“Like many of the city’s assets, the Portland Ice Arena serves a special purpose within the community,” stated City Manager Mark Rees. “Thousands of residents have learned to skate, played in a league or cheered on their favorite hockey team at the arena in the past twenty-seven years and hopefully, after these improvements are made, thousands more will continue to enjoy the facility for decades to come.”

Funded in large part by the city’s energy efficiency bond, the project, the first significant infrastructure improvement since the construction of the arena more than a quarter of a century ago, calls for the replacement of the heating and chilling loops beneath the ice and sand surface, the pumps and compressors, and chilling and heating units. Currently, leaks in the heating system cause frost heaves in the ice resulting in an uneven surface and damage to the surrounding floorboards. The improvements will allow for a thinner ice surface, reduce compressor hours of operation dramatically and is estimated to save 67,000 kilowatt hours a year for the operation of the pumps alone. Efficiency Maine rebates will also be applied to reduce the cost of the $625,000 project. Following a competitive Request For Proposals (RFP) process, the city is expected to select a contractor with ice arena expertise to complete the work this week.

“The Greater Portland Industrial Hockey League and all our participants are extremely happy about the upcoming renovations to the rink,” stated Ace Malette, League Commissioner. “These repairs will not only address the problems we encountered this winter, but also shows that the City of Portland is committed to this valuable community asset and all the skating and hockey groups that enjoy the facility, now and for the foreseeable future. We look forward to skating again this fall.”

The construction is expected to begin in mid-May following the melting of the ice and remediation of the frost and will be complete by Labor Day, delaying the re-opening of the Ice Arena by two months. The arena is home to a number of local school’s hockey teams including Portland, Cheverus, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth as well as a recreational figure skating program. The Ice Arena is largely self-funded with up to 90% of its budget funded by user fees.

For more information about the ice arena, visit their website at www.portlandicearena.com which posts information about public skates, skate lessons and birthday party packages. In addition to public skating times, the Portland Ice Arena offers “Learn to Skate” programs for children and adults of all ages with more than one thousand skaters learning to skate at the Ice Arena each year. The Portland Ice Arena opened in December 1984, with a seating capacity of seven hundred and fifty. The Arena contains four locker rooms, skate sharpening services, skate rentals, and a concession area.

“We support this pilot because we believe that it will show that there are lower-cost ways to meet the same need that would be served by a new transmission line,” said Eric Bryant, counsel in the Public Advocate’s Office.

“The trust will be combing the Boothbay region for businesses that want to upgrade inefficient electrical equipment such as lights, ice makers, air conditioners and refrigerators. Efficiency investments have the potential to save energy and reduce stress on the grid at a cost less than building new transmission,” said Michael Stoddard, director of the Efficiency Maine Trust.

This pilot is the first of its kind in Maine and is designed to test the use of non-transmission alternatives as a way to bypass building an $18 million upgrade to a transmission line in the region. These alternatives can include energy efficiency, demand response — in which businesses turn off unnecessary equipment at times of peak use — and renewable and non-renewable generation.

“GridSolar is excited to test the availability and reliability of cheaper and cleaner options that will avoid the need to build a new transmission line on the Boothbay peninsula,” said Richard Silkman, a partner in GridSolar LLC.

The proposal is tied to the Maine Reliability Energy Initiative by Central Maine Power Co. to gain regulatory approval to upgrade its transmission system. This $1.4 billion project was started in 2010, and is due to be completed in 2015 creating thousands of jobs across the state.

The growing electricity demand in the midcoast area will result in the need to enhance the reliability of the transmission system to meet electricity demand during peak-use hours. The pilot will test if alternatives can provide grid reliability at a lower cost and with less environmental impact than building new transmission lines.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission has determined the contract terms and directed three utilities to negotiate with Ocean Renewable Power Co.(ORPC) to put the company’s tidal power electricity onto the grid this summer. The company’s all-composite tidal turbines will be the first tidal project to be connected to the grid in Maine. The composite technology was developed in partnership with the University of Maine.

“This is the first long-term power purchase agreement for tidal energy in the United States,” said ORPC CEO Chris Sauer . He says the contract will cover a term of 20 years.

ORPC intends to install its first underwater turbine unit this summer in Cobscook Bay off Eastport. The first turbine unit will be capable powering 20 to 25 homes.

ORPC plans to install its full-scale tidal turbine unit at the same location over the next two years powering up more than 1,000 homes by 2016.

An Enbridge pipeline carrying tar sands spilled more than 840,000 gallons of sludge into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010. Drinking water, wildlife, tourism and businesses and citizens suffered the consequences of the spill.

The Canadian National Energy Board today closed public input on the proposed Line 9 Reversal Phase I tar sands pipeline project after receiving more than 41,000 citizen comments in opposition. A coalition of 11 groups submitted the comments which focus on the environmental and public health dangers presented by the tar sands project and the need for a comprehensive environmental and public safety review.

“The higher temperatures and pressures needed to move tar sands through the pipeline would significantly increase the risk of the pipeline leaking or rupturing. The effects could be devastating to the Androscoggin River, Sebago Lake, and Casco Bay,” said Environment Maine Director Emily Figdor.

Canada’s National Energy Board is currently reviewing a proposal by Canadian oil giant Enbridge to reverse the flow direction of a portion of its aging 62-year-old pipeline to move tar sands crude approximately 125 miles across Ontario. The full length of “Line 9” extends from Sarnia, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec.

“It is highly risky to pipe the world’s dirtiest source of oil across Maine, along Sebago Lake to Portland Harbor,” said Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “A tar sands pipeline would threaten Sebago Lake, which supplies drinking water to more than 15 percent of Maine people.”

The environmental groups criticize the project as an effort by the company to build the shelved “Trailbreaker” tar sands pipeline in segments to avoid comprehensive environmental review.

“The Trailbreaker project would use an old U.S. pipeline built in 1950 that cuts through mile after mile of Maine’s pristine rivers, lakes, and open spaces,” said Figdor.

In 2008, Enbridge announced its Trailbreaker pipeline proposal to move tar sands crude from mining operations in Alberta through Ontario and Quebec and across New England to Portland, where the crude would be loaded onto tankers for export to refineries on the East Coast or overseas. The company put Trailbreaker on hold in 2009.

As recently as October 2011, pipeline companies were once again discussing the Trailbreaker plan in the press (albeit without using that name.) Enbridge now denies that this aptly named “Phase 1” reversal is part of the larger Trailbreaker project, but is not ruling out reversing the flow of oil along the entire route. A pumping station required to reverse the flow of the pipeline between Montreal and Portland failed to get a permit in March, 2012.

The National Energy Board can order an investigation of the full environmental impact of the larger project, including the safety impacts of a tar sands pipeline to the environment, waterways, and communities, and climate pollution from tar sands.

“Importing dirty, high carbon tar sands crude into this region runs directly counter to decades of concerted efforts by Maine and the other New England states to reduce carbon pollution,” said Beth Nagusky, Maine Director for ENE (Environment Northeast). “Policies such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Renewable Portfolio Standards, and Clean Fuels Standard discourage use of high carbon fuels such as tar sands.”

The coalition of U.S. and Canadian public interest and environmental groups leading efforts to stop the Trailbreaker pipeline include:350.org, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Canada, Environment Maine, ENE (Environment Northeast) Équiterre Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club.

Today, the Maine Public Utilities Commission and 3Degrees, a leading renewable energy provider, announced Maine Green Power, a new, statewide green power program. This voluntary program gives Mainers the opportunity to purchase locally produced renewable energy.

“Maine has abundant hydro, wind, biomass and other renewable energy resources,” said Commission Chairman Thomas Welch. “Maine Green Power will enable our state’s residents and businesses to encourage further local development of these resources by choosing to power their homes and businesses with renewable energy generated in Maine.”

Residents and businesses that participate in Maine Green Power will be able to ensure that the electricity they use at their home or business is matched by electricity generated by solar, hydro, wind, biomass or other renewable energy projects located in Maine. The Maine Green Power program will be available to customers of Central Maine Power (CMP), Bangor Hydro Electric Company (BHE) and Maine Public Service Company (MPS).

Maine Green Power participants can choose the amount of renewable energy they want to purchase in the form of 500 kilowatt hour “blocks” – 500 kilowatt hours represents approximately the average amount of electricity used by a Maine household in a month.

The cost for each block will be $7.50 per month in addition to the cost of electricity supply, and residential customers will be able to purchase either 0.5, 1, 2, 3 or 4 blocks of renewable energy per month. Commercial customers will be able to participate in Maine Green Power starting at the $7.50 per 500 kilowatt-hour block. Customers signing up for Maine Green Power will continue to receive their electricity as they have in the past, with no interruption in their service.

Customers interested in participating in Maine Green Power can currently learn more about the program and pre-enroll by visiting the Maine Public Utility Commission’s website at http://www.maine.gov/mpuc/greenpower/.

First Wind announced that it has obtained $76 million in construction financing for its 34 megawatt (MW) Bull Hill Wind project in Hancock County, Maine. With financing in place, First Wind will start major construction activities on the project, which will have the capacity to generate enough clean energy to power about 18,000 homes.

“We are excited to complete the financing and start construction of the Bull Hill Wind project, which will be our fifth wind project in Maine to achieve commercial operations,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind. “We appreciate the commitment of our financial partners, and we are grateful for the support the project has received from the businesses, citizens and political leadership of Hancock County along with our project partners across the state and the region. The Bull Hill Wind project will expand our capacity to generate clean, renewable energy in Maine to nearly 220 megawatts, and we are proud to boost the local economy during the construction as well as through the ongoing operations of the project.”

A subsidiary of First Wind closed a $70 million non-recourse construction loan and $6 million in letters of credit for the Bull Hill Wind project. Union Bank served as Administrative Agent and Project LC Issuing Bank. Additionally, an affiliate of Union Bank will provide long-term capital through sale-leaseback financing for the Bull Hill Project upon achievement of commercial operations.

The output of the Bull Hill Wind project will be sold to NSTAR under a long-term power purchase agreement, which was approved in August 2011. The Bull Hill Wind project received approval from the state’s Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) in October 2011. Once complete, Eastbrook and the surrounding communities in Hancock County will receive an average aggregate tax payment of approximately $100,000 annually for the next 20 years and an additional $240,000 annually in community benefit payments—more than $7 million in total.

“As anyone in the timber business will tell you, we appreciate the diversity that wind power brings to long-term investors in timberlands,” said Jay Haynes, President of Lakeville Shores, the major landowner of the project site. “First Wind shares our company’s commitment to investing in Maine, and this project is going to represent a long-term economic contributor to the people and businesses of Hancock County and the surrounding region.”

Construction of the project will include the installation of 19 Vestas 1.8 MW wind turbines on Bull Hill and Heifer Hill ridges in Hancock County, Maine. During construction, the Bull Hill Wind project will create about 200 jobs and will provide significant revenue to the surrounding communities. Maine-based contractor Reed & Reed has commenced site preparation work and is hiring mostly Maine-based businesses and subcontractors to work on the project. The installation of the turbines is expected to take place during the summer of 2012, and the project is expected to be online and operating by the end of 2012.

“Our team is very pleased to be working on the Bull Hill Wind project,” said Jack Parker, President and CEO of Reed & Reed, the Woolwich, Maine general contractor for the project. “Having built all of First Wind’s Maine projects, we have seen the positive impact that this investment has had on the host communities, and in fact the entire Maine economy. Not only do these wind power projects create hundreds of jobs during construction, local businesses see a big boost to their bottom line. In addition to the clean energy wind projects generate, the community benefits after the projects are up and running are significant: from funding essential capital improvement projects and lowering Mainers’ property taxes, to helping Maine businesses expand and train their employees. Bull Hill is a project that will have a very lasting and positive impact on many Maine families.”

Bull Hill Wind will represent First Wind’s fifth operational project in Maine. First Wind has four other operational wind projects in Maine including the 42 MW Mars Hill Wind project in Aroostook County, which just marked its five-year anniversary of commercial operations, along with the 60 MW Rollins Wind project in Penobscot County and the 57 MW Stetson Wind and the 26 MW Stetson Wind II projects, both located in Washington County.

Combined, these facilities have capacity to generate 185 MW, enough to supply clean power to about 85,000 households. Over $125 million in direct spending has been invested into Maine-based companies during the development and construction of these four projects. First Wind has invested another $420 million in wind projects in Maine. The company’s four Maine projects are scheduled to make more than $40 million in tax payments to host communities over the next 30 years. First Wind has created jobs for over 1,000 workers during development and construction of its other Maine projects, in addition to over 40 continuous full-time jobs in the state since 2004.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), the state’s leading environmental advocacy organization, has begun powering its Augusta headquarters with solar energy. NRCM partnered with ReVision Energy, a leader in solar design, installation, and service in Northern New England, to install solar panels on the roof of NRCM’s headquarters in Augusta as part of an innovative agreement. The agreement called for ReVision Energy to install the panels, while NRCM will pay the company for the power generated from the system at a rate per kilowatt-hour that is two cents less than a normal electric bill.

“NRCM always tries to find new and exciting ways to celebrate Earth Day, but I think this year’s celebration takes the cake,” said Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director for NRCM. “The solar panels on our roof are making an immediate difference in our environment, as well as our electricity bills at NRCM. The innovative power purchase agreement with ReVision Energy has made this project a reality for us. It is enabling us to take significant steps forward in terms of clean energy, in a building where protecting Maine’s environment is a top priority.”

The Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been developed by ReVision Energy to allow nonprofit organizations to invest in solar energy. While federal tax incentives have made solar energy projects more affordable for homes and businesses, nonprofits are ineligible for those benefits, as are municipalities and schools. The PPA levels the playing field. ReVision Energy arranges the financing, installation, and management of the power output through the life of the agreement. The nonprofit pays its energy bills to the solar company. At the end of the agreement, the nonprofit has the option to renew the agreement, purchase the system outright, or return the equipment with no added expense.

“To most people, the most amazing fact about solar energy in Maine is its abundance in a state known for cold weather,” said ReVision Energy partner Phil Coupe. “In reality, Maine sees about 30% more sunshine per year than Germany, one of the world leaders in solar energy installations. Our solar resource is plentiful in Maine, and it is both environmentally friendly and cost effective for homes, businesses, and nonprofits.”

The 55-panel solar energy system installed at NRCM will produce 15,600 kilowatt hours of energy annually. The solar array will reduce more than 16,000 lbs. of carbon pollution each year, or roughly the equivalent of the amount of pollution generated by burning 20 tons of coal at a power plant.

Solar panels installed by the same company on the Hinkley School- the first nonprofit the company put the panels up on.

“For us, the benefits of this project come from a couple of different directions,” said Pohlmann. “Obviously, protecting our environment is the mission of our organization and its members, but we cannot ignore the economic benefits that go along with it. Money is tight for nonprofits, businesses, and homeowners these days. By freeing up tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the project, NRCM will be able to invest those funds to do more to protect, restore, and conserve Maine’s environment. That is a substantial benefit of making this switch, and one that could be realized by any nonprofit, business, or homeowner in Maine.”

The system went online last month and is expected to save the nonprofit more than $32,000 over the life of the project. NRCM displayed the solar array during a media event Friday morning, and held an Earth Day celebration and talk at their facility called “Going Solar.” Earth Day is observed on April 22.