Maine offshore wind hub in question after dune proposal falls flat

OFFSHORE WIND: Maine lawmakers reject a proposal from the governor to exempt offshore wind hub development on Sears Island from adhering to sand dune protections, obscuring the project’s path forward. (Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald)

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ALSO:

• A Rhode Island judge ends a lawsuit filed by an anti-offshore wind group trying to overturn a coastal regulatory agency’s vote in favor of the Revolution Wind project. (ecoRI)
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has undertaken an “aggressive lobbying campaign” to ensure federal tax credit guidance would benefit offshore wind developers after New York’s industry stumbled last fall. (E&E News)

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SOLAR:

• New York officials confirm Tesla’s Buffalo solar panel factory uses panels made by a competitor on its roof, not its own product. (Investigative Post)
• Rutgers University is studying the use of vertically installed solar panels in dual-use agrivoltaic projects that grow forage crops and allow cattle to graze. (PV Magazine)

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GRID:

• Vermont utility Green Mountain Power used its residential customers’ battery storage systems to offset the drop in solar power during Monday’s total eclipse. (WCAX)
• Grid operators across the Northeast reported smooth operations throughout the total eclipse despite the moon blocking out the sun, shading solar panels. (RTO Insider, subscription; Rhode Island Current)
• As Connecticut considers new electrification measures, some critics debate if current grid capacity is enough to handle more or whether that concern is “a cop out” for not moving forward. (CT Mirror)
• Pennsylvania workers who make the electrified steel core of most distribution transformers rejoice that the country plans to mostly stick with their product, but an efficiency expert says using that product locks the U.S. into reduced energy efficiency potential for decades. (WITF)

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STORAGE:

• A new state report finds New York is approaching 1 GW of installed, awarded or contracted energy storage capacity since the state’s 2018 storage goal was set. (Utility Dive)
• A Buffalo, New York, battery storage systems manufacturer wants a $200 million low-interest loan from federal energy officials to expand a manufacturing plant to make 100,000 units annually and create over 400 jobs. (Buffalo News)

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CARBON CAPTURE: In Pennsylvania, lawmakers advance a Republican bill establishing a regulatory framework for underground carbon dioxide-storage wells to support federally backed hydrogen hubs, but critics say it doesn’t include enough liability guarantees from involved companies. (Associated Press)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Nearly 200 electric vehicles were reportedly stalled overnight waiting for their turn at one rural Vermont charging station after the eclipse. (WCVB)

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NUCLEAR: Wiscasset, Maine, officials say they’ll negotiate with the owners of the former Maine Yankee nuclear power plant about how much revenue the town will receive after a state law closed a tax exemption for the facility. (Bangor Daily News)

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TRANSIT: A district court judge will soon decide whether New York has to go back to the drawing board with its Manhattan congestion tolling plan or whether it doesn’t need an environmental impact statement. (NJ Advance Media)

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UTILITIES: Pennsylvania utility regulators unanimously vote to investigate a 16% rate hike request from Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania. (Penn Live)

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BUILDINGS: The Efficiency Maine Green Bank will use a $15 million federal grant to support energy loans and deploy heat pumps to small businesses, homes, schools and elsewhere. (Mainebiz)

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WORKFORCE:

• A solar installer uses a state grant to offer a pre-apprenticeship program for recent immigrants to Maine to explore renewable energy sector jobs. (Portland Press Herald)
• Delaware Technical Community College plans to discontinue its energy-focused two-year degrees starting this fall, citing low enrollment. (Delaware News Journal)

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COMMENTARY: In Vermont, the Burlington Electric Department’s general manager and a conservation program manager write that the U.S. EPA’s new final rule for vehicle emissions is a win for the state and planet. (VT Digger)

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