Tag: Clean Energy

More than 90 people filled boats on Wednesday to go to Islesford to celebrate the installation of new solar panels at the Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-op. The new panels on top of the fishermen co-op’s buildings provide 100-percent of the power. Between grants from the Island Institute and the USDA, Nighman says 60% of the cost was covered.

For many in rural America, it’s a struggle to find the cash and resources needed to button up a home against the winter cold. Labor and materials cost more – that is, if you can find them at all. But in Maine and other rural states a variety of partners — church groups, non-government organizations and government groups — are ramping up efforts to close what some call the “rural efficiency gap.”

The Island Institute held its 8th annual Island Energy Conference in South Portland on May 4. This year’s theme, “Resilient Together,” highlighted what islanders are doing to increase the resilience of their energy systems and communities.
The event brought together energy experts and island leaders from Maine, New England, and around the world to discuss common energy challenges and share solutions for addressing resiliency in the face of an increasingly unpredictable world.

The Island Institute held its eighth annual Island Energy Conference in South Portland May 4, bringing together energy experts and island leaders from Maine, New England, and around the world to discuss common energy challenges and solutions.
This year’s theme, “Resilient Together,” highlighted what islanders are doing to increase the resilience of their energy systems and communities in the face of an increasingly unpredictable world.

Isle au Haut residents plan to install a sophisticated microgrid this spring that could eventually end their reliance on expensive power and heating fuel from the mainland. As on many of the other 14 Maine islands inhabited year-round, Isle au Haut residents pay at least double the amount a Portland or Bangor resident would for their electricity, kerosene and oil. Compounding matters, an aging undersea electric cable between Stonington and the island could fail any day, according to Jim Wilson, president of Isle au Haut Electric Power Co.

A proposal for a large-scale solar project on Molokai is on the table and residents are questioning the project’s benefits and whether community ownership of the project down the road is viable or desirable.
With the island’s energy grid on the brink of change, a group of community energy leaders from around the world visited Molokai last Monday to share their perspectives on renewable energy solutions with residents.