DrMcMeow

DrMcMeow OP t1_j6pf9fa wrote

Reply to Maine ratepayers to pay $1B for Aroostook wind power line by DrMcMeow

Maine utility regulators on Tuesday gave final approval to a wind power project that would provide enough electricity for at least 450,000 New England homes along with construction of a new transmission corridor in northern Maine to get the electricity to the regional power grid.

The share for Maine ratepayers would be $1 billion, or $1 per month for the average consumer over the first 10 years of the contract. Massachusetts in December said it would pay a portion over 20 years by procuring 40 percent of the project’s generation and transmission.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission had to determine by law that the project and costs are in the public interest, and the three commissioners agreed that they are on Tuesday.

The Legislature still needs to approve the project, a condition required by the 2021 referendum for projects with high-voltage transmission lines. Both projects also must win permits from the commission and other state and federal agencies, including land-use permits from the Department of Environmental Protection.

The project is the biggest part of the new Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program, which passed as part of a 2021 state law aimed at bringing clean power and jobs to Aroostook. In October, LS Power Base of New York won the transmission portion of the bid and Longroad Energy’s King Pine Wind of Massachusetts won the power generation bid.

The Aroostook project would carry output from a 1,000-megawatt wind power facility. The cost of the transmission line is about $2.8 billion, although the wind power project is expected to provide a savings of $1.08 billion. That would bring the project’s net cost to $1.8 billion over 20 years.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230131212549/https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/01/31/business/maine-ratepayers-aroostook-wind/

5

DrMcMeow OP t1_j61th0h wrote

Reply to 3D printed home neighborhood to be built in Bangor by DrMcMeow

The University of Maine printed the first prototype in their on-campus facility in 2022.

Now they will be partnering with community action agency, Penquis

Penquis is receiving $3.3 million to support the project to build the first bio-based 3D printed neighborhood.

Penquis President and CEO, Kara Hay is thrilled with the partnership.

“We’re really excited! We know that in Maine we have a housing crisis both with affordability and access. We need solutions that are innovative and that can be affordable and quick,” said Hay.

The project is a joint effort in association with UMaine, MaineHousing, Maine’s congressional delegation, and the Key Bank Foundation.

The 3D printed homes are printed with materials such as wood residuals and bio-resin.

With the amount of materials in Maine, this neighborhood could be just the beginning of many more.

Dr. Habib Dagher, the founding executive director of the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center, said: “The goal is to make money 50% wood and 50% bio-resin. You may ask me, ‘Is there enough of these wood residuals in Maine to build homes?’ We did a survey, and we have about a million tons of what residuals every year in our region. A 600 square foot home, which is what we printed uses, 10 tons of of that material. So, you take a million tons divided by 10 tons every year, we have enough material to produce 100,000, 600 square foot homes.”

The creation of this neighborhood will also help UMaine polish-up the printing, shipping, and assembling process that goes into taking scraps of wood, and making them into complete home.

This will also be the path of the school’s Factory of the Future, where the houses will be built.

It will be a first-of-its-kind research and learning facility that will usher-in the future of digital manufacturing in true Dirigo spirit.

Hay added: “There’s something that happens around innovation, where even for those who have stigma against people that are struggling financially, the conversation the narrative changes when you pair innovation with the work. So one of the things we’re really excited about is being able to address stigma more directly.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20230127023758/https://www.wabi.tv/2023/01/26/3d-home-neighborhood-be-built-bangor/

15

DrMcMeow t1_j3urzmu wrote

Reply to comment by IamSauerKraut in Solar and wind is ugly, Nuclear is the only other safe energy. When will it happen here? by drdanagram

open to the public year round.

The Eaton Farm & The Back River Trail are adjacent to Chewonki Neck to the east. Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company donated the 200-acre Eaton Farm to Chewonki in 2005 as part of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission settlement agreement. Chewonki agreed to create a nature preserve, maintain public access, foster stewardship of the estuarine environment, and provide a forum for dialogue on environmental policy issues. The Back River Trail at Eaton Farm got underway in 2005 – with 4.5 miles of trail opened to the public in 2006. This leg is the first in a long-range plan for a trail from Chewonki Neck to the Town of Wiscasset. When completed, the trail will comprise the longest coastal hiking trail outside of Acadia National Park. Day use only, no camping. Hunting is permitted.

1

DrMcMeow t1_j3svf2v wrote

Reply to comment by indyaj in To nobody's surprise, Susan Collins is a political fraud. She voted against the bill that funds this grant. by indyaj

last april auburn city council decided to earmark 3 million from their covid-19 stimulus package towards a new police activities league facility.

the facility will cost roughly 9 million total.

the city has raised 2 million or so through philanthropy.

rougly 3 million more was needed.

susan collins earmarked 3 million from the omnibus spending bill last month towards the PAL center.

the new PAL center breaks ground this spring.

9

DrMcMeow OP t1_j1x5z2y wrote

Reply to Group opposed to Maine consumer-owned utility turns in signatures for a ballot question of its own by DrMcMeow

A group opposed to the creation of a consumer-owned utility turned in signatures Tuesday in support of a 2023 ballot question that would ask voters to approve any government debt over $1 billion.

The effort is in response to the Pine Tree Power proposal that would create a consumer-owned utility to replace Central Maine Power and Versant Power.

The group No Blank Checks turned in more than 93,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office in hopes of getting on the November ballot.

“No Blank Checks is about as commonsense as it gets,” Willy Ritch, executive director of the campaign, said. “If we are going to be on the hook for billions of dollars in government debt, voters should get the final say on whether to take that on.”

In late October, Our Power turned in signatures to put a question on the 2023 ballot to create a consumer-owned utility.

Our Power estimates that the takeover would cost $9 billion, while No Blank Checks puts the cost at $13.5 billion.

No Blank Checks reported just over $1 million in contributions as part of its ballot question campaign, almost all of which came from Avangrid Management Co., the parent company of CMP.

On the other side, Our Power reported $543,401, with the top donor listed as Susan Bartovics, an environmentalist living on North Haven who gave $56,000, according to reports filed with the Maine Ethics Commission.

Earlier this month, both CMP and Versant ranked near the bottom on a nationwide residential customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power.

Out of 145 utilities, CMP was second from bottom and Versant came in third from last, just above CMP.

The Secretary of State’s Office now has 30 days to verify the signatures.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221228013250/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/news/2022/12/27/group-opposed-to-maine-consumer-owned-utility-turns-in-signatures-for-a-ballot-question-of-its-own

35