Energy News Roundup: January 14-January 20

This week in regional energy news …

• NGL Energy Partners LP announced on Monday an agreement to purchase North American Propane’s assets in New England and the Mid-Atlantic.  NAP has over 50,000 customers.
• Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pushes for more Canadian control and say over the Keystone DL pipeline.
• On Wednesday, New Hampshire’s Senate delayed its vote on a bill that would create problems for the Northern Pass transmission project’s efforts to acquire land by eminent domain.
• First Wind’s petition to expand its Oakfield wind farm to 50 turbines from 34 won the unanimous approval of the Maine DEP.

Energy News Roundup: January 7-January 13

This week in regional energy news …

• Cape Wind may face delays that prevent it from reaching its 2015 target for initial generation of electricity.
• A two-year renewable energy biomass plant project in Connecticut will receive $225 million in financing from the Carlyle Group and SAIC.
• Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has withdrawn the state’s request for a review of NStar’s rates in advance of that state approving a merger between Boston-based NSTar and Connecticut-based Northeast Utilities.
• Dead River Co. will purchase the home heating division of Webber Energy Fuels, with approximately 100,000 accounts.  Both are Maine companies.
• Gestamp Solar, of Spain, has purchased a solar farm in Southern Vermont.  The $10 million purchase is for the development’s 2.2 MW of capacity.

Energy News Roundup: December 17-December 23

This week in regional energy news …

• A land sale in Eastport, Maine, will support Ocean Renewable Power Co.’s efforts to promote tidal turbines in the Downeast region of Maine.  Perry Marine & Construction will build a facility at the site, where workers will assemble and deploy ORPC’s turbines.
• Boralex recently closed the sale of its biomass power production facilities to Latham, NY-based ReEnergy Holdings. 
• The U.S. Department of Energy is considering using East Coast granite formations as nuclear waste depositories.  The proposal to bury nuclear waste in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain has been scrapped for now.
• Calgary-based TransCanada has agreed to purchase nine solar projects with a combined capacity of 86 MW.  The $470 million deal will add to the company’s portfolio of pipelines and wind projects.
• Natural gas production is increasing amid great uncertainty over the balance of supply and demand.
• Governor LePage gives the Maine State Housing Authority and Efficiency Maine Trust two business days to submit a plan for providing heating assistance to needy Mainers.
• Central Maine Power will clean up a toxic waste site in Augusta.  The site, where Augusta Gas Works formerly operated, is contaminated with coal tar.
• Self-Gen, based on Scarborough, Maine, has proposed building a natural gas pipeline to Rockland from an existing line in Windsor.  Meanwhile, the Maine Energy Marketers Association has criticized the state Legislature for bills favoring natural gas over other fuels.

Energy News Roundup: November 5-November 11

This week in regional energy news …

• Waterville’s police chief, Joseph Massey, has proposed new legislation that would combat thefts of copper.  Maine utilities have expressed support for the effort.  A similar bill was introduced in Nova Scotia’s legislature Thursday.
• New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources has alleged that Windsor Energy violated Canada’s Oil and Natural Gas Act.  The complaint, accusing Windsor of directing geophysical exploration within a town without the town’s permission, was filed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• Montreal-based Boralex Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell five biomass plants, including four in Maine, to New York-based ReEnergy Holdings.  The four Maine plants are located in Ashland, Fort Fairfield, Livemore Falls, and Stratton.  Together, the five plants have a capacity of 186 megawatts and are being sold for $93 million.
• Moose River Lumber Co. of Madison, Maine, is using a steam-producing biomass boiler to replace hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil per year.  According to the sawmill, the steam turbine helps the company save $400,000 per year in energy costs.
• Changes to the New England and New York power grids, administered by New York ISO and ISO New England, are intended to cut costs.  Those changes include permitting more power to transfer between the boundaries of the regional grids.

Energy News Roundup: March 12-March 18

This week in regional energy news …

• Rumford Paper Co. is selling its cogeneration assets, which provide electricity and thermal energy to the paper mill in Rumford, to New York-based ReEnergy Holdings LLC.  ReEnergy specializes in renewable energy from integrated biomass waste fuel.
• The Portland Press Herald looks into the economic benefits and costs of waste-to-energy plants.  
• NB Power works to shore up the Point Lepreau nuclear reactor.  The reactor is undergoing a refurbishment currently but, in the wake of the disaster in northern Japan, NB Power is using the opportunity to make the generating station more earthquake-resistant.
• Adding a new standard to its merger approval rules, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities will require merging utilities to prove that the merger will help the state meets its renewable energy portfolio goals.

Energy News Roundup: November 13-November 19

This week in regional energy news …

• UIL Holdings and Iberdrola have closed on their purchase of three New England gas utilities: the Southern Connecticut Gas Co., the Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., and the Berkshire Gas Co.  The deal is worth $917 million.
• In another deal announced this week, Constellation Energy Group was the successful bidder to purchase five power plants from Boston Generating, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.  The power plants generate nearly 3,000 megawatts and will increase Constellation’s generating assets by 33%.
• At a tidal power forum held at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Anne Miles, FERC’s director of hydropower licensing, announced that the U.S.’s tidal energy industry is catching up to Europe’s, but regulatory and technological challenges remain.
• Canada’s Defense Minister has announced that the country will devote $20 million in federal funds to a tidal energy project in the Bay of Fundy, off of Nova Scotia.
• Small-scale hydroelectric power project developers have concerns that Hydro-Quebec’s entrée into the U.S. market through New Hampshire will squeeze their projects out of the market in New England.
• Prince Edward Island has announced its intention to scale back proposed wind power development plans in the province, from 130 megawatts to 40.
• CMP requests dismissal of two MPUC smart meter complaints. 

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.