Equinor wins Delaware 2 GW lease auction

WIND: Federal officials designate Equinor the provisional winner of a 2 GW offshore wind energy lease auction off the Delaware coast; bidding started at $10.1 million, but the developer locked in at $75 million. (Maryland Matters)

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ALSO:

• Massachusetts wants to expand its wind turbine marshaling terminal in New Bedford, with the responsible agency saying that would make it more competitive by meeting the industry’s “evolving needs.” (New Bedford Light)
• Maine officials give a presentation in Searsport explaining why they plan to use Sears Island for an offshore wind hub instead of nearby Mack Point in what is being described as a “tense” meeting with disruptions from protestors. (Bangor Daily News)

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SOLAR:

• Connecticut’s attorney general sues three solar installers and two individual employees over numerous alleged crimes, including impersonating a customer and installing solar panels without their consent. (PV Magazine)
• A Maine state agency considers new permitting and tiered compensation rules for solar projects on farms as the state seeks a balance between solar development and valuable farmland availability. (Bangor Daily News)
• A Delaware school district installs three rooftop solar arrays as part of a slate of new energy efficiency measures. (WDEL)

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PIPELINES: The Conservation Law Foundation says National Grid isn’t doing enough to handle the hundreds of leaking gas pipelines around the Greater Boston area, 15 of which are imminent explosion and fire hazards. (Boston Herald)

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BUILDINGS: Philadelphia’s school district touts the new cooling systems in ten of its schools, but dozens of schools still lack A/C, a problem that hinders education when children have to be sent home during too-hot conditions. (WHYY)

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BIOENERGY: In Burlington, Vermont, activists against a wood-fired power plant say the facility’s $8 million in expected losses this year — not to mention the emissions and its relative inefficiency — should be enough to shut it down. (Seven Days)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Connecticut utility commissioners decide electric utilities can apply for annual cost recovery related to the mandated electric vehicle charging incentive program, although some advocates say it will cause additional stress on ratepayers. (Hartford Courant, News Times)

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BATTERIES: A Long Island, New York, town fails to pass a proposed one-year moratorium on new large battery storage systems after several neighboring municipalities passed similar moratoriums. (Newsday)

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GRID: Workers begin installing roughly 100 miles of underwater power cables in Lake Champlain for the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission project. (NCPR)

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POLITICS: Many New Hampshire gubernatorial candidates support renewable energy but have starkly different approaches for increasing the state’s capacity. (Concord Monitor)

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RENEWABLE ENERGY:

• New Jersey regulators grant $3.4 million to 18 clean energy projects, ranging from a municipality’s first electric police car to weatherization projects. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Maryland school district is receiving roughly $1.6 million in state grants to undertake projects including a rooftop solar array and a geothermal HVAC system. (news release)

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