Energy News Roundup: February 11-February 17

This week in regional energy news …

• Maine’s Good Will-Hinckley School has installed 110 solar panels, which are expected to save the school $112,000 over the 40- to 50-year life span of the panels.  Good Will-Hinckley is a high school focused on agriculture, forestry education, and workforce skills.
• Doaktown, a village in New Brunswick, voted Thursday to ban shale gas exploration near the village’s water sources.
• With the price of renewable energy credits going down due to oversupply, Massachusetts is one of many states reviewing its Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, emissions cap.
• Cape Wind has entered into an electricity supply agreement with NStar for energy from the offshore wind project, but seeks additional financing.
• Public Service of New Hampshire, or PSNH, is warning of higher electricity prices if it is forced to sell off its generation assets.

Energy News Roundup: February 4-February 10

This week in regional energy news …

• The Salem Harbor Power Station in Massachusetts proposes to convert to natural gas from coal and oil.  The conversion would be part of a deal, currently being negotiated, in which Virginia-based Dominion would sell the plant to Footprint Power of New Jersey.
• Vermont’s senate is considering purchasing a majority interest in transmission lines in the state.
• Environment Maine expresses its opposition to the recently announced reorganization of Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission, while supporters from the LePage Administration maintain that the changes are necessary to ensure local control.
• A USDA official met yesterday with Maine wood pellet interests to discuss wood pellets as a heating alternative and the importance of the industry to the state’s economy.  The Maine Pellet Fuels Association, Corinth Wood Pellets, and others were represented at the meeting, where the issue of federal subsidies for fuel sources was raised.

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: December 10-December 16

This week in regional energy news …

• Despite some setbacks, the clean tech industry in Massachusetts is gearing up for growth.  Employment in clean energy in the state increased by 7 percent from July 2010 to July 2011.
• Following the most recent standard offer bidding process in Maine, the Maine Public Utilities Commission announces that electricity customers will see lower bills beginning in March 2012.
• Four U.S. Senators from New England—Richard Blumenthal (CT), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), John Kerry, and Scott Brown (both of MA)—are calling for a review of the reliability of the nation’s electric grid.  A Halloween weekend snowstorm left millions without power in New England.
• Renewable Properties, Inc., a company acquiring land for the Northern Pass project, is paying a premium for at least one parcel: $2.35 million, or three times the assessed value, for a 118-acre property in Franklin, NH.
• Down East LNG, which is seeking approval to construct a liquefied natural gas terminal in Robbinston, Washington County, Maine, is facing local opposition.  Save Passomoquoddy Bay has asked FERC to reject Down East LNG’s application.

Energy News Roundup: November 27-December 2

This week in regional energy news …

• Madison Electric Works announces that it is looking into installing a natural gas generator to serve its customers.
• The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has issued a report demonstrating that New England and other areas in the country have a significant need for more generation resources in order to meet demand.
• Canada’s CBC reports on the effect of falling natural gas prices on hydraulic fracturing developments.
• The Vermont Electric Power Company, or VELCO, has no plans at this time to pursue construction of transmission lines through Vermont to transmit hydro-power from Quebec to New England.
• Maine Gov. Paul LePage looks to make a deal with Canadian energy providers to help lower electricity rates in Maine.
• Beginning on the first of the year, ISO New England’s multiple region cost allocation method will be modified.  Read the details on the Newswire.

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: September 11-September 17

This week in regional energy news …

• Hydro-Quebec has announced an imminent deal to construct a high-voltage transmission line to export power from its generators through to New England.  Hydro-Quebec is currently in talks with NStar and Northern Utilities on the proposed line.  A line to New York could be in the works, too.
• Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley has asked the Department of Public Utilities to reject National Grid’s rate increase, which could add up to $15 per month to customers’ bills.
• Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection has granted the Calais LNG terminal project more time to find financial investors.  Calais LNG has until Dec. 1 to file its application to build the facility.
• Susan Eisenhower, a proponent of nuclear power who serves on the U.S. DOE’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (and granddaughter of DDE), will speak at Husson College on Sept. 28.
• The University of Maine will soon take energy via a landfill gas line from neighboring Old Town.  University Trustees approved the project on Monday.
• Gardiner, Maine, is looking into building a small hydroelectric power plant at the New Mills Dam, along the Cobbosseecontee Stream.
• Maine’s latest Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction garnered $1.7 million for Efficiency Maine.  All told, $7.1 million in RGGI funds have been added to Efficiency Maine for efficiency grant programs.