Most New Jerseyans unsure about EVs, new poll suggests

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A new poll suggests over half of New Jersey residents don’t think they’ll buy an electric vehicle, even though most agreed it would improve health and air quality, fearing personal and statewide economic consequences. (New Jersey Monitor, Asbury Park Press)

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FUNDING:

• A major semiconductor company receives a $1.5 billion federal grant to upgrade its Vermont and New York operations, an investment the firm says will enable it to mass-produce a new chip used in electric vehicles and power grid infrastructure. (VT Digger, Seven Days)
• Around $200 million in federal grants will help Pennsylvania improve its sewage and wastewater treatment facilities in the face of harsher storms, among other water-related investments. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

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SOLAR:

• New York’s grid operator tells federal regulators that unless it is allowed to set a 10 kW minimum for distributed energy resources to join an aggregation, its staff will be inundated with applications. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• An energy developer files a state permit application for a 250 MW solar project in New York’s capital region, despite public outcry from town officials and residents. (Daily Gazette)
• A rate restructuring plan announced by Delaware Electric Cooperative that changes the net metering compensation rate frustrates residential member-customers with solar panels. (Delaware Business Now)
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture grants just under $29,000 in rural energy funds to a Biddeford, Maine, boatyard to install a 19 kW rooftop solar array. (news release)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Although construction is years away for a massive wind power and transmission line project proposed for northern Maine, clean energy workforce development programs are already stepping up. (Mainebiz)

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FLOODS: Parts of Boston, including Long Wharf, saw notable flooding yesterday as a nor’easter blew through southern New England, reviving conversation around potential nature-based and human-built mitigation strategies. (Boston Globe, NBC Boston)

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TRANSIT: In the face of vehicle traffic issues, Rhode Island officials give $160,000 to East Providence to help the city create a bike and pedestrian master plan that builds on two existing, popular paths. (ecoRI)

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EMISSIONS: New York City councilmembers discuss a proposed bill to force cruise ships to plug into onshore power rather than use onboard diesel engines while docked in the city. (Gothamist)

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CLIMATE:

• The symptoms of climate change are making it harder to clean up four Superfund sites in New York City. (The City)
• A destructive pest may be able to make deeper inroads in Maine this year due to unusually mild winter temperatures. (Bangor Daily News)

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BUILDINGS: Efficiency Maine and the town of Brunswick strike a deal to offer better terms on energy efficiency loans to local businesses. (Times Record)

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