Current News

A veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars turned Vermont brewer has presented a check for more than $5,600 to Norwich University towards its $100 M “Forging the Future” comprehensive campaign. Steve Gagner, founder of 14^th Star Brewing Company in St Albans, presented the check to Norwich University President Richard W Schneider on Monday, November 10.

The funds represent profits from September homecoming sales of Citizen Soldier Amber Ale, a special brew produced by Gagner in honor of Norwich University’s five-year 2014-2019 Bicentennial countdown.

Vermont Business Magazine FairPoint strikers are mounted two actions on Thursday, including on the steps of the State House in Montpelier. The strike is more than a month old and a group of bitter union workers endured bitter cold to state their case. A recent mediation session in Boston was short and fruitless. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin joined IBEW President Edwin D Hill in headlining the rally in Montpelier. Meanwhile, a delegation of workers and allies were in Boston protesting against the telecom company’s biggest shareholder. The 1,700 FairPoint workers of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have been on strike for more than a month. Strikers say that damaging cuts the company is seeking would make it impossible for them to provide quality service to their New England customers.

Leach Farms, Inc, a dairy farm in Enosburg Falls has admitted to violations of Vermont’s water pollution law and agricultural practice regulations and will pay forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00) in civil penalties for the water quality violations. This matter was investigated by the Compliance and Enforcement Division at the Department of Environmental Conservation. The matter was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office working cooperatively with the Agency of Natural Resources and Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

“Keeping Vermont’s waterways clean is one of our State’s top environmental priorities,” said Attorney General William H Sorrell. “Improving the quality of the water in Lake Champlain is of particular importance. Farms need to understand their role in keeping the lake clean.”

The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) today announced the launch of Commons Energy L3C, a new subsidiary to help underserved markets such as hospitals, schools and other public entities to reduce their energy and water costs. Commons Energy is being launched with an initial capitalization of $6.5 million, including a $5 million “impact investment” from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation focused on multi-family housing. Additional support is being provided by the High Meadows Fund, the Kresge Foundation, the National Housing Trust, the Vermont Community Fund, and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.

Bond buyers responded positively to this week’s Vermont bond sale. State Treasurer Beth Pearce announced today that $110 million in bonds were successfully sold in three different offerings. Vermont has maintained the highest overall bond rating of all New England states – two triple-A ratings and one double-A plus rating – since early 2010.

“Bond buyers recognize Vermont bonds as a solid, quality investment,” said Pearce. “A bond rating is an independent assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrowing instrument like a bond. A higher rating leads to a more favorable effect on the marketing of a bond and leads to reduced interest rates and debt service for the entity selling the bond. Vermont has had the highest bond rating in New England for almost five years, a favorable position that has allowed the State to reduce its borrowing costs for funding a wide range of capital projects.”

Vermont Business Magazine Natural gas demand is likely to remain high, along with prices, just as the region has lost capacity with the shutdown of nuclear, oil and coal fired power plants. However, even if there is a period of extended cold weather, while prices could be high for electricity and home heating, there is unlikely to be an energy shortage. The New England region should have sufficient resources in place this winter to meet consumer demand for electricity, according to ISO New England Inc, the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets said in a report released Thursday. The total region peak demand is nearly 23 gigawatts, while Vermont is about 1 gigawatt. The region's maximum output is about 32.5 gigawatts. However, insufficient pipeline capacity to meet power generators’ demand for natural gas continues to be a particular concern during the winter months.

The Board of Trustees at Burlington College approved on November 14 a memorandum of understanding with Eric Farrell for the sale of 25 acres of land on the main campus and two properties located about a mile from the campus. The vote was unanimous of those board members in attendance. This sale of land is, in essence, a complicated four-party transaction that has two types of distinct and different purchase structures: a sale to a developer or a sale to a conservation group.

The sale involves Peoples United Bank (the holder of approximately $6.1 million in Burlington College debt), the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington (according the diocese is approximately $4.0 in debt), Burlington College, and the buyer.

Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee on Wednesday filed notices with the Vermont Department of Labor and the Town of Vernon that 165 employees will experience an employment loss starting on January 19, 2015. Entergy announced in August 2013 that Vermont Yankee would permanently cease operations by the end of 2014. Even though Entergy announced the plant closure last year, Entergy is issuing notices to employees and local officials now to ensure compliance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The WARN Act was enacted in 1989 to offer protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring certain employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of certain plant closings and mass layoffs.

The Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) and its Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) seek proposals from qualified financial institutions with a physical presence in Windham County that offer loans to residential customers interested in development of the Windham County Solar Finance Program (SF). The SF Program seeks to accelerate the deployment of solar energy technologies including solar PV and solar hot water in Windham County. Applicants should propose how they would use the available funds for a credit enhancement(s) to expand access to private finance for residential solar systems in Windham County. The RFP will offer up to $300,000 to stimulate new or expanded renewable energy lending to homeowners with credit ratings deemed satisfactory by the selected financial institution(s) due to the credit enhancement provided by the CEDF/State of Vermont.

The Public Service Department’s Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) released Wednesday a request for proposals (RFP) to design and administer a modern wood heating program in, and for the benefit of, Windham County, Vermont. The CEDF has allocated $1.6 million of the funds reserved for Windham County for the creation of a modern wood heating program focused on installing efficient wood pellet/chip heating systems in schools and municipal buildings in Windham County.

This RFP is a continuation of the CEDF’s recently established strategic focus on modern wood heating throughout Vermont.

Through this RFP, the CEDF plans to issue a contract (or contracts) for the design, development, implementation, and administration of a modern wood heating program(s) in Windham County starting in 2015. The CEDF goals for the program are four-fold:

Vermont Business Magazine SunEdison and TerraForm Power have signed a definitive agreement to acquire First Wind for $2.4 billion, the developer of the Sheffield Wind project in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. With the purchase, SunEdison acquires the leading independent wind development and asset management company and becomes the leading global renewable energy development company. As a result, SunEdison raises its 2015 project installation guidance from 1.6-1.8 GW to 2.1-2.3 GW. The company stated that SunEdison shareholders are expected to benefit from increased project development cash flow, asset management revenues, and dividend payments from TerraForm Power. The transaction also will accelerate the timing and enhance the visibility of SunEdison's receipt of incentive distribution rights (IDRs) from TerraForm Power, and increase the value of SunEdison's yieldco platform.

Vermont Business Magazine The Shumlin Administration is proposing to raise approximately $1.5 million in new taxes and fees to help pay for a plan to cleanup the state's waterways and ultimately Lake Champlain. A 1 percent excise tax on fertilizers ($450,000) and fees on impermeable surfaces ($1 million) would be used in conjunction with updating farming and stormwater runoff rules. The state hopes to leverage another $45 million in public and private funding for the effort. Vermont’s Clean Water Initiative was released Monday by the Agency of Natural Resources. Required by the Vermont General Assembly, this report outlines the priority actions needed to improve water quality statewide and recommends funding options to meet the first stage of funding needs for these improvement programs.