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: 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: 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.

Maine Regulators Open Inquiry on Utility Disconnections in Rental Units

At the Legislature’s direction, the Maine Public Utilities Commission has opened an investigation to obtain information about “reasonable procedures to allow owners of rental units to receive notice of disconnection of electric, gas or water service to a tenant.”  The MPUC seeks to consult with representatives of electric and gas T&D utilities and water utilities, owners of rental units, tenants, and other interested persons.  The commission will report back to the Legislature by January 15, 2011.

The MPUC’s Notice of Inquiry, including a list of specific questions upon which input is sought, is available here (link will open a Word document).  Comments are due by July, 27, 2010, with responsive comments due August 3, 2010.

Second Circuit: Utilities May Be Sued for Global Warming "Injuries"

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the tort doctrine of public nuisance may be used to sue a power company for environmental injuries related to global warming—the question is justiciable, the land trusts have standing to sue based on future injury, and the Clean Air Act does not prevent a suit based upon the federal common law public nuisance doctrine.  Defendants also included TVA, Cinergy, Xcel Energy, and Southern Co.

The case is Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co., and the 140-page decision is available in PDF form here.