ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration announces $521 million in grants for electric vehicle charging, and says the number of publicly available chargers has doubled since 2021. (Utility Dive)

GRID: 

• A flood of new solar and battery capacity have kept Texas’ independent state power grid afloat as it sets a new record for peak demand, experts say, though state lawmakers also credit a new conservation alert system. (Canary Media, KIII)
• Renewable energy groups issue a report calling for interconnection reforms ahead of a two-day FERC workshop next month. (Utility Dive)
• Georgia Power plans to install 500 MW of battery energy storage at four locations around the state to help meet a projected spike in power demand. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

OIL & GAS: 

• A coalition of 23 state attorneys general petitions the Supreme Court to block EPA rules requiring oil and gas wells to control leaks of methane, a significant contributor to global warming. (The Hill)
• The U.S. Interior Department finalizes prohibitions on new mining, drilling and other development on 28 million acres of federal land in Alaska, reversing a Trump-era policy. (Alaska Beacon)
• As oil exports reach record levels, four U.S. senators and 18 Congress members call for a pause on the permitting of liquified natural gas export projects and want to revisit regulators’ decision to approve a terminal 30 miles off the Texas coast. (Houston Chronicle)

UTILITIES: Illinois ratepayers have paid an extra $1.8 billion since 2015 by choosing alternative energy suppliers over traditional utilities like ComEd and Ameren, according to a consumer advocate’s analysis. (Daily Herald)

SOLAR: Opponents of a proposed 800 MW Ohio solar project may turn to the state Supreme Court to block the project after regulators denied repeated challenges. (WCMH)

COMMENTARY: 

• A business writer says automakers’ whiplash on electric vehicles repeats a familiar pattern when legacy companies overreact to startups willing to endure heavy initial losses. (Washington Post)
• 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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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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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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CLIMATE: Scientists delay a geoengineering project that would measure the impact of dumping sodium hydroxide into the ocean, two days after a federal agency warns of impacts on marine species. (Boston Herald)

GRID: 

• A cryptocurrency firm sues New York regulators over its order to close its  Finger Lakes peaker plant, which the company is using primarily to operate data centers. (Water Front) 
• Vermont utilities celebrate the completion of a 3 MW battery storage facility on the northern edge of the state. (VT Digger)
• Plans for a solar project on a New York landfill are scrapped after a state agency determines upgrades to a nearby substation would be cost-prohibitive. (Ithaca Voice)
• New York regulators order utilities to “develop a framework for proactively planning” for grid upgrades needed to support electrification. (news release)

UTILITIES: 

• A Maine paper products factory says a new fixed charge on its monthly bill related to a state solar program will force it to close. (Bangor Daily News)
• Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel seeks to reopen rate cases for Eversource and United Illuminating amid customer outrage over charges related to nuclear power and electric vehicle chargers. (Hartford Courant, subscription)
• A New York congressman calls for an investigation after a report finds disparities in the delivery charges that customers pay for natural gas. (WABC)

EQUITY: A pilot program in New York will cap electricity costs at no more than 6% of household income for 1,000 participants. (Staten Island Advance, subscription)

WIND: During a visit to Cape Cod, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey meets with protesters opposing transmission connections for offshore wind farms; opponents of a similar project in New Jersey are hosting a public meeting tonight. (WCAI, Shore News Network)

SMART METERS: A small group of opponents pushes for legislation allowing Pennsylvanians to opt out of smart meter installations, citing health concerns that experts say have no basis in science. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

BUILDINGS: Developers last week broke ground on New Hampshire’s first net-zero housing project aimed at middle-class buyers. (NHPR)

COMMENTARY: An editorial board says a Maryland beach town’s opposition to offshore wind is motivated by politics, not facts. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)

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ALSO: General Motors is recognized by the Department of Energy for cutting natural gas use 30% at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, assembly plant. (news release)

GRID: Ohio lawmakers discuss how to meet the state’s energy needs in the wake of the HB6 scandal, with Republicans Bill Seitz and Dick Stein defending coal plant subsidies while Democrat Casey Weinstein says “difficult and bureaucratic” siting rules are the main problem. (NBC4)

OIL & GAS: The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa urge Wisconsin officials to reject a plan to reroute an oil pipeline around their reservation, saying they would still be at risk from spills. (Associated Press) 

TRANSPORTATION: Chicago’s transit agencies warn of a “fiscal cliff” that could force them to slash operations if the state doesn’t increase funding as federal pandemic grants expire in 2026. (Chicago Sun-Times)  

COMMENTARY: An advocate says one way to accelerate the buildout of transmission lines is to improve incentives for rural communities, such as adding broadband internet in the process. (Utility Dive)

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