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Continuing its expansion into the project development business, EnXco has opened an outpost in Burlington, Vermont, to capitalise on the wind potential and a friendly public policy environment in the Northeast US. The company most recently opened a Northwest office in July to be close to the wind potential in that part of the country. Manager Jonathan Winer says the Burlington office is already working on a project in western Massachusetts that has a 10-40 MW potential. EnXco is also considering some Vermont sites as well as potential sites in Connecticut and Maine, which are at this point only "glimmers in our minds." Looking beyond the wind potential to public policy, Winer says state funds have been set up in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts to promote renewable energy. In addition, Massachusetts and Connecticut will likely implement renewable portfolio standards set by state legislators. "Our goal is to cultivate what's here and bring that to the table for EnXco," Winer says. The staff of seven in EnXco's new office is made up of former employees of Vermont Environmental Research Associates (VERA) and Mountain Energy Inc, until recently a subsidiary of Vermont utility Green Mountain Power Corp. Winer, who was president at Mountain Energy, and VERA president John Zimmerman moved their core group of people to EnXco to staff the office. Zimmerman is known for his pioneering work in wind research in New England during the 1980s and for his experience assessing wind power potential. "Our office includes a mix of skills beyond pure project development," Winer says. "We have finance, accounting and legal skills you would not normally expect in a development office.