As of March 10, 2020, ISO-NE shows 751 MW of proposed wind projects in Maine :

72.6 MW Hancock County " Weaver Wind "  Has DEP Permit In Hand

15.3 MW Oxford County  " RoxWind "  Has DEP Permit In Hand

20 MW Penobscot County  " Silver Maple-Pisgah MTN "  Under DEP Review

126 MW Washington County  " Downeast Wind "  Preparing documents for DEP

517.5 MW Aroostook County  " Number Nine " ??   No News Lately…

     The Conflict : Renewable Energy versus Reliable Energy.

     The Resolution : States will unilaterally develop their own energy profiles and reject regional grid co-operation. We see it in the NECEC argument over providing Massachusetts power delivered through the Maine woods. We see it in Connecticut,  whose ratepayers are paying premiums to keep a nuclear plant operating. We see it in the regional grid operator forcing all New England ratepayers to pay extra  to a  natural gas…

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $64M for Components of Coal FIRST Power Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $64 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Critical Components for Coal FIRST Power Plants of the Future.

“Coal is a critical resource for grid stability that will be used in…

Bait and switch : Rebates on heat pumps and immediately raise the price on electricity

                          Rebates on electric cars and immediately raise the price of electricity.

 Europe’s Electric Vehicle Charging Prices to Increase Substantially…

LD 1634    An Act To Create the Maine Clean Energy Fund and To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Capitalize the Fund

Sec. A-1. Authorization of bonds. The Treasurer of State is authorized, under  the direction of the Governor, to issue bonds in the name and on behalf of the State in an  amount not exceeding…

Do Renewable Portfolio Standards Deliver?

https://bfi.uchicago.edu/working-paper/do-renewable-portfolio-standards-deliver/

This working paper from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago finds that average retail electricity prices in states after the passage of a renewable energy mandate are 11 percent higher after seven years and 17 percent higher…

" Vermont allows for the use of HQ and NYPA attributes for REC compliance , which are not currently eligible in other states."
With Maine out of the picture of procuring RECs from the NECEC project because of it"s 100 megawatt limit, I wonder if Vermont would consider securing RECs from the project to reach it's 75% renewable standard by 2032 ?  

The RoxWInd small-scale wind project was approved July 26, 2019. Interested parties have until August 2 to comment.

My Comments :

STATEMENT : "The Department finds that a formal deed restriction of the meadow buffers is not necessary since any future development on the buffer areas is very unlikely due to their adjacency to the wind turbines, "

RESPONSE : This appears to admit real estate sales are very much influenced negatively by proximity to wind…

The Institute for Energy Research and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy released a new study evaluating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from new and existing generation resources.



This innovative study takes into account several important considerations that other…

THE STATES ASSESS A PER TON CARBON DIOXIDE TAX ON FOSSIL FUEL PLANTS, WHILE ISO-NE ASSESSES AN ENERGY TAX ON RATEPAYERS TO RETAIN THE SAME PLANTS.

So, now the legislature will simply bypass current laws and make the PUC approve what they tell them to approve.

Not quite sure what this means, but all six New England State Governors signed on to this statement :

 "Recognizing that the entire New England region has a stake in ensuring a reliable energy system that also produces affordable outcomes for consumers, the New England Governors commit to work together, in coordination with ISO New England and through the New England States…

• Governor Mills Signs Supplemental Budget
• $320,000 for case support at the Office of the Public Advocate to be used for the costs of retaining expert witnesses and related costs associated with representing Maine ratepayers in the Emera Maine and Central Maine Power billing, metering, and rate cases.

To Manage the Grid, a Vermont Utility Hooks Up to a Hospital's Icebox

The rationing of electricity is underway .

"In practice, electric chillers would run during relatively low-cost off-peak hours (most likely at night) to freeze water to make ice. Then, when air conditioning load starts to rise on hot afternoons, the hospital’s HVAC system could be dialed back and the…