Blog : May 2009

Soon to be Published! (Hopefully)

By sarah | May 26, 2009 | in

Seacoast companies see rare opportunity in home improvement rebates
By Jim Cavan

In these uncertain economic times, everyone is looking for ways to save money -- particularly when it comes to big-bill demands like home heating and cooling costs. Crude oil and gasoline might seem cheap now, but anyone who remembers the price roller coaster of 2008 knows low prices aren’t here to stay. Perhaps more worrisome, however, is the unpredictable cost of home heating oil, particularly in the always brutal New England winters, and particularly with drafty, old New England homes. So what do the slumping economy, volatile oil prices, and home economics have in common? In two words: tax rebates.

Read More

Maine; From Pine Cone State to Solar State?

By sarah | May 26, 2009 | in

Kittery. The biggest player in Maine’s renewable energy market is going up against the biggest game in town – Central Maine Power. With a project called the GridSolar Project, GridSolar, LLC, a Portland-based renewable energy company, has proposed an up to 800 megawatt, billion and a half dollar, solar infusion into the Maine electricity grid. The GridSolar Project has legs and if GridSolar can receive approval from Maine’s Public Utility Commission to become an official Public Utility, this project has a real chance of becoming reality. If that were to occur the State of Maine would become this nation’s “Solar Capital” – causing the entire US solar market including manufacturing to shift to the Pine Cone State. Current US solar output is only 350 megawatts a year nationwide and an 800 megawatt project would represent more than half of all of the solar power generated across the entire US, with the lion’s share concentrated in Maine.

Read More