CMP v. GridSolar

A pro CMP op-ed (by their CEO), and a pro Gridsolar article:

"According to Central Maine Power’s projections, the state’s growing energy demands will soon exceed the company’s generating capacity at peak times. Unless the state comes up with a solution, that could mean grid failures and blackouts in Vacationland.

CMP’s solution is to spend $1.5 billion to build new high voltage transmission lines and update existing lines. But representatives from GridSolar think there’s a better way. The GridSolar project proposes to develop up to 800 megawatts of solar generation to meet the demands of peak load growth."

Wind Farm Permitted

Bangor Daily News:

"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued First Wind of Massachusetts a permit Tuesday to build a 40-turbine industrial wind site for $130 million on Rollins Mountain in Burlington, Lee, Lincoln and Winn.

“The Department finds that the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed project will provide significant tangible benefits to the host community and surrounding area,” according to the department’s 64-page report on the project, which was issued Tuesday.

Lincoln Town Council chairman Steve Clay hopes to see construction begin soon." .....

Tidal Power Testing

Bangor Daily News:

"EASTPORT, Maine — The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that it hopes to have a tidal power generator in the water by the end of summer to provide electricity to Station Eastport.

Sector Northern New England, in partnership with the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Conn., plans to test a tidal generator off Station East-port, the Coast Guard said on its Web site.

The Coast Guard made the announcement on Wednesday — Earth Day.

The Station Eastport facility is located on the breakwater in downtown Eastport.

“Once complete, the station would be the first federal facility in the continental U.S. to use tidal power,” the Coast Guard said.

The project carries a $100,000 price tag and could serve as a prototype for other Coast Guard facilities in Alaska and Washington." ....

Jetport Traffic Down 1%

WMTW Portland:

"The Portland International Jetport said the number of passengers in March dropped for a third consecutive month.

Greg Hughes, the airport's marketing director, said the number of passengers was 132,959, or a drop of 1 percent from a year ago.

But he said it was the airport's second-best March. And he said the airport fared better than a projected nationwide decline of 7.3 percent for the month."

Stetson Wind Farm Expansion Approval

Maine Daily News:

"A $60 million expansion of the newly commissioned Stetson wind farm in eastern Maine has won the approval of a Maine regulatory panel's staff, setting the stage for a final vote.

The Land Use Regulation Commission's staff endorsed the 17-turbine project near Danforth in Washington County."

Suit Over Herring Trawlers

Bangor Daily News:

"A group of Maine fishermen is suing the federal government in an effort to ban herring trawlers from groundfish spawning areas.

The fishermen decided Wednesday to pursue the lawsuit against the United States Department of Commerce, according to an attorney from Earthjustice, a national environmental group that represents the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance of Saco and the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association of Port Clyde."

Maine co-ops Growing

Portland Press Herald:

"The people behind the cooperative envision a time when it will provide locally produced foods to more people, operate a community-supported cafe and provide a greater source of income to its worker-owners.
'It's sustaining itself,' said Hanifa Washington, one of the four worker-owners. 'We definitely want more.'
...
Local Sprouts is just one type of cooperative found in Maine. Other member-owned entities include food-buying clubs, credit unions and cooperatives formed for housing, to provide electricity or to sell the wares of artisans, farmers and fishermen."

Katahdin Times Folds

WMTW Portland:

"The publisher of a northern Maine weekly newspaper said the poor economy and a sharp downturn in advertising are to blame for his decision to shut down the paper.

The Katahdin Times hit the stands for the last time on Thursday.

The paper had been a mainstay in the Millinocket region since the early 1970s."

Peaks Island Wind Power Considered

Residents of the island in Portland are looking into measuring the wind on the island for its potential of electric generation.

Maine Farming Numbers

Portland Press Herald:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest five-year census this week, showing that the number of farms in Maine increased by 13 percent, to 8,136, from 2002 to 2007, compared with a 4 percent increase nationwide. The average size of a Maine farm declined 13 percent, to 166 acres, during the same period.

Overall, Maine farms recorded $617 million in sales in 2007, up 33 percent from 2002.

Scallop season to continue

Boston.com:

"PORTLAND, Maine—State officials are backing off from last week's decision to cancel the second half of Maine's scallop season in order to help scallop populations rebuild.

The Department of Marine Resources on Monday approved a 35-day season that begins Feb. 25, but only in selected areas, including Cobscook Bay.

Deputy Commissioner David Etnier said the department sought a way to enable fishermen to have some income but still provide protection for the resource.

The first half of the season ran from Dec. 1 to Jan. 4."

Maine's Great Potential for Wind

Mainebiz looks at the State's vast offshore wind potential, and the challenges capturing it.

"The Sway turbine is long and lean with a mast the color of an overripe lemon. The plan is to tow the mast out to sea with a barge, stand it upright by weighting one end, and pop the blades on the top using a crane on the barge. The turbine is then towed by the barge out to deep water, the base of the stem drops an anchor into the seabed that fills with sand, and the anchor is secured to the mast and the top of the turbine by cables. The result is an elegant wind turbine with a slight lean that alone could produce up to 5 megawatts of energy, or enough to power about 1,000 homes."

Jail to be Restaurant and Bakery

AP:

"SKOWHEGAN -- The old Somerset County Jail will soon have a new owner who hopes to open a restaurant and bakery on the site that used to house prisoners.

Somerset County commissioners have approved selling the jail for $65,000 -- less than a third of the original asking price -- to Skowhegan artist Amber Lambke. The deal is scheduled to close on March 30.

Lambke says she and her business partner will turn the 14,000-square-foot Victorian-style jailhouse into a multi-use facility with a grist mill, bakery, restaurant and small retail store to sell bread and local fruits, vegetables, cheese, meat and dairy products.

The jail, which was built in 1897 in downtown Skowhegan, shut down last fall when a new 200-bed county jail opened in Madison."