ALSO: New York City will use a $15 million federal grant to install 600 level-2 curbside chargers throughout the city, although some criticize the plan for permanently taking away street space for other non-private car uses. (amNY, Streetsblog)

POLITICS: Maryland’s election this fall for a U.S. Senate seat could make or break federal climate action. (Inside Climate News)

RENEWABLE POWER: 

• In New York, Republican state senators introduce legislation to delay state climate law deadlines by a decade, prevent power plants from closing before replacements are online and study whether a nuclear plant should be reopened. (WSKG)
• Commissioners of Pennsylvania’s Cambria County update the local property assessed clean energy program to include air quality projects. (Tribune-Democrat)

GEOTHERMAL: A geothermal pilot project in Massachusetts is a rare example of gas companies and environmental activists partnering together for climate action. (Christian Science Monitor)

AFFORDABILITY: 

• Maine utility regulators will expand on an earlier study of time-of-use rates, focusing on what the best time frames and specific rates could be. (Portland Press Herald)
• Some New Jersey lawmakers are calling for hearings examining the state’s utility regulation practices as customers report high bills, while other industry observers chalk the problem up to a fossil fuel-heavy grid and a hot summer. (NJ Spotlight)
• Starting in the new year, third-party energy companies in Maryland will no longer be able to charge customers more than what the incumbent utility charges. (WMAR)

GRID: 

• The network of smart energy devices in New England helped shave hundreds of megawatts off peak demand on a single day this summer, highlighting the usefulness of virtual power plants. (WBUR)
• A Connecticut council allows Eversource Energy to continue work on a substation and nearby power lines on Sundays to help catch up after weather delays. (Patch)

BUILDINGS: 

• New Jersey will form a new revolving loan fund to help with energy efficiency upgrades at government buildings, museums, parks, hospitals, schools, jails and transit centers, using $2.4 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. (news release)
• Some new architectural projects in Massachusetts showcase the creativity architects need to achieve major embodied carbon reductions in their designs. (Boston Globe)
• A New York school district has begun construction of $20 million in clean energy and energy efficiency projects at eight buildings, including solar carports, building envelope improvements and LED bulb installations. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION: 

• To plug an estimated $3 million budget gap, Vermont’s largest public transit agency wants to slash its bus services by a quarter. (VT Digger)
• In Maryland, a Baltimore County decision to rezone a Lutherville property for single-family housing serves as the first real challenge to the state’s  transit-oriented development laws. (Baltimore Sun)

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ALSO: 

• The U.S. Department of Transportation awards the Oneida Indian Nation $12.8 million to install 52 electric vehicle fast chargers along Interstate 90 in New York. (State of Politics)
• While electric vehicles save drivers money, a new report finds those savings are the smallest in Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)

GRID: 

• A National Grid plan to upgrade and build new transmission infrastructure across New York is set to cost more than $4 billion, but even more projects will be needed to address electrification and increased demand. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Vermont state agency begins seeking applicants for its grant program offering  municipalities up to $500,000 to implement their energy resilience plans. (news release)

SOLAR: 

• In Maryland, a developer begins building a 2.9 MW community solar project in Fulton that is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025. (Daily Record)
• A solar developer partners with a family farm in New York to graze sheep at a 3.6 MW array in Constable. (news release)

NUCLEAR: The company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear power plant appeals the state decision that it cannot dump one million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Cape Cod Bay. (Cape Cod Times)

UTILITIES: Cape Light Compact wants the state to allow it to expand its energy efficiency program amid high demand for electrification. (CapeCod.com)

AFFORDABILITY: 

• Connecticut Republicans call for a special session of the state legislature to address utility bills; Democrats say they are pandering to voters with a plan that doesn’t make sense. (CT Mirror) 
• Pennsylvania utility PECO wants to raise power delivery rates just before an expected capacity price hike, but businesses, consumer advocates and state agencies are trying to trim the sought-after increase. (Billy Penn)

TRANSPORTATION: Philadelphia’s transit agency shows off the components of its transportation emissions reduction plan at a zero-emission bus conference hosted in the city, its first time on the East Coast. (WHYY)

COMMENTARY: 

• A senior policy director with Maine Conservation Voters writes how the Inflation Reduction Act has “made it more feasible than ever to develop large-scale renewable energy projects” needed to reach the state’s renewable energy goal. (Portland Press Herald)
• In New Jersey, the Garden State Institute’s president describes the financial and planning lessons that the state’s offshore wind projects can learn from the recent Nantucket turbine failure. (Daily Record)

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Maine faces lawsuit for failing to adopt EV mandates is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: 

• Fishing groups stage a floating protest of the Vineyard Wind project, with a protest leader criticizing “the industrialization of our oceans” he says is a threat to fisheries. (New Bedford Light)
• While New Hampshire’s outgoing Republican governor, Chris Sununu, has been supportive of offshore wind, the candidates to replace him are divided along party lines. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

OIL & GAS: 

• Northeast states are leading the way in pursuing compensation from oil companies for economic damages from climate change. (Stateline)
• The city of Baltimore sues natural gas producers in federal court, accusing the companies of conspiring to curb production in order to raise prices. (Reuters)
• Pennsylvania launches a new apprenticeship program to train workers to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. (Tribune-Democrat)

GRID: 

• Federal data shows electricity generation from fossil fuels spiked during heat waves in New England this summer, with natural gas providing 61% of capacity on June 22. (Energy Information Administration)
• Calpine says it will pursue more natural gas generation in Pennsylvania and Ohio in response to high prices in PJM Interconnection’s recent capacity auction. (Power Engineering)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

• A New York official acknowledges challenges with the state’s rollout of electric school buses, but says districts should still start now to prepare for the transition. (WHEC)
• Rhode Island’s transportation department will build more than 200 electric vehicle charging stations with help from a $15 million federal grant. (What’s Up Newp)

UTILITIES: A hearing examiner’s report supports a Maine utility’s effort to avoid state regulatory review of its parent company’s acquisition by Iberdrola. (Portland Press Herald)

OVERSIGHT: Consumer and environmental groups push back on the New Hampshire PUC’s plan to introduce stricter requirements for groups or individuals to intervene in regulatory proceedings. (RTO Insider, subscription)

SOLAR: A Pennsylvania school board unanimously rejects a plan for a solar array on district property that would have brought in $200,000 a year in revenue. (Lancaster Online) 

WASTE TO ENERGY: Neighbors push Connecticut regulators to hold a public hearing on plans to allow a waste-to-energy plant to burn medical waste. (WFSB)

EQUITY: Philadelphia is holding a series of neighborhood-level workshops as it plans a city-specific environmental justice mapping tool. (WHYY)

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Federal report says offshore wind work not a threat to whales is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: New York Republicans introduce a package of bills that would delay the state’s climate targets by ten years, but also provide incentives for solar power. (Finger Lakes 1)

OFFSHORE WIND: 

• GE Vernova reports another blade failure on one of its Haliade-X turbines in England — the same design as a Vineyard Wind turbine that failed in July — but the company is still prohibited from installing more blades at the project. (CommonWealth Beacon) 
• Anti-wind protesters claim without evidence that the broken Vineyard turbine blade added to “the plight of the right whale,” an endangered species most at risk from vessel strikes and climate change. (Nantucket Current, Energy News Network archive)
• A Delaware beach community votes to join Ocean City, Maryland, in its threat to sue a federal agency over its environmental review of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, which has not yet been completed. (Coast TV) 

WIND:

• A Maine agency will study the viability of small-scale wind turbines, which could help supplement low production from solar panels in winter. (Portland Press Herald)
• Construction has begun on a 114 MW wind farm in western Pennsylvania. (Renewables Now)

UTILITIES: Connecticut Republicans want to use a state surplus to provide relief from high utility bills, but it would require a change to spending rules that the party has previously resisted. (Connecticut Mirror)

SOLAR: 

• New Hampshire regulators are holding hearings this week on proposed changes to the state’s net metering policy. (Sentinel Source)
• Philadelphia school officials say the state’s new Solar for Schools program will create a new income stream that will help them pay for needed renovations on buildings. (WHYY)
• New Maine rules will help farmers install solar on otherwise unusable land contaminated by PFAS chemicals. (News Center Maine)
• Developers complete a 9.4 MW solar array on a former golf course in Rhode Island. (Solar Industry)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Maine company specializes in converting commercial work boats to run on electric power, anticipating the switch will be a “no-brainer” for fishermen as battery costs drop. (MaineBiz)

NATURAL GAS: Connecticut regulators fine a gas utility $100,000 for safety violations in decommissioning abandoned service lines. (Hartford Courant)

NUCLEAR: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is interested in whether nuclear power, with the help of federal funding, could help the state meet its climate targets. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)

BUILDINGS: A pair of Maine hospitals are working to reduce their climate impact, including ending use of an anesthetic gas that emits a large amount of carbon dioxide. (Sun Journal)

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Some Connecticut Democrats worry state is moving too fast on solar is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: The Portsmouth LNG facility’s five-year extension stops short of the permanent license sought by Rhode Island Energy. (Rhode Island Current)

SOLAR: 

• A Northeast solar developer says it will bring just under 20 MW of dual-use projects and almost 20 MWh of storage online in Massachusetts by the end of the year. (news release)
• A 2 MW solar project in Palmer, Massachusetts, uses taller, hardier structures to allow for a herd of Angus beef cattle to roam and graze under them. (Mass Live)
• The town supervisor of Clymer, New York, says he expects a decision on a 5 MW community solar project to be made by October, despite delayed votes on the matter since July. (Corry Journal)
• East Bloomfield, New York, grants a special use permit for a 6.41 MW community solar project. (news release)

GRID: 

• Eversource’s transmission line rebuild proposal in New Hampshire could cost Maine ratepayers $32 million, even though less than 8% of the line needs to be replaced. (Portland Press Herald)
• Some NYSEG customers say they’ve seen exponentially higher utility bills since the company installed smart meters at their homes, despite little demand increase or on-site solar panels. (WKBW)
• NYSEG touts its installation of over 700,000 smart meters for its electric and gas customers across upstate New York. (news release)

WIND: 

• More Pennsylvania wind projects are getting old enough to be worth repowering using turbines with more generation capacity, an easier process than pushing through a new project but one with complications nonetheless. (Clean Technica)
• In Rhode Island, a Newport council member seeks to schedule a public forum for offshore wind opponents to explain their point of view following an event where opponents “disrupted” the question-and-answer period and another at which a “brief but chaotic verbal al­tercation” occurred. (WUN, Newport This Week)

BATTERIES: An overnight fire at a New York City electric scooter store sends a firefighter to the hospital, the second time a lithium-ion battery fire had broken out at the same shop. (NYDN)

COMMENTARY: 

• A Maine activist writes that while an official analysis comparing the cost of developing either Mack Point or Sears Island for an offshore wind hub hasn’t been done yet, “the cost of destroying Sears Island’s 100 acres of forests and wetlands to test 10-12 turbines that could fail is incalculable.” (Portland Press Herald)
• A Consumer Energy Alliance executive argues that Massachusetts can achieve status as a long-term clean energy powerhouse if it maintains a reassuring regulatory and investment environment needed for more projects. (CommonWealth Beacon)

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Rhode Island LNG facility granted 5-year extension is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.