks for energy reduction and to promote solar generation.
• MaineBiz and Mass High Tech report that, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of Southern Maine will soon offer a renewable energy curriculum, and a community college in Maine trains students to maintain and repair wind turbines, and follows up on the students’ physical health.
• Maine’s largest electric utility has engaged a California company to supply its smart meters.
• Advocates in Maine have threatened to sue owners of four hydroelectric dams for possible harm to Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec River.