RENEWABLE ENERGY: 

• Pennsylvania and New Jersey utility Allegheny Electric Cooperative is reportedly set to receive an undisclosed portion of a $7.3 billion federal investment into rural electrification and renewable energy works. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• New York’s governor attends a Syracuse summit focused on renewable energy’s future role in the economy, touting the state’s steps toward becoming “a national leader in protecting our climate.” (WSYR)

SOLAR: Advocates say Pennsylvania’s largest-ever solar facility, the 220 MW Great Cove project, shows how renewable energy has a place in the fracking-heavy state. (E&E News, subscription)

EQUITY: 

• New research shows a Baltimore community has much higher levels of black carbon — an air pollutant associated with fossil-fuel burning — than should be expected in a residential area. (Baltimore Sun)
• Several trade groups form a new coalition aimed at steering Pennsylvania union workers through an equitable transition to a decarbonized economy. (Grist)

BUILDINGS: 

• Developers file their early plans to remediate and convert a former ExxonMobil tank farm north of Boston into a multi-use space that would include an energy storage facility in addition to residential and commercial components. (Boston.com)
• Building decarbonization advocates say New York’s progress toward its 2025 energy efficiency target for state facilities is hardly a step in the right direction given that much of the headway is from closing facilities, primarily prisons. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: A PJM Interconnection executive says the grid operator could propose an accelerated interconnection approval process for shovel-ready generation projects. (Utility Dive)

BATTERIES: A Burlington, Vermont, concert series this summer took its usual diesel generators out of service and replaced them with 1.3 MWh of battery electric generators. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: In Massachusetts, Eversource customers begin seeing a relatively new electric vehicle program fee delineated on their bills that was previously tucked into the general delivery charges. (WCVB)

COMMENTARY:

• The head of an economic development nonprofit says Massachusetts needs to adopt equity-focused targets and a scorecard to evaluate what the state is doing for environmental justice communities amid its renewable energy transition. (CommonWealth Beacon)
• As Maine looks to approve an offshore wind port in Searsport, three environmental activists discuss what was learned about community engagement and benefit setting during a similar development process in Salem, Massachusetts. (Bangor Daily News)

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ALSO: A preliminary federal report finds a fatal August 11 gas explosion at a Bel Air, Maryland, home was preceded by two reports of gas odors the night before, and that the local utility had previously been fined over the proximity of gas and power lines. (Baltimore Sun)

BUILDINGS: In Maryland, Baltimore County’s council decides to use state funds to convert part of a decommissioned coal plant site into a waterfront park. (Baltimore Sun)

TRANSIT:

• The Massachusetts Port Authority says it’s seeking $280 million in federal grants to electrify its container and cruise ship terminals and reduce emissions at its facilities, with plans to spend another $70 million from its own coffers. (WGBH)
• Two Massachusetts lawmakers introduce legislation to provide businesses with tax credits if they offer public transit subsidies as a worker benefit. (WHDH)

AFFORDABILITY: 

• Connecticut’s governor says a special legislative session on electric rate relief won’t be enough to solve affordability issues, given that “the fundamental problem we have right here is supply and demand.” (CT Mirror)
• Maine regulators say they will soon draft new rules disallowing utilities from using ratepayer funds for advertising, lobbying and political expenses and requiring them to account for and report such expenses. (Portland Press Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: In New York, the Oneida Indian Nation is set to receive nearly $13 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to install 52 electric vehicle fast charging stations in its territory. (WUTR)

GRID: 

• State lawmakers across the PJM Interconnection territory, still blown away by a leap in capacity prices in the grid operator’s last auction, are considering new policies and regulations to try to bring prices down in the next 2026-2027 capacity auction. (Utility Dive)
• A central Maine town will vote in November on a 180-day moratorium on new high-voltage power lines within its borders over concerns about the  Aroostook Renewable Gateway Project. (Morning Sentinel)

SOLAR: 

• Maryland energy officials kick off an application period for funds to install solar systems at parking lots and garages, with up to $4.8 million available for FY 2025. (news release)
• A private equity firm in Texas has purchased bankrupt Vermont solar developer iSun, which will be rebranded as Legacy Solar under a new leadership team. (VT Digger)
• Workers begin building a 3.6 MW solar project on a former hay production field in northern New York, with plans to bring in sheep for rotational grazing. (news release)
• A developer finishes construction of a 40-acre community solar project near Buffalo, New York, with enough capacity for 850 residential subscribers and one commercial business. (WIVB)

