Current News
by tim
by Christine McGowan Luke Persons and Roger Pion wanted to start a business, preferably one that kept them connected to the forested working landscape in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. With backgrounds in logging, excavating and trucking, the friends had heard about an emerging market for biochar, but knew little about its production or use.
by Brandon
Vermont Business Magazine A brand new hydropower curriculum developed by the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP) will be offered to public middle and high schools this fall. The project, which was recently supported in part by the Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Fund, will target grades five through 12, and is designed to be easily integrated into teachers’ lesson plans. It follows Next Generation Science Standards and uses an interdisciplinary approach that will not only be easy for teachers, but also make students more engaged, according to Cara Robechek, executive director of VEEP.
by Denise Sortor
Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre is one of Orbea’s most successful partners in the United States and selected to attend this year’s Key Partner Presentations in Bilboa, Spain in June. Orbea is the world’s largest employee-owned cooperative and second oldest bicycle company in existence. Vermont Bicycle Shop has been a partner with Orbea since 2016, and in just three years has become one of the most successful dealers of Orbea bicycles in the Northeast.
“We strive to be a community-focused bicycle shop,” said Darren Ohl, owner of Vermont Bicycle Shop. “We prioritize friendly service and work to be an inclusive shop where everyone is welcome. Our ability to combine big-world experience with small-town service is one of the key reasons Vermont Bicycle Shop was selected to attend Orbea’s Key Partner Presentations in Spain this year.”
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation announced today that 18 nonprofit organizations across the state are receiving a total of $48,668 in Spark! grants for local projects that will nurture their communities and build social capital. These grants—where a small amount can make a big difference—are intended to light the spark that keeps Vermonters healthy and happy.
This round of projects includes the expansion of a Bennington area after school program for at-risk youth in grades 7-12, a new Justice Film and Discussion Series in Derby Line, two trails connecting a K-12 Orange County school to a nearby bike path to make a safer commute, and hiring bilingual high school students from local farmworker families to strengthen communications and reduce the isolation encountered by many of the Spanish speaking migrant families that work in Addison County.
by Brandon
Vermont Business Magazine FirstLight, a provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud, and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout Vermont and the Northeast, has announced that Champlain Cable has selected FirstLight to upgrade its high-speed fiber Internet service and provide cloud solutions. Champlain Cable is a manufacturer of high-performance insulated wire for automotive, commercial vehicle, Navy shipboard, industrial, and marine oil and gas markets. With manufacturing plants in Colchester, VT, and two facilities in El Paso, TX, operations rely heavily on the ability to efficiently communicate, place orders, and track inventory on a reliable, low-latency fiber network.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine Gathering from across the country and around the globe under the theme of “Celebrating 200 Years of Distinction,” 497 students representing 13 online graduate programs and 6 bachelor’s degree completion programs will come together for a week of capstone and culminating academic work and conferences and commencement exercises at Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) annual weeklong Residency Conference June 17-21.
by Brandon
Vermont Business Magazine Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) today announced five newly elected members to its Board of Directors: Lang Durfee of Bethel Mills, Inc., Kerrick Johnson of Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Paul Lesure of Green Mountain Solar, Chris McKay of WEG Electric Corp., and John Spencer of Crown REC Services, LLC.
by Brandon
Vermont Business Magazine The recently completed legislative session was dominated by a host of new legislative initiatives that will help those who make their living working the land, will grow the Vermont economy and make the Green Mountains more affordable. Legislators and Governor Phil Scott directed more dollars toward the Working Lands program, an investment that will help support viable agriculture, food and forestry businesses, with a specific focus on dairy farmers with valued-added production.
by tim
For ocean species to survive climate change, large populations needed
Vermont Business Magazine A Noah’s Ark strategy will fail. In the roughest sense, that’s the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind study that illuminates which marine species may have the ability to survive in a world where temperatures are rising and oceans are becoming acidic. Two-by-two, or even moderately sized, remnants may have little chance to persist on a climate-changed planet. Instead, for many species, “we’ll need large populations,” says Melissa Pespeni, a biologist at the University of Vermont who led the new research examining how hundreds of thousands of sea urchin larvae responded to experiments where their seawater was made either moderately or extremely acidic.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Town of Colchester held a ribbon cutting Tuesday evening for the Roosevelt Highway Solar Array, one of two new large-scale solar projects that have been using energy and saving money since they came online in December 2018. These two farms will generate electricity to the equivalent of approximately 70 percent of the Town’s annual consumption. After payback of all capital and operating costs these projects are expected to reduce costs by $964,000 over the expected life of the arrays.
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry, announced today that Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) is now an official SEIA affiliate. REV becomes the 15th SEIA state affiliate, and the first in New England, growing a network of organizations committed to building and advancing solar markets around the country.
“We are thrilled to see this partnership come together and to expand our affiliate footprint into New England,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA. “The state and region are ripe with solar potential, and we look forward to working with REV to build on our sector’s strength in the Green Mountain State.”
by tim
Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is offering a new bill credit for members purchasing electric lawn mowers. The new incentive, which adds to the list of several other VEC Energy Transformation Program incentives, takes the form of a bill credit of $1,000 for the purchase of commercial grade electric lawn mowers and $50 for the purchase of residential grade mowers.