Current News

by Mike Faher/The Commons Entergy is selling its Brattleboro properties, including a former office complex and training center that had supported the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. On one hand, it’s yet another sign of the end of the Vermont Yankee era. The structures were vacated this past spring, more than a year after the Vernon plant ceased producing power. On the other hand, local officials view the sale as a chance to spur economic development. In all, more than 66,000 square feet of industrial building space is available on roughly 8 acres of land situated not far from Exit 3 of Interstate 91.

by Michael Bielawski and Emma Lamberton Vermont Watchdog  Governor Peter Shumlin announced Wednesday that his administration has a draft agreement with the federal government to make Vermont the first state to adopt an all-payer health care model. Since failing to create a single-payer health care system that would have cost Vermonters $2.6 billion in new taxes, Shumlin has been working on a slightly more modest proposal to change how health care services are paid. Under the draft agreement with the feds, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) authorizes Vermont to create an All-Payer ACO Model. The plan is described as “a test” to see if health care quality can be improved by tying payment for that care to health outcomes instead of individual health procedures, the current fee-for-service payment model.

Vermont Business Magazine Grassroots Solar of Dorset has announced an exclusive partnership with industry leader sonnenBatterie, Inc, an energy storage solution company based in Germany. A dominant player in Europe, sonnenBatterie has recently entered the US market. The sonnenBatteries work with new or existing solar systems to store excess power, feed the household’s electrical needs when the power is out, and allow homeowners to reduce or eliminate their use of electricity from the grid during peak periods. sonnenBatterie has chosen Grassroots Solar of Dorset as their only partner in Vermont and adjacent upstate New York. The sonnenBatterie system is a direct competitor of the recently launched Tesla home battery system. Tesla initiated its first utility partnership with Green Mountain Power earlier this year.

Vermont Business Magazine Phil Scott, Republican candidate for gvernor, toured Springfield Hospital Tuesday and presented his healthcare reform priorities to a group of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employees as part of the hospital’s Health Policy Grand Rounds series. Scott told the group of healthcare professionals and administrators that he’s running for Governor to strengthen the economy, make Vermont more affordable and to restore faith and trust in state government, explaining that getting healthcare reform back on track is central to these goals.

Vermont Business Magazine The Sue Minter for governor campaign is fighting back against an ad from the national Republican Governors Association that went on air yesterday with what the campaign says is a misleading attack ad against the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

Vermont Business Magazine The Republican Governors Association launched a new digital campaign today in the Vermont governor’s race, detailing what it calls Sue Minter’s support for the failed policies of her mentor Peter Shumlin. This digital campaign is housed at MintersMentor.com and will highlight news, research and insight regarding what it says is Minter’s support for the same bad policies as her mentor’s, Governor Peter Shumlin. The RGA also created @MintersMentor on Twitter as part of the campaign, as the national stakes in Vermont's gubernatorial race heat up.  Democrat Minter is facing Republican Phil Scott.

Vermont Business Magazine Frequent storms across the northeastern United States, including Vermont, this winter may lead to an above-normal season for snowfall, according to the AccuWeather Global Weather Center. Unlike last season, in which most of winter's snowfall came from a few heavy-hitting storms, this winter will last into the early or middle part of spring and will feature frequent snow events, the weather service forecasts.

Vermont Business Magazine Clean, renewable energy is now powering BioTek Instruments. The company’s headquarters and manufacturing plant in Winooski will receive power from their new five-acre photovoltaic solar energy farm in Whiting, Vermont. The solar farm has a maximum capacity of up to 500 kilowatts, and was designed and installed by Norris Brothers Solar Development, LLC.

BioTek Vice President Adam Alpert said that the renewable energy source is expected to provide 100% of the company’s annual electricity consumption, adding that “BioTek is very proud to invest in a clean energy future for Vermont. The resulting energy savings will help to make us a stronger company while assuring a safer, better environment for our employees, their families, and all Vermonters.”

by Travis Belisle As a long-time community-minded local businessman whose family businesses have been employing fellow Vermonters for decades, doing the right thing for the environment and the Vermont economy is not new to me. In the 1990s, when my family built up Sticks and Stuff, a local chain of hardware and building supply stores, we found a greener way to run our business’ truck fleet. By producing renewable, clean-burning biodiesel from used cooking oil from local restaurants, we saved on fuel costs, we helped local restaurants save on waste disposal, and we reduced air pollution.

Recently, my family took another step to contribute to Vermont’s clean energy economy when we filed for approval for a wind energy project on the hill behind our Swanton home.

Swanton Wind will produce enough renewable energy to meet the electrical needs of more than 7,300 average Vermont households annually.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Peter Welch said in a joint statement today: “We learned this morning that the City of Rutland will receive refugees who have fled the relentless violence in Syria and Iraq, sometimes with just the clothes on their backs.

Vermont Business Magazine US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.4 million grant to the city of Burlington to help restore, redevelop, and enhance resiliency of the Moran Plant, a former Municipal Electric Generating Station and nationally recognized historic site. The federal funding would help ensure that the ground-level space, with its vaulted ceiling heights, would be flood proof and available for use, maximizing the potential economic benefits of any redevelopment project.  The funds require a one-to-one match and are restricted from being used for demolition. Part of the EDA grant agreement with the city will require a feasible development agreement before any federal funds can be expended.

Vermont Business Magazine The City of Burlington wants to use waste heat from several major sources around town, which otherwise would be vented into the atmosphere, and use it to heat buildings and create hot water. Mayor Miro Weinberger today at a news conference outside the Burlington Town Center announced the formation of a unique City partnership with institutions, utilities, district energy advocates, and landowners to bring Burlington the potential for significant energy savings. Through the new partnership, the Burlington Electric Department on behalf of the City, Vermont Gas Systems, the Burlington Town Center, the University of Vermont Medical Center, the University of Vermont, and the Burlington District Energy System together will work with Corix Utilities to explore the potential of creating a district energy system that likely would begin in the downtown and expand to include capturing waste heat from Burlington Electric’s McNeil Generating Station.