Local Power LLC

06/04/2026

Not all heat pumps use PFAS, but most heat pumps in America do indeed

COLUMN. The debate over these chemical substances is being reignited within the European Union, as machines designed to help adapt to climate change come under fire, historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz notes in his column.

06/03/2026

Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe. I wrote an article last week about how it’s much cheaper to charge my electric car than people think, or electric cars in general. I knew this would be the logical followup article. We don’t have solar, since we live ... ...

06/03/2026

"Burlington Electric Department (BED) has issued its voter-approved $20 million Net Zero Energy (NZE) and Grid Reliability Revenue Bond through the Vermont Bond Bank as part of the Vermont Bond Bank’s Pooled Loan Program. Burlington voters approved the Revenue Bond in November 2024 when 79.6 percent voted in favor of the bond, which will support critical capital investments in a way that reduces upward pressure on electric rates."

Uncategorized  Burlington Electric Partners with Vermont Bond Bank to Issue $20M Net Zero Energy and Grid Reliability Revenue Bond to Fund Critical Infrastructure, Net Zero Energy Roadmap Goals Voter-Approved Bond Issued at Low Interest Rate; Will Enable Key Investments with Reduced Pressure on Ele...

06/03/2026

"Nearly four years after receiving $64 million through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, the state still hasn’t built a single charger"

While Massachusetts ranks fourth in the country for charging ports per capita after a sharp increase in installments over the past few years, the state is still about 2,000 charging ports short of what it estimates it needs.

05/31/2026

"Plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, are manufactured by petrochemical plants specifically for the purpose of making new products. At least 15 factories here melt and mold the raw materials into water bottles, yogurt cups, fast-food packaging and scores of other goods.
Plastic pellets, or nurdles, litter ground after they are transferred from rail cars to trucks and delivered to local manufacturers in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Plastic pellets, or nurdles, litter the ground after shipments from petrochemical refineries have been transferred from rail cars to trucks and delivered to local manufacturers in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Erie is among hundreds of communities in the U.S. and Canada where nurdles spill into the Great Lakes from chemical plants that make them, trains and trucks that transport them and factories that turn them into consumer products.

Untouched by everyday people, nurdles that don’t get used in the manufacturing process, either because of wasteful transportation or production practices, are write-offs for global oil and chemical conglomerates plotting to dramatically expand the use of plastic in every aspect of life.

When confronted about their pollution, industry executives often have blamed consumers, using tactics borrowed from and shared with Big To***co, according to a Chicago Tribune review of thousands of government, scientific and internal industry documents.

Some of the world’s most powerful companies downplay the dangers posed by plastics and overstate the ability to recycle them, the Tribune found.
Lack of oversight

Already more than 8 billion tons of plastic waste clog the planet, a gobsmacking figure that continues to grow unabated."

More than 8 billion tons of plastic waste clog the planet. If stacked within Chicago’s Millennium Park, plastic dumped into the environment since the middle of the last century would rise beyond the edge of outer space.

05/31/2026

yeah, maybe chicken?

However you choose to look at it, it’s clear we’ve crossed the clean energy Rubicon.

05/23/2026

“My new law can help communities address high electricity costs and climate change by creating affordable access to renewable energy,” said York state Rep. Gerry Runte.

05/22/2026

The Plug and Play Solar Act, which passed on a 35-1 vote, would allow portable solar generation devices with up to 1,200 watts of output to connect to a building through a standard outlet. The bill…

05/20/2026

"AUGUSTA – A bill from Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, to address high electricity costs and give residents more local control over their power is now law. Gov. Janet Mills recently signed the measure. LD 2112 provides Maine towns and the Wabanaki Nations the option to purchase electricity at lower rates and from renewable sources, without taking over the responsibility of delivery and billing from utilities, through the formation of a community choice aggregation (CCA) program. The program must first be approved by a majority of voters. New Hampshire and Massachusetts are among the 10 other states that have authorized the creation of CCAs."

AUGUSTA – A bill from Rep. Gerry Runte, D-York, to address high electricity costs and give residents more local control over their power is now law. Gov. Janet Mills recently signed the measure.