TGIF to all! A few news items of note…
The Patriot Ledger reports Gov. Charlie Baker has broken his long silence on the controversial natural-gas compressor station Monday, ordering state agencies to review the Fore River project’s potential impact. Spectra Energy wants to build a 7,700-horsepower compressor on the river bank.
Construction has started on what is expected to be Maine’s largest municipally owned solar array. The one-megawatt solar array will be composed of 2,944 solar panels. Officials expect the array to generate 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year according to U.S. News & World Report.
Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee recently voted to slash Energy Star funding in the fiscal year 2018 budget — an improvement over previous calls to cut the program entirely, but advocates say the impact could still be “crippling.”
Natural Gas
Baker’s review of Weymouth compressor station applauded, Patriot Ledger
Stepping up the pressure, Boston Globe
State to look into health, safety concerns around Weymouth compressor station, (subscriber content) Boston Business Journal
Gov. Baker orders state to investigate compressor station issues, Greenfield Recorder
Catholic nuns in Pa. build a chapel to block the path of a gas pipeline planned for their property, Washington Post
Unitil to expand natural gas line through downtown, Fosters.com
Pipeline Construction, And Protests, Continue In Sandisfield, NEPR
Finding leaks while they’re easy to fix, MIT News
Renewables
South Portland’s Major Solar Array Project Begins, U.S. News & World Report
New Hampshire law benefits biomass power production, Biomass Magazine
Record Demand Puts Popular N.H. Renewable Energy Rebate Program On Hold, NHPR
Federal SunShot program funds $5.5M in Mass. solar projects, (subscriber content) Boston Business Journal
California Leads Off: Now RGGI Must Grab the Climate Baton, Natural Resources Defense Council
Eversource rate case poses woes for solar projects, Patriot Ledger
Solar debate heats up again, Boston Globe
Falmouth ruling bolsters cause for neighbors of Plymouth turbines, Cape Cod Times
In New England, Cooperative Values Drive Solar Growth – Episode 41 of Local Energy Rules Podcast, Renewable Energy News
Brookline launches renewable energy program with opt-out system, Wicked Local Brookline
Bay State Wind Receives First Offshore Wind Site Assessment Plan Approval in the United States, (Press Release) Business Wire
Maine large-scale manufacturers eligible for energy rebates, Mainebiz
Energy Efficiency
House Appropriations Committee votes to cut Energy Star funding 40%, Utility Dive
Green Energy Committee: Lincoln residents complete 162 home energy assessments, Wicked Local Lincoln
Energy Efficiency Upgrades Illuminate Six Ion Bank Branches, Patch.com
Nuclear
EXCLUSIVE: Gov’t Red Tape Costs Every Nuclear Plant $63 Million Annually, Daily Caller
Washington, DC firm signed to dismantle Vermont Yankee reactor, Commons
US Finds ‘Apparent Violations’ of Security at Millstone, Hartford Courant
Markets/Grid/Policy/Prices/Etc.
Delays Push Burrillville Power Plant Toward Irrelevance, ecoRI news
More than 100 state legislators join opposition against Northern Pass, Concord Monitor
New Energy Alert Can Do More Than Save You Money, ecoRI news
Vermont regulators to examine grid modernization, Utility Dive
Options for Energy Storage that Aren’t Batteries, WCAI
Electric meter mistake costs Monson family big bucks, Western Mass News
Indigenous Community Airs Long-Standing Grievances at Northern Pass Hearing, NHPR
Footprint plant work extension to go forward, The Salem News
In Webster, Residents Weigh In On New Proposed Power Line, New Hampshire Public Radio
Quakers go on 60-mile pilgrimage from Portsmouth to Bow in protest of coal-fired plants, The Union Leader
Grid threats require ‘imagining the unimaginable’ — report, E&E News
Editorial/Opinion
Pilgrim closure requires oversight, not panic, Cape Cod Times
A lousy electric bill: Concord not on ratepayers’ side, The Union Leader
CMP chief: Lawmakers should sustain Gov. LePage’s veto of solar bill, Press Herald
Editorial: Bridging the gap of energy eras, Concord Monitor
Letter: Let Pessamit Innu speak on Northern Pass, Concord Monitor
Letter: Fight the power, Concord Monitor
Events
2017 Fuels Conference, Northeast Energy and Commerce Association, Marlborough, MA, September 27, 2017
Microgrid 2017 Conference, IDEA, MRC and Microgrid Knowledge, Boston, MA, November 6-8, 2017
Northeast Energy News 