Barbara Tetreault Read the original post in The Berlin Sun here. BERLIN — The bill designed to keep the 75-megawatt Burgess BioPower biomass plant operating is expected to reach the governor’s desk soon and Gov. Chris Sununu is being lobbied by supporters and opponents of the measure. Sununu has not revealed his position on the...

Read the original post in Union Leader here. LAST SUMMER, power supply rates in New Hampshire jumped by 100% or more. Though rates for electricity declined slightly in January, we are still paying exorbitant amounts for power. A recent report shows that New Hampshire now has the second-highest residential electricity rates in the nation, second...

Barbara Tetreault May 24, 2023 Original post can be viewed here. CONCORD — Legislation that will keep the Burgess BioPower biomass plant operating is now on the Governor’s desk after it passed the state Senate on a voice vote last Thursday. House Bill 142 had already passed the House on March 23 by a 269-109...

By Paula Tracy, InDepthNH.org EXCERPT BURGESS BIOPOWER BILL PASSES The Berlin plant purchase power agreement with Eversource was an over-market cost agreement and due to that, it has run into some financial difficulty. House Bill 142 forgives $50 million and avoids bankruptcy for the biomass plant in the state’s North Country. The 75-megawatt plant uses...

By Barbara Tetreault, The Berlin Sun CONCORD — The future of the Burgess BioPower biomass plant in Berlin is now before the state Senate. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony Tuesday that passage of a bill that would forgive about $50 million in overmarket rates the plant has received is vital for its survival...

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org CONCORD – Berlin’s Burgess Biopower plant could go bankrupt if the state doesn’t agree to forgive about $50 million in debt as part of a 2010 power agreement, a Senate committee was told Tuesday. Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier pleaded with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to recommend passage of...

By Jasen Stock Jasen Stock is the executive director of N.H. Timberland Owners’ Association. In a recent opinion piece (“We can’t burn our way out of the climate crisis,” Concord Monitor, 4/2) readers are warned that New Hampshire is facing a climate crisis and that we must move further away from fossil fuels and end...

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES  SB 271, relative to the Burgess BioPower facility. Ought to Pass with Amendment, Vote 5-0. Senator Avard for the committee. SB 271 requires the Public Utilities Commission to revise certain orders relative to the Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin. The Burgess BioPower Plant produces 75 megawatts of base load power from...

THE FUTURE of our city hangs in the balance. Perhaps this sounds dramatic but that’s how critically important the Burgess BioPower plant has become to the city of Berlin. The 75-megawatt, woodfired power plant isn’t just a major economic driver, power producer and a crucial revenue source — although it is most assuredly all those...

Back in 2018, I attempted to testify at a NH Senate hearing regarding the state’s wood energy industry. Whereas most of the speakers before me talked about the value of renewable energy; the large number of jobs involved; the benefits the woodchip market provided to forest management programs, I decided to focus on the importance...