Energy is a cost of doing business anywhere you're located
But in Maine the issue is particularly vexing, as everyone here knows, because the heating season seems so, um, enduring. I was reminded of that on a chilly morning in early June when I heard the furnace kick on. Since moving to Maine, I've heard more than once how projected energy costs are among issues the businesses scrutinize before moving to or investing in Maine.
For our energy focus section, we take a look at the ways Mainers are dealing with the cost of energy, but also how Maine companies would fare under proposed federal limits on carbon emissions.
In her cover story, Senior Writer Lori Valigra sorts through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rules governing carbon emissions, which are outlined in the nightstand-crushing, 645-page Clean Power Plan. One Maine regulator who read through the document called it one of “the most complex integrated compliance rules” he'd seen in 28 years. Fortunately, Lori sorts it out for us. Maine is in a somewhat better position than states that rely on coal for power plants. But Lori found that paper mills, in particular, may be the industry that has spent the most time studying the proposed guidelines.
Elsewhere in the issue, contributor Jon Marcus, a Boston-based writer who has written for publications ranging from the Washington Monthly to the New York Times, looks at an emerging trend in the industry of wind power, that of leadership of women. He found that, while women still make up a small percentage of engineers, they are gaining influence as lawyers and project managers. As one regulatory practice attorney pointed out, women have broken into wind power in part because the industry is so young, unfettered by archaic traditions.
Others breaking from tradition include companies that are investing in technology that reduces the dependence on energy providers. Contributor Laurie Schreiber, who is based on Mount Desert Island, talked to numerous companies that have installed photovoltaic solar panels, heat-transfer technology and biomass furnaces to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel. The companies range from Hannaford to Jackson Laboratory to the coffee roaster Wicked Joe. Yet Laurie also found that businesses wanting to do the same thing today face a range of challenges, including ever-changing government incentives and proposed “stand-by” fees being sought by energy transmission companies.
Our cover story on Front Street Shipyard grew out of the Mainebiz “On the Road” event we did last month in Belfast. In a round-table discussion with local businesses, we were struck by the impact the shipyard had had on economic development in Belfast, which sits at the upper end of Penobscot Bay. Senior Writer Jim McCarthy jumped at the chance to interview the principals at the shipyard and the story reflects the changes Front Street has brought about in less than three years.
Finally, there are few moments in life when the awards come in, and we need to savor them. I am brand new here, so I cannot claim credit for either of these. I will instead shine the spotlight on colleagues and a predecessor who brought home the hardware.
At the annual meeting of the Alliance of Area Business Publications, held in Baltimore, Mainebiz took home the gold award for overall design in the small tabloids division, a testament to our designer, Matt Selva; our art director, Jan Holder; our former editor, Carol Coultas; and our publisher, Donna Brassard. Judges called Mainebiz a “contemporary, inviting, professional publication” with a “unique visual identity and consistent look from cover to cover.”
Mainebiz also earned a bronze award in best explanatory journalism for “Pushing Maine Milk,” a story by Jim McCarthy that looked at Maine's milk-processing industry, which has faced its challenges. Jim's reporting was enhanced by the efforts of Matt Selva, Jan Holder, Carol Coultas and photographer Tim Greenway, who share in those honors as well. Judges said the story was “expertly written and shows why readers should care about the industry changes.”
Kudos.
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The wind industry's relative youth means fewer traditional barriers for women in Maine
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