Current News

by Michael Bielawski Vermont Watchdog Vermont utility companies are accustomed to sharing the cost of power, but a new rule that went into effect in September requires utilities closest to the power source to pay up. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1978 requires utilities to purchase power from producers regardless of whether it's needed or not. For utilities in Vermont, the way those costs are distributed is changing in a substantial way.

Vermont Business Magazine One of our native wildlife species historically played an important role on Thanksgiving Day. North America’s native wild turkeys were the ancestors of the Thanksgiving turkey on our dinner table. Originally found only in the wild, turkeys now exist as meat-producing domesticated derivatives -- the broad breasted white, broad breasted bronze, white Holland, bourbon red, and a host of other breeds – all of them descended from our native wild turkey. 

What future for Lake Champlain? A powerful new model by UVM and other scientists suggests that climate change may pose greater risks than previously realized. The results may have implications for how the EPA and others manage and regulate freshwater lakes across the nation. UVM photos.

Vermont Business Magazine New research suggests that Lake Champlain may be more susceptible to damage from climate change than was previously understood—and that, therefore, the rules created by the EPA to protect the lake may be inadequate to prevent algae blooms and water quality problems as the region gets hotter and wetter.

by US Senator Patrick Leahy In our family, as in homes across Vermont and the nation, this Thanksgiving will be a time of especially deep and emotional reflection. After a bitterly contested election that tested our civility and fanned the flames of intolerance, we now move into a period that may further test our national character and our institutions. We already are ending a year in which a majority of senators have broken not only with precedent, but with the sworn obligation to uphold our constitutional responsibilities, by refusing to even hold a hearing on a president’s nominee to fill a vacancy on our highest court.

Vermont Business Magazine GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Anbaric Microgrid, and Exelon have announced an agreement to identify opportunities for improving power quality and reliability at the company’s Fab 8 semiconductor manufacturing facility in Saratoga County, N.Y. through a series of power quality studies. Uninterrupted, high-quality power is essential for operating the plant’s sensitive manufacturing equipment and for continued growth of the high-tech advanced manufacturing economy in New York’s Capital Region. The initiative will leverage distributed energy resources and microgrid controls to both address the operational requirements of Fab 8 and to model solutions that can be applied elsewhere.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund has launched a new initiative to assist the forest products industry in creating and retaining quality jobs and opening additional markets for locally produced wood products. A collaboration between the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, the Northern Forest Center, and the Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board, the new Forest Products Value Chain Investment Program will include business assistance to wood products manufacturers, market research and development, the creation of an industry-wide network, and a comprehensive communications strategy designed to raise the profile of the industry in Vermont and the region.  

Christine McGowan

Vermont Business Magazine An informational meeting covering proposed updates to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 for Vermont businesses and organizations. The meeting will be a follow-up to a regional webinar being held on November 21 for all participating states. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory market-based program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. States participating in the program establish a regional cap on annual carbon emissions allowable from the power sector, and require power plants to purchase and trade units of carbon emissions so that the regional cap is met. Participating states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine For many Vermonters, late fall means time spent in the woods hunting deer. Yet, while sitting patiently in deer stands, or sneaking silently through the woods, hunters also see plenty of other wildlife, including a variety of birds. John Buck is Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s bird biologist and an avid deer hunter. Although many of Vermont’s birds have migrated out of the state by November, many species remain and can still be observed during the late fall. 

Red-breasted nuthatches can still be found in Vermont in November. Photo courtesy of Jim Block Photography. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing has been tasked with a short-notice mobilization, according to a statement released Tuesday by Major General Steven Cray. Over the next few weeks, several hundred Airmen and equipment will depart in order to support the US Central Command’s Area of Responsibility, encompassing Northeast Africa, the Middle East, to Central and South Asia. Cray, the adjutant general, Vermont National Guard, thanked the families and employers of the VT Air National Guard for their unwavering support and commitment to their service.

General Cray with Governor Shumlin and Senator Leahy in December 2013. VBM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Creamery of Websterville was once again recognized for excellence in cheesemaking last week, taking home nine World Cheese Awards at the annual competition held in San Sebastian, Spain. Feta, Bijou and Quark all earned Silver; our newest aged cheese, St. Albans, took bronze, as did Cremont, Coupole, Bonne Bouche, Fresh Crottin and Crumbled Goat Cheese with Cranberry and Tarragon.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today announced a national service that provides consumers with search capabilities to help find a deceased person’s lost life insurance policies and annuities. The NAIC’s Life Insurance Policy Locator provides nationwide access for assistance with finding life insurance policies and annuities. An estimated $1 billion in benefits from life insurance policies are unclaimed, according to the publication “Consumer Reports.”

Vermont Business Magazine Mascoma Community Development (MCD) has been awarded $50 million in additional New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) authority from the USTreasury's CDFI Fund. The NMTC program allows MCD to direct capital to underserved communities through financing high-impact, mission-focused projects nationwide. Mascoma Savings Bank has offices in Vermont.

Brooks House photo by Phil Innes.