Current News
by tim
California is home to the largest advanced energy industry in the country, according to the first-ever industry-wide survey released today by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute. It is also second in the country, tied with Massachusetts, for percentage of the state's overall workforce employed in advanced energy, at 2.4 percent; only Vermont, at 4.3 percent, has a higher concentration of workers in this broad economic sector. At 431,800 jobs today, advanced energy is bigger by employment in California than the motion picture, television, and radio industries; mining and quarrying; semiconductors; and aerospace. Advanced energy jobs grew 5 percent in the past year – more than double the overall state job growth rate – and is on track to grow 17 percent in the coming year, to more than 500,000 workers, based on employer hiring plans.
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The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation announced today that the public comment period on the proposed ‘Draft Voluntary Harvesting Guidelines for Forest Landowners in Vermont’ is now open. The comment period will be open for three weeks, and will close on December 22, 2014 at 4:30 pm. In 2013 the Vermont Legislature passed Act 24, requiring the Commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation to “develop voluntary harvesting guidelines that may be used by private landowners to help ensure long-term forest health and sustainability.”
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by Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power Energy can change lives and transform communities. Those guiding beliefs drive Green Mountain Power employees every day, as we look to find new innovations to help customers save money by using more renewable resources and less energy. It may strike some as odd that a utility wants to help people use less. At GMP, we are obsessed with providing our customers with the lowest-cost, cleanest and smartest solutions for energy use. This is what our customers tell us they want, whether it’s distributed energy resources, community projects, solar, wind, or a new way to track and control energy use remotely with mobile technology. GMP wants to accelerate the pace of change, and find new ways to benefit customers.
by tim
Valener Inc (TSX: VNR), the public investment vehicle in Gaz Métro Limited Partnership (Gaz Métro), has announced its fiscal year 2014 financial results. For FY 2014, recurring net income attributable to common shareholders totalled $36.7 million ($0.97 per common share) versus $34.0 million ($0.90 per common share) in fiscal 2013. This increase of $2.7 million ($0.07 per common share) came from an increase in Gaz Métro's recurring net income owing to higher natural gas and electricity deliveries in Quebec and Vermont, synergies from the operational integration of Green Mountain Power (GMP) and Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS), as well as a favourable impact of the depreciation of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar on the results of its business activities in the United States.
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Vermont Business Magazine Boralex Inc, Gaz Métro Limited Partnership, and Valener Inc have announced the commercial commissioning of an additional 68 MW at the Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms, completing Phase II of the wind farm which now totals 340 MW in operation. The wind farm is located just northeast of Quebec City. Gaz Metro is the owner of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas Systems.
"The success of this second phase of the Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms is one more example of the outstanding work of our teams, who completed the project on budget and on schedule," noted Gaz Métro President and CEO Sophie Brochu and Boralex President and CEO Patrick Lemaire.
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Business leaders, elected officials, SunCommon staff, and friends gathered Tuesday to celebrate SunCommon’s 1000th residential solar installation and the positive impact the company has made to Vermont’s economy. SunCommon’s 1000th customers, Micki and Stephen Woodruff, hosted the event at their Barre Town home while Peck Electric installers mounted the final panel of the family’s 18-panel array.
“SunCommon launched two years ago with a mission to tear down the barriers to solar, making it easy and affordable for all Vermonters,” said James Moore, co-founder of SunCommon, “Vermont homeowners are building our clean energy future on their roofs, all the while keeping their energy dollars in the local economy. This is a rooftop revolution, and we are proud to be a part of it.”
by tim
Vermont Gas has announced that Beth Parent has joined the team as Corporate Communications Manager. Parent joins current Director of Communications Steve Wark in guiding the company’s public relations, communications, and serving as a spokesperson. Parent has over 14 years of journalism, communications and public relations experience and is a familiar face in the community. She spent nearly 10 years as an anchor, reporter and producer at WCAX-TV.
“This is an exciting time for me to be transitioning onto the Vermont Gas team,” Parent said. “Vermont Gas has an unparalleled history of safety and service – and an exciting future of energy innovation – and I look forward to showcasing all of the good work the company is doing through a variety of earned, digital and social media channels.”
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Agriculture Secretary Chuck Ross is encouraging all Vermont dairy farmers to enroll in the Margin Protection Dairy Insurance Program (MPP) by Friday, December 5, 2014. “Dairy farming in Vermont has many risks, the Margin Protection Program is a means to manage the risk of dropping milk prices and rising feed costs,” said Secretary Ross.
The USDA Margin Protection Dairy Insurance Program provides dairy farmers a risk management tool similar to crop insurance that can insure the margin between milk prices and feed costs. The funds available after covering feed costs are used by farmers to pay veterinarians, farm labor, energy bills and other farm expenses.
“Milk prices have been strong throughout 2014 but predictions for 2015 show a potential decline of over $8, this insurance program can help farmers prepare for these changes,” said Ross.
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The White River Valley Chamber of Commerce and LEDdynamics are pleased to report commercial quality solar powered holiday wreaths will grace Main Street in Randolph this year. Believed to be the first of their kind, and designed specifically to meet the community’s need, 40 solar powered wreaths are being tested this year, with the hopes of creating systems for more towns and businesses in the future.
“Randolph’s holiday decorations had come to the end of their useful life, and we were striving to find something that was environmentally friendly, and did not require the use of extension cords, light bulb strings, or rely on power from town street poles,” explained Emma Schuman, Director of the White River Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Every company we called told us the technology was just not available yet.” As a result, last January, the Chamber contacted Bill McGrath, President of LEDdynamics, an innovator in LED technology located in Randolph.
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by Jeffrey R Wakefield, UVM The top floor of the Davis Center was a hive of activity on November 18 as 55 members of the Vermont House and Senate and 11 state agency representatives rubbed elbows and exchanged ideas with more than 50 University of Vermont faculty and a half dozen administrative leaders. The occasion was the second annual UVM Legislative Summit, which this year focused on climate change.The goal of the legislative summits -- the topic of last year’s inaugural event was education -- is for UVM faculty to share their expertise with decision-makers to help them create informed policy for the state.
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Origin Consulting LLC has announced the implementation of the Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing Program Management module at Green Mountain Power (GMP). The program management solution was purchased in February 2014. Increased access to information through multiple channels and devices has raised consumer expectations around the customer experience. Customers want to control when, where and how they interact and expect their utility to provide the same level of service that they receive from other industries.
Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing new Program Management Module helps meet this need with the functionality to better manage the entire customer service and product life cycles. It provides end-to-end process management to segment and target customers and execute campaigns for specific programs and services.
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The Vermont Attorney General’s Office is continuing its efforts to enforce Vermont’s Home Improvement Fraud statute. Contractors who intend to defraud the homeowner and enter into contracts but do not perform the required work or repay homeowners for down payments may be investigated for potential criminal charges.
Since January 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has obtained Home Improvement Fraud convictions in the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division against:
Robb Brunelle, of Richmond, VT
Donald Richards of Milton, VT
The Office has filed criminal charges in Chittenden County against the following individuals:
Ralph Bassinette, of Burlington, VT
Randy Bouchard, of Jeffersonville, VT
Robert Billings, Jr., of Swanton, VT
Robert Witham, of Colchester, VT (Registry Violation)
Ron Bryan, Jr, of Richmond, VT