CEAC-2021-04-April

Maine Lawmakers to Consider Improved
Energy Storage Systems
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine lawmakers will consider a
proposal designed to improve the reliability of energy storage
in the state.
Democratic Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic has proposed the
bill, which is aimed at making Maine’s power grid more stable.
Vitelli said Maine lags behind the rest of New England in
encouraging energy storage.
Vitelli said her proposal would establish a state goal for energy
storage system development of 100 megawatts by the end
of 2025. It would also task the Public Utilities Commission
with looking into opportunities to modernize transmission
and distribution utility rate designs, Vitelli said.
Vitelli said the power crisis in Texas should serve as a wakeup
call to other states. She said modernized energy storage
would allow Maine to “store excess power, increase the reliability
of our power grid and reduce the inefficiencies that
occur between peaks and valleys in demand.”
State Seeks Input on Use of Gas Explosions
Settlement Money
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts is asking
residents and businesses in three communities affected by a
series of natural gas explosions and fires in September 2018
how to spend some of the money from a settlement with the
utility found responsible for the disaster.
Information gleaned from the online survey will help state
officials develop and implement energy efficiency programs
in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, The Eagle-Tribune
recently reported.
“We want the residents to drive this bus as much as we can,”
said Elizabeth Mahony, assistant attorney general in the
energy division for Attorney General Maura Healey. “The
decisions will be rooted in the priorities of the communities.”
As a result of the explosions blamed on over-pressurized gas
lines, one person died, nearly two dozen were injured and
more than 130 properties were damaged.
Columbia Gas, the natural gas provider at the time of the disaster,
reached a $56 million agreement with the state. Some
of the money was earmarked for debt relief for the gas bills
of low-income customers, while some went to clean energy
and energy efficiency efforts.
New Mexico Coal Plant to Limit Operations
Starting in 2023
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The coal-powered Four Corners
6
In Brief
| Chief Engineer
Generation Station in New Mexico will limit its operations
starting in 2023, the station’s owners recently announced.
The plant’s five co-owners agreed to shut down one of the
facility’s two generators for seven months each year beginning
in the fall of 2023.
The other generator will operate year-round.
The proposal could reduce the facility’s carbon emissions by
up to 25 percent every year.
Arizona Public Service Co., which owns a majority of the
plant, had already pledged to transition away from carbon
sources by 2050 and close the Four Corners plant by 2031.
The move will cut down on operating costs, which will save
money for energy consumers and achieve environmental
benefits, said Tom Fallgren, vice president for generation at
Public Service Co. of New Mexico, which owns a 13-percent
stake in the plant.
The Four Corners plant employs about 325 people. Roughly
80 percent of the workers are Native American and the land
the facility is located on is leased by the Navajo Nation.
Pipeline Developer Awards Grants to
Promote Conservation
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — Developers of the Mountain Valley
Pipeline have awarded nearly half a million dollars in grants
to promote conservation and recreation along parts of the
Appalachian Trail.
The Roanoke Times recently reported that the money came
from a $19.5 million pledge by the developer of the natural
gas pipeline that is being built in West Virginia and Virginia.
Mountain Valley entered into a voluntary conservation
agreement in 2020 with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
and The Conservation Fund.
The bulk of the recent grants, about $300,000, will be used
to develop the Giles County Trail Center. It will provide
restrooms, information about local trails and access to hiking
on the Appalachian Trail.
Mountain Valley began construction in 2018. And the work
caused widespread environmental problems with muddy runoff
from work sites. The company agreed to help promote
conservation and recreation in areas near the Appalachian
Trail. The pipeline crosses the famous trail at the state line in
Giles County.
Offshore Wind Project off Martha’s Vineyard
Nears Approval
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — The first commercial-scale