UTILITIES: Public power movements in New York have gained traction amid high costs, but some utilities are encouraging organized labor unions to see such a shift as a negative for workers. (City & State)

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COURTS: Environmental and transit groups sue New York’s governor over her unilateral decision to delay the Manhattan traffic congestion tolling plan, which they say was illegal and unconstitutional. (E&E News, subscription)

WIND: 

• An offshore wind developer asks New Jersey utility regulators to let it pause development of a project off the Long Beach Island coast through late December, citing a lack of manufacturers willing to build its turbine blades. (WHYY) 
• Vineyard Wind’s broken turbine blade, misinformation campaigns and a lack of forthrightness from offshore wind developers is causing a “public relations nightmare” for the industry. (Rhode Island Current)
• Revolution Wind workers install the 704 MW project’s first wind turbine in the waters near Connecticut and Rhode Island. (news release)

TRANSIT: Maryland’s governor proposes a 7% cut to the six-year transportation budget to help fill a $1.3 billion funding hole, a measure that would mean deferring maintenance and slowing down the pace of new electric bus purchases. (Daily Record)

PIPELINES: Maine’s public advocate says the rate hikes sought by three separate pipeline operators in the state would lead to higher retail electric and natural gas prices for customers. (Bangor Daily News)

GRID: 

• Federal energy regulators approve a non-monetary settlement between New York State Electric and Gas and the Northeast Power Coordinating Council over the utility’s failure to comply with back-up control center requirements in 2018. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Thirty-five Maryland lawmakers respond to a news outlet’s survey on the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, with none supporting the use of eminent domain for the project. (Fox Baltimore)
• Ratepayer advocates tell PJM Interconnection that it should join its counterparts in New England, New York and elsewhere to include power plants with reliability must-run contracts into its capacity auctions to help lower prices. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: 

• A developer begins commercial operations of what they say is the largest solar project in Pennsylvania: two facilities with a combined 220 MW capacity in Franklin and Fulton counties. (news release) 
• The zoning board of Maryland’s Carroll County is today scheduled to talk about six solar farms proposed for currently ineligible farmland. (Baltimore Sun)

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ALSO: New Jersey is pushing forward to install more air conditioning units in its classrooms to mitigate student learning losses, but it can take over a year after receiving funds to install. (NJ Spotlight)

WIND: Maine officials, business owners and other environmentally minded stakeholders are looking to increase the number of small-scale distributed wind turbines in the state. (Portland Press Herald)

FUNDING: 

• New York City voters overwhelmingly backed a 2022 act to borrow $4.2 billion for climate resilience and decarbonization efforts, but less than 2% of those bonds have been directed toward city projects. (The City)
• Massachusetts has expected to get a large piece of the hundreds of billions of federal dollars soon to be available for renewable energy projects, but another Trump administration could derail that plan. (Boston Globe)

GRID: 

• A top Maryland legislative official says the state will need to double the size of its electric grid to accommodate its clean energy goals. (Fox Baltimore)
• Massachusetts utility officials authorize the grid modernization measures put forward by the state’s power distribution utilities, which are required to file long-term plans every five years. (RTO Insider, subscription)

COURTS: Pennsylvania’s top court still hasn’t scheduled oral arguments for two cases that will cement the fate of the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Spotlight PA)

RENEWABLE POWER: 

• Renewable energy projects across Maryland, from a 70-mile transmission line to a slate of solar projects in an agricultural county, face residential pushback. (Capital Gazette)
• New Hampshire’s climate mitigation and renewable power strategy could soon change as the state’s governor prepares to leave office and numerous potential successors outline more expansive plans. (NHPR)

CLIMATE: 

• Vermont’s reputation as a climate-safe haven is put into question by the number and intensity of major floods over the past few years. (NHPR)
• In New York City, environmental justice advocates say they want to provide more input into climate projects being developed by the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help increase their effectiveness. (Inside Climate News)

TRANSIT:

• New York City’s transit agency ends a year-long fare holiday piloted on one bus route in each of the city’s boroughs, seeing increased ridership but finding almost half of bus riders didn’t pay their fare on any line. (Gothamist)
• Tens of thousands of Massachusetts low-income residents will become eligible this week for reduced Boston transit system fares. (WBUR)

COMMENTARY: A former Maine lawmaker writes that legislation to help coastal communities mitigate the impact of climate change ought to be passed, despite the cost of doing so. (Bangor Daily News)

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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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