Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
NH town may remove solar tax breaks
Boscawen could become the first town in New Hampshire to remove a long-standing ordinance that makes rooftop solar exempt from property taxes if voters agree at town meeting. Town meeting was postponed by Tuesday's storm. it will be held Saturday, March 25. At least...
The winter that wasn’t, at least not much
The winter of 22-23 was the 4th warmest (as in average temperature over the three months) on record in Concord, says the Northeast Climate Center at Cornell University. Worcester, Mass,. had its warmest winter ever. Surprisingly, the snowfall at Concord (the official...
Solar, wind, storage & demand reduction were 1/6 of winners in regional power auction
The annual capacity auction is a method used by ISO-New England, the folks who run the six-state power grid, to ensure that we will have enough electricity even when circumstances are dire. Power plants tell them how much electricity they can guarantee to produce on...
Amazingly, NH contemplates making some industries pay for their own waste
I can't believe it will accomplish anywhere, since New Hampshire doesn't like doing anything that inconveniences businesses, but there's a bill that would look seriously at charging industries for the waste they create, reports NH Business Review story (here)....
Dartmouth Cancer Center develops process for quicker gene analysis
From Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center: Precision medicine is a rapidly advancing field that is unlocking potential therapies for a variety of diseases and conditions—particularly cancer—by looking for mutations in a patient’s genetic code. Identifying those...
17 (I think) places will consider community power at town meeting
I've written two stores recently about New Hampshire towns that will decide at town meetings this month whether to contract for community power. It should have been one story but I missed some and had to make up for it - here's a mash-up of the stories: The potential...
Our forests need us to figure out new stuff to do with them
When it comes to making money from a downed tree there aren’t many options: you can slice it into boards, burn it for heat, or mash it into paper. That’s about it. Or so I thought, and you probably did too. “That’s really the tip of the proverbial iceberg,” said Joe...
NH community college adds EV technician certificate, a first
White Mountains Community College in Berlin is the first community college in New Hampshire to offer an electric vehicle technician certificate in its automotive program. This year ... all students must take an EV class to earn their associate’s degree or certificate...
N.H. patents through March 5
(Links to each patent can be found here, using the patent number.) By Targeted News Service WASHINGTON – The following federal patents were assigned in New Hampshire through March 5. *** Apparatus for Producing Bulk Silicon Carbide GTAT CORPORATION, Hudson, New...
Hey, math fans: It’s a snowplow story that references the bridges of Königsberg!
Excellent story in the Washington Post about the complications of route optimization for snowplows. It includes the most famous origin story in mathematics - Euler realizing he couldn't cross the seven bridges of Königsberg just once and thus founding graph theory and...
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