Business

We are now accepting applications to grow industrial hemp for the 2019 growing season. Applications will be accepted until April 1, 2019.

Source: Maine DACF

When the Fiberight Corp. waste-to-energy plant goes online in Hampden later this year, it’s going to take on an awesome task — converting 80% of the waste it takes in either into renewable energy or recycling it. On average, more than half the waste Americans produce goes into landfills.

It will process 180,000 tons of municipal trash a year from 115 municipalities once it’s fully operational. What will come out is clean cellulose, bio-gas, plastics and engineered fuel, metals, waste paper and corrugated cardboard.

Source:  Mainebiz.biz

Maine’s offshore wind potential and the expertise it’s already gained through the Maine Aqua Ventus project is a “significant economic opportunity for job growth” that could support an annual average of more than 2,100 jobs through 2030.

That’s the conclusion of “The Maine Jobs Project: A Guide to Creating Jobs in Offshore Wind,” a 57-page report released today by the American Jobs Project, a nonprofit based in Berkeley, Calif., that identifies economic opportunities for each of the 50 states based on its unique innovation ecosystem, access to capital, workforce development, value chain build-out and local market growth.

Source:  Mainebiz.biz

Maine’s lobster harvest dropped more than 15 percent last year, according to data just released by the state Department of Marine Resources. But even if the haul was down, it’s still the sixth highest on record.Lobstermen knew from early in 2017 that the catch would probably fall off from the previous year, when they brought in a record 131 million pounds of the valuable crustacean.”My July was pretty much nonexistent,” says Curt Brown, who fishes lobster out of Portland, and works as a biologist for Ready Seafood, one of the state’s largest lobster dealers. “And it was just a waiting game – slowly trickling out, and so the rest of the year… I mean the rest of the year was decent.  It certainly wasn’t a banner year.”

Source: Maine Public

A proposed $150 million salmon farm to be built by Nordic Aquafarms in Belfast will only happen if there is enough fresh water and the Norwegian developer behind the project can get the appropriate federal, state and local permits, company representatives said this week. Against the backdrop of that caveat, representatives held a public information meeting at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center to share plans for the facility and field questions from residents and community members, who were happy to

Source: Republican Journal

Under the auspices of the Maine Development Foundation, Main Street Maine Communities and Maine Downtown Network Communities exist across the state, some with paid staff and others with volunteer labor, but all following a four-point program aimed at creating vibrant, healthy downtowns. Anne Ball, the state’s program director, spoke about the program alongside staff from Main Street programs in Bucksport, Belfast and Rockland. Each program exists independently, but all receive support, resources and training from the Maine Downtown program, which promotes economic development and historic preservation.

Source: Penobscot Bay Press