Northern Pass Application Complete
Concord — A utility’s application to string power lines from Canada to southern New Hampshire is complete, the state’s Site Evaluation Committee ruled Monday, rejecting arguments from opponents who argued that questions over land use rights should be addressed first. The panel voted 6-0 to accept the application by Eversource to build the Northern Pass transmission project. In a statement, the company said it was eager for the siting...
Study: Region Doesn’t Need More Natural Gas
Boston — The New England region does not need additional natural gas pipelines to maintain a reliable flow of energy for the next 15 years, according to a study commissioned by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and released Wednesday. The report concludes that the region will be able to meet electricity needs through 2030, even on the coldest of winter days, “with or without electric ratepayer investment in new natural gas...
Firewood Cost Increases Due To Fracking
Concord — Northeasterners who are digging deeper into their pockets to pay for firewood this season can add a new scapegoat to the roster of usual market forces: fracking. A timber industry representative in New Hampshire said hydraulic fracturing well sites in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation built to suck natural gas out of the ground are using construction “mats” made of hardwood logs — think of the corduroy roads seen in...
Business Notes: Oct. 4, 2015
White River Junction — Vital Communities, the White River Junction-based nonprofit, received a $15,500 business development grant to provide technical and marketing assistance to regional farmers. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Development Grant Program to support the start-up or expansion of rural Vermont businesses. The program funds nonprofits or public entities that provide...
Strong Forecast For N.E. Apples
Boston — As summer winds down in New England, apple-picking season is gearing up with growers forecasting a bumper crop. According to the U.S. Apple Association, the six-state harvest is expected to be about 14 percent higher than last year’s and 18 percent above the region’s five-year average. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts the total New England apple production will come in at just under 170 million...
