Energy + Environment
With March 2024 federal deadline, NH will soon embark on climate plan outreach
New Hampshire was awarded $3 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to update its climate change plan for the first time since 2009. Now, the state could be eligible for a share of $4.6 billion in additional competitive grants if it files a plan by next March. The money, coming via the Climate Pollution Reduction […]
The state wants to test your fish for mercury
The state’s Department of Environmental Services is seeking fishermen willing to donate fish for the analysis of a highly toxic heavy metal that has “serious health risks if consumed in excessive amounts.” Mercury doesn’t break down in the environment, and nearly all fish and shellfish have traces of it, DES says. Small amounts of mercury […]
3 takeaways from the 2023 NH Energy Summit
The New Hampshire Energy Summit convened industry stakeholders in Concord this week to hash out policy issues of the moment and set the stage for the upcoming legislative session. It was the 11th annual event hosted by the Dupont Group, a consulting firm specializing in government affairs and public relations. Players from across the state’s […]
How long-term procurement could help ratepayers and get clean energy projects built
A new long-term energy procurement law in the state is slated to create a market of power purchase agreements between utilities and energy generators for as long as 20 years. Proponents this past legislative session viewed Senate Bill 54, signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu in August, as a financial mechanism to benefit ratepayers […]
NH energy officials slam ISO New England’s proposed budget
Targeting “significant cost increases attributed to the clean energy transition and environmental justice policies legislated by other states,” New Hampshire energy officials knocked ISO New England in a letter last week over the regional grid operator’s proposed budget for 2024-2025. Signed by Department of Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine, Consumer Advocate Donald Kreis, and all three […]
Atop Brady Sullivan Tower, a peregrine falcon success story
It’s an average morning at the high-rise Brady Sullivan Tower in downtown Manchester. The 12-story office building is filled with employees starting their workday. Suddenly, outside the windows, plunging from the top floor is a blur of feathers and talons: a descent close to 200 mph. The carnivorous bird pierces the plump body of a […]
Road salt in drinking water? How Merrimack’s water utility is targeting sodium chloride pollution
New Hampshire applies more salt to its roads in the winter than the majority of the country, as do most New England states. And it doesn’t just disappear. Some people end up drinking it. A public water supply well owned by the Merrimack Village District had to be officially taken offline earlier this year because […]
In unexpected move, New Hampshire utilities voice support for solar net metering
New Hampshire’s electric utilities have come out in favor of continuing the state’s current system for compensating customers who share surplus solar power on the grid. Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty Utilities surprised clean energy advocates by submitting joint testimony to state regulators last month endorsing the state’s current net metering structure. The program credits customers […]
DES assistant commissioner resigns, leaving for private sector
The second-highest ranking environmental regulator in the state has resigned and will leave for the private sector. Mark Sanborn, assistant commissioner at the state’s Department of Environmental Services, notified the Executive Council of his resignation Wednesday. His last day with the state will be Oct. 5. Sanborn was confirmed as assistant commissioner at DES in […]
Don’t poo-poo these states’ pleas to keep the parks pristine
DENVER – Earlier this summer, Adam Ducharme made an unpleasant discovery while helping volunteers install signs telling visitors where to camp, park, or launch boats near Leadville, a mountain town surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks in central Colorado. “We were digging holes, putting in signs, and then backfilling the holes with rocks and sort of compounding […]
Was that chicken cutlet grown in a lab? These states want you to know.
Select U.S. restaurants have begun serving laboratory-grown chicken, spurring long wait times for reservations by diners curious to taste it. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave final approval for a few California-based companies to begin selling lab-produced chicken across the country. While it may be years before lab-grown meat is available at grocery […]
NH Cannabis Association surveying farmers on future growing opportunities
As a legislative commission probes the potential for a state-run cannabis sales model, an industry organization is surveying farmers and agricultural professionals to gauge interest in future cultivation opportunities. New Hampshire has not yet legalized marijuana, but this past legislative session saw more movement than years past. For the first time, Gov. Chris Sununu said […]