Power grab
 | From Kittery to Fort Kent, energy issues are on the minds of Mainers. Here's a look at recent energy-related happenings around the state
From Kittery to Fort Kent, energy issues are on the minds of Mainers. While some wonder how they’ll afford to keep their homes warm this winter, others are racing toward alternatives, from wind power to geothermal systems. Here’s a look at recent energy-related happenings around the state:â&Copy;
â&Copy;ALFRED: A geothermal heating system installed at the York County Courthouse here has saved taxpayers nearly $70,000 in one year, according to the Biddeford Journal Tribune. Don’t start digging yet, though: The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is weighing whether to strengthen rules for geothermal systems to protect groundwater sources.â&Copy;â&Copy;
SOUTH PORTLAND: The newly formed Maine Renewable Energy Consortium in late July outlined to city officials plans for a $60 million “bio-energy” power station here that would tap materials such as wood chips and sugar beets and turn them into electricity or fuel. News website KeepMECurrent.com said city officials didn’t yet weigh in on the early stage project.â&Copy;â&Copy;
AUGUSTA: Customers of Central Maine Power Co., based here, owed the power company $34 million through March, the Portland Press Herald reported in late July. That cumulative debt has risen from $8.4 million in 2004, and many blame fast-rising electricity rates for the unpaid bills.â&Copy;
â&Copy;VINALHAVEN: The Fox Island Electric Cooperative, which serves Vinalhaven and nearby North Haven, recently voted 382-5 in favor of a $10 million-$13 million project to build as many as three wind turbines in Penobscot Bay to deliver power to island residents, according to the Associated Press.
â&Copy;BANGOR: More than 118,000 customers of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., based here, were left in the dark in late July after thunderstorms ripped through much of the state. The outages stretched from Penobscot County to Washington County, and company officials blamed three separate lightning strikes and an out-of-commission transmission line for the two-hour interruption, the Associated Press reported.â&Copy;
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