Offshore wind port raises new conflicts for Mainers

WIND: Coastal Maine residents concerned about both climate change and ecological preservation are conflicted over the planned location of a facility that advocates say will help launch Maine’s offshore wind industry. (Energy News Network/Grist/Maine Monitor)

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COAL: With New England’s last coal plants slated for closure by 2028, the region has “few easy replacements” for the 3 GW of lost baseload power. (E&E News)

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GRID:

• New Jersey’s Egg Harbor Township plans to discuss the proposed construction of a substation to service the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm at a meeting today. (Press of Atlantic City)
• Federal energy regulators authorize ISO New England to implement a new long-term transmission planning process that involves new review metrics and a way for states to pay for projects that other states might not want. (Utility Dive)
• Federal prosecutors announce the arrest of a young man over an attempt to destroy a New Jersey substation in order to further his white supremacist ideology. (USA Today)

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BIOENERGY: The owner of a Brunswick, Maine, waste-to-energy facility wants to expand the site to increase production, a plan that would help reduce pressure on landfills and increase energy production. (Bangor Daily News)

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SOLAR:

• Southampton, New York, says a planned community solar project on a former landfill should be ready by early 2025 and that they need 500 residents to subscribe to the program. (WLIW)
• A farm equipment company’s 1.07 MW rooftop solar system is now among the largest in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. (Lancaster Online)

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CARBON CAPTURE: A bill passed by Pennsylvania lawmakers tells state environmental regulators to draft regulations for underground carbon storage wells, despite concern that there are cheaper and more proven methods of fighting climate change. (Associated Press)

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TRANSIT: Construction begins in Maryland’s Montgomery County on what is touted as the country’s largest renewable energy-powered transit depot microgrid, which includes hydrