DrMcMeow

DrMcMeow OP t1_j1gkl2y wrote

Reply to Some Maine homeowners denied solar because there’s no room left on grid by DrMcMeow

When homeowners are interested in residential solar, they will typically call a solar installation company. The company determines whether the location is suitable for rooftop or ground-mounted solar panels, and will figure out what system will meet the homeowner’s energy needs.

Then, the company applies to a utility company, such as Versant Power or Central Maine Power Co., for their customer to connect to the grid. The utilities are responsible for the system of poles, wires, substations and other equipment that make it possible to deliver electricity. The solar installation company’s application includes details such as the number of panels needed and the kilowatts of electricity the homeowner’s system is anticipated to generate.

But recently some Mainers have had their applications denied due to a lack of capacity on the electric grid. One was Matt Quinn of Trenton, whose rooftop solar application was denied by Versant on Dec. 7.

“The fact that we would own our solar panels and essentially reduce our electric bill by 80 percent was very impactful for us,” Quinn said. He said the state’s goal to be carbon neutral and to electrify is important, but to him “the policies don’t jive with reality.”

Danny Piper, the owner of Sundog Solar in Searsport, a company that installs residential solar systems, said he has recently seen three other customers, in addition to Quinn, have their applications to connect to the grid denied.

Versant, which serves 159,000 customer accounts in northern and eastern Maine, did not provide an alternative or suggest modifications to help Quinn connect, Quinn said. The utility’s emailed response to him said it was denying his application because the level of generation would cause high voltage with the existing system. Versant also said the project designed for Quinn’s residence was beyond the scope of a minor modification.

“When people are generating lots of solar energy and using only a fraction of it, they’re pushing out a whole bunch of energy onto the grid for other nearby customers to use,” said Judy Long, the manager of communications at Versant. “And when they aren’t generating enough solar energy, they’re pulling in power from us.”

The electric grid wasn’t built to have a lot of power sources on the distribution system or to facilitate a two-way flow of energy, Long said. In addition, utilities do not have discretion and are not allowed to save room for rooftop solar programs.

“There are more requests to connect to the grid, megawatts-wise, than we actually even have demand for electricity,” Long said. “So if we interconnected all these projects, we would be making more energy than we use.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20221224041216/https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/23/mainefocus/maine-solar-grid-stressed-by-demand-joam40zk0w/

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DrMcMeow OP t1_j1blh7a wrote

Reply to Hallowell pub faces $17,000 fine for nearly 700 child labor law violations by DrMcMeow

The restaurant was found to have violated child labor laws at least 691 times, most of which involved overscheduling employees under the age of 18, along with a handful of violations for employing workers under the age of 16 without permits, according to the Kennebec Journal.

The establishment was initially asked to pay $172,750 to the Department of Labor, but that penalty was reduced by $155,475 in an agreement that owners Steven and Anne Lachance would adhere to a settlement and commit no additional violations.

Of the 691 violations, 520 of them were attributed to workers under the age of 16. Those violations were likely scheduling related, as minors cannot work more than 40 hours a week or eight hours a day when school isn’t in session.

A variety of other stipulations apply to workers under the age of 16, including that they are prohibited from working more than 18 hours a week or three hours a day when school is in session; more than six consecutive days; or between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., except during summer vacation, during which the law prohibits work between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The Maine DOL also found that the restaurant employed five minors younger than 16 who did not have work permits, resulting in 78 citations. At least 62 of those violations stemmed from a worker under the age of 16 who was employed between Aug. 20, 2020 and July 20, 2021, according to the Augusta newspaper.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221223021907/https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/22/news/central-maine/the-quarry-tap-room-child-labor-violations/

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DrMcMeow OP t1_iyf8qw0 wrote

Reply to Citizen initiative for consumer-owned power company moves forward by DrMcMeow

An effort to buy out Maine's two foreign-owned utilities to create a consumer-owned utility known as Pine Tree Power Company is moving forward and could be on the statewide ballot in Nov. 2023.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Wednesday that supporters did collect enough valid signatures on petitions for a citizen's initiative. Bellows said there were 69,735 valid signatures and 10,419 signatures that were not valid. A total of 63,067 valid signatures were required.

As per the state Constitution, the initiative now goes to the Legislature for consideration. The Legislature can choose to enact the bill as written or to send it forward to a statewide vote in November 2023.

In July 2021, Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill passed by the legislature that would have created Pine Tree Power. She said that bill was hastily drafted and amended in the legislature, but she acknowledged that Maine's utilities need to perform better.

Supporters have said Pine Tree Power would lower bills for the state's 800,000 electricity ratepayers, while opponents have argued that a consumer-owned utility would be more costly for Mainers.

Opponents quickly responded Wednesday to the news that the citizen's initiative is moving forward.

“Our affiliated unions work every day to build and grow Maine and its middle class. We heard all sides of the issue. We appreciated a thoughtful and lively debate. But in the end, there was little doubt that the proposed takeover of our power grid would not only cost Maine taxpayers $13.5 billion but also functionally cost workers their voice on the job,” said Jason J. Shedlock, President of the Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council and Regional Organizer with the Laborers’ International Union.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221130231220/https://router.infolinks.com/usync/manage?pid=3362112&wsid=0&pdom=www.wmtw.com&purl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wmtw.com%2Farticle%2Fwindham-man-lost-wedding-ring-trash-new-hampshire%2F42110602

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DrMcMeow t1_iyf7usl wrote

Reply to comment by on-my-path in We are under attack...11/29 Belfast. In response to a Hancock post...or, gonna be a lot of gay frogs this Spring from these chemtrails. by big_bertnor

atrazine is an herbicide / pesticide sprayed on crops, the runoff into rivers is known to chemically castrate, as well as change the sex of male frogs.

Atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc with the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, biologists.

The 75 percent that are chemically castrated are essentially “dead” because of their inability to reproduce in the wild, reports UC Berkeley’s Tyrone B. Hayes, professor of integrative biology.

The 10 percent or more that turn from males into females – something not known to occur under natural conditions in amphibians – can successfully mate with male frogs but, because these females are genetically male, all their offspring are male.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2010/03/01/frogs/

https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/atrazine

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DrMcMeow t1_ix2wy91 wrote

Reply to comment by fredezz in New map ranks all 50 states by the most snow they received in 24 hours. Maine's record is 35 inches which was confirmed in Middle Dam on November 23, 1943 by completeembarassment

middle dam is COOP ID# 175261

the station has been recording weather for around a century.

https://w1.weather.gov/climate/calendar_outlook.php?wfo=gyx&site=175261

http://research.jisao.washington.edu/greg/northeast/states/ME/175261.html

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DrMcMeow OP t1_iw1z0iq wrote

Reply to Fox attacks woman, dogs in Auburn by DrMcMeow

it's that time of the year again.

“My mom was fiercely attacked Friday afternoon as she was walking out of her home at Old Carriage Estates,” she wrote. “She was pulled to the ground but was extremely fortunate to have neighbors nearby to assist her. It took the tenacity of one of the women to beat the fox off of her with a metal rod because he would not let go.”

When police arrived at the scene, the fox was no longer in the area, according to Auburn police Lt. Anthony Harrington. The matter was referred to the Maine Wardens Service. A short time later, Harrington said, a caller reported that his dogs had been attacked by a fox near the walking trails at Granite Mills Estates.

The 89-year-old who was mauled is said to have fought the fox as it attacked. She was recovering this week from various injuries suffered in the attack.

“She is on the road to recovery,” Chabot Betsch wrote, “however the wounds to her hands and feet will take some time to heal and of course, she has to go through the course of treatment against rabies. At 89, she still has a lot of fight in her and did everything she could to choke the damn thing!”

In all, Chabot Betsch said, her mother suffered 21 puncture wounds on her hands, lower legs and feet.

According to Harrington, no reports of fox attacks have come in since that attack. However, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, a police officer captured an “aggressive orange male cat” that was found in the area of Hotel Road and Clover Lane. The cat was taken to the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221112090505/https://www.sunjournal.com/2022/11/10/fox-attacks-woman-dogs-in-auburn/

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