Lebanon NH-based Mascoma Corp., which is trying to develop a commercially viable method of turning wood chips, grass and other cellulose-containing plants into ethanol, has bought another company which has a different approach.
We will now demonstrate the difference between a blog and a newspaper. I saw the press release about this yesterday but wasn’t able [...]

A judge has given the final OK for Vermont to build its second major wind farm, near the Connecticut River in the Northeast Kingdom. (I love writing “Northeast Kingdom” - it’s a better nickname even than “North of the Notches”.) Read the Free-Press story here.
Maine remains the region’s wind-power leader of course, with three major [...]

A proposal to turn soybeans into biodiesel has flamed out in Vermont, taking roughly $2 million in investments with it, reports the Free-Press (read it here). The story says the finances failed because oil prices didn’t stay high and federal subsidies withered, while the technology proved much harder than expected.
This is a common scenario: Turning [...]

CNET reporter Martin LaMonica has done something I’ve long wanted to do - visited ISO New England, the control center for New England’s electric grid. It’s a good description of how the system works, including the push for “demand response,” in which companies get lower rates if they agree to stop using power at peak [...]

New Hampshire will probably cut its rebate program for small-scale, residential solar and wind projects, as I report in the Sunday Telegraph. (Read it here) The rebates will probably be cut in half, from a maximum of $6,000 (almost everybody gets the maximum) to $3,000.
The idea is to free up more money to help organizations [...]

I received a press release by email but can’t find much more information about this, but it seems a 167.4kW photovoltaic system has been installed by the North Conway Water Precinct, using federal stimulus money. It’s a ground mounted system includes 744 solar panels and 2 inverters tracking output and efficiency. and was officially turned [...]

The Burlington Free-Press has a story (read it here) about a company applying to put two small (1-megawatt) run-of-river turbines on existing dams in that state, partly because even small hydropower plants provide a stable source of energy that can smooth out jagged production from wind and solar.
Turns out, this is part of a whole [...]

A public hearing on a proposal to put some offshore wind turbines in Lake Michigan got so loud from angry anti-wind folks that the consultant fled the stage! Read the story here, which contains this quote : “You must confront your own form of hypocrisy. We’re all guilty,” Bobier said of those opposing wind farms [...]

This link is to the survey to find the reaction to the wind project so far. It’s significant that 99% of those participating support the project and have few problems with the noise issue. As expected, the power generated in the summer months matches the lower wind speeds and the reduced power program at night [...]

(ADDENDUM: Announcement for combined heat-and-power biomass plant in Berlin - see story here - raises some questions about the North Country grid, too, as the first comment notes.)
(ANOTHER ADDENDUM: Turbines aren’t fallible, either: Saco, Maine is suing the manufacturer of a turbine that proved a dud, then broke. Story is here.)
It’s always been clear that [...]

A blog called GreenCarReports has an article about a study which claims that widespread adoption of electric cars won’t cause undue strain on the power grid. (The story is here.) From the story:
The study is well regarded, in part because of its authors. It was a joint effort by two somewhat unlikely partners: the Electric [...]

An oversized ultralight (one person, 230-foot wingspan, which is more than a 848) with banks of solar cells on its wingtops stayed aloft for 26 hours yesterday, circling all through the night. (Story here)
It’s a pretty cool adventure, although what it says about alternative energy in transportation is a little hard to see. Putting solar [...]

A Massachusetts firm called Atlantic Geothermal - which had the great good taste to copy one of my past columns (with permission) on its Web site - wants to test whether central New Hampshire might be suitable for real geothermal power. They’re talking about Iceland-type systems, not the underground heat exchange that’s called geothermal hereabouts.
The [...]

Last September, as I was adding the last row to my woodpile, I took one piece of black cherry, carefully weighed it and marked the end with date and weight. This June, moving next winters fuel to the woodshed, I came across that piece and weighed it again. The loss of water was significant.
I started [...]

A public hearing with “more than 100″ people about a proposed 100-megawatt wind farm on the Fletcher and Tenney mountain ridges produced the usual concerns and support, according to this story in the Concord Monitor which has these quotes:

“I have no problem with going green - I’ve seen what oil does to the ground. [...]