Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power was named one of a select group for connecting the most solar storage to the grid. The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) just ranked GMP eighth nationwide for megawatts of energy storage added in 2017, and the company earned ninth for watts-per-customer storage. GMP moved up two spots on the list for total storage compared to last year, showing a continued commitment to partner with customers to increase reliability and drive down costs. Battery storage has many benefits as it can be used during outages to keep the lights on and it also helps avoid having to buy expensive extra power during peak times for energy use.

by Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund This spring, when the Black-throated Blue Warblers, Wood Thrush, and Scarlet Tanagers make their annual return to Vermont from Central and South America, they will find new habitats for nesting and breeding in Vermont thanks to the Woods, Wildlife and Warblers program – a partnership between wildlife biologists, foresters and private landowners in Vermont.

by Bruce Edwards Vermont Business Magazine At the center of the Vermont Yankee story is Vernon, a town of 2,200 at the very southeastern part of the state. The nuclear power plant buoyed the local economy and the town’s tax base for decades until the plant ceased operation in December 2014. When it was operating Vermont Yankee at its peak had more than 600 employees who earned an annual wage of $105,000, according to a 2014 study by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.

The state Public Utilities Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are now reviewing the proposed sale of the plant from Entergy to NorthStar Group Services.

NorthStar in turn would demolish the plant, dispose of the nuclear contaminated debris and low-level waste, and make the site ready for redevelopment between 2026 and 2030, far earlier than Entergy’s date of 2075.

Vermont Business Magazine Four Vermont organizations will share a total of $1.35 million in Brownfields Program assessment and cleanup grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields grants allow communities to clean up contaminated properties, facilitating their redevelopment and reuse and improving local economies. The Vermont organizations include the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, Northeastern VT Development Association, Town of Springfield and Vermont River Conservancy.

Vermont Business Magazine Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) today reported first quarter 2018 earnings per share of 73 cents on an as-reported basis and $1.16 on an operational basis. These results reflect the lower federal income tax rate, favorable weather of 9 cents and a loss of (4) cents from the implementation of ASU No. 2016-01, which now requires the mark-to-market of equity investments in the nuclear decommissioning trust funds at EWC. Entergy is waiting on regulators to approve its intended sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon.

Vermont Business Magazine This week marks the beginning of the Intervale Center’s eighth annual spring tree planting campaign. Just in time for Arbor Day (April 27) and Mother’s Day (May 13), community members can help support the Center’s social enterprise, the Intervale Conservation Nursery, as we plant over 20,000 native trees and shrubs along rivers and streams in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The House effort to override Governor Phil Scott’s veto of S103, a bill that protects children and drinking water supplies from toxic chemicals, fell short today, as expected. The House voted 94-53 to override the veto. However, under the Vermont Constitution, two-thirds of House Members are needed to override a veto, or 100 members of the full House. The governor vetoed S103 Monday, March 16. The Senate quickly overrode Scott’s veto, March 19, in a 22-8 vote.

by Jack Hoffman Public Assets Institute The Legislature is again considering using the property tax as a deterrent against high spending in Vermont schools. Currently, school tax rates go up proportionally with per-pupil spending increases. The bill recently passed by the House would change the education funding system so that tax rates would rise faster than spending increases as a disincentive to higher spending.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott will speak May 19 at Johnson State College’s 151st commencement, at which about 310 associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees are expected to be conferred. The 11 am ceremony will be on the college’s South Lawn. Tent seating for the ticketed ceremony will be reserved for graduating students, their guests, and those involved in the commencement. Other guests may watch the ceremony from the lawn, as it is simulcast at the Dibden Center for the Arts on campus, or online at jsc.edu. Gates will open at 9 am, and parking will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank, today reported record quarterly earnings for the first quarter of 2018. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, was $1,207,304 or $0.39 per share compared to $1,006,669 or $0.33 per share for the same period in 2017, an increase of $200,635. The strength of the company’s core businesses combined with a lower federal tax rate due to the adoption of tax reform are the primary contributing factors to the improvement in operating results and returns to shareholders. Ledyard is based in Hanover with an office in Norwich.

​Vermont Business Magazine Vermont PBS has announced it has been nominated for five New England Emmy Awards, the most nominated broadcast station in Vermont this year. The New England Emmys are awarded for excellence in original video content.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine student finalists representing high schools from Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Vermont match their skills in reciting classic and contemporary poetry in a contest for the title of 2018 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award.Poetry Out Loud is a national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the state arts agencies.