The
Senate has rejected legislation that would have given local towns more clout in
the state review of energy projects that are proposed for their communities. Instead, lawmakers backed an
effort that calls for a statewide study of the impact of the projects in the
future.
The Vermont Senate will
debate a bill next week that would significantly change the way that renewable
energy projects are reviewed by the state. The bill would give towns much
more authority to ban projects.
A new report from The Wilderness Society looks a range of different renewable energy sources that we might use in New England and details the impacts and consequences of each.
Tax credits that are seen as
vital for the renewable energy industry are set to expire at the end of the
year. Vermont’s congressional delegation supports extending the
credits. But the legislation is tied up in high-level budget and revenue
negotiations now underway between Congress and the White House.
Energizer expects a decrease in the demand for its batteries, so the company plans to
shutter its St. Albans plant in September. The drop in demand may be a good
sign for the environment, but it’s been a shock for a community that has come
to rely on those jobs.
Montpelier’s City Council has approved a plan to upgrade and expand a state operated wood-fired heating system for downtown buildings, reversing its decision last week to kill the project due to financial concerns.
Montpelier’s City Council has opposed a district energy project that called for the city to enter a contract with the state to purchase
thermal energy, even after voters approved it.
On Thursday, Maine will take a
major step forward as a leader in the field of tidal energy generation, when a
180-kilowatt turbine is lowered into the waters of a Bay, off Eastport. The turbine, built by the Ocean Renewable Power Company, will be the first
in the nation to feed energy to the commercial electricity grid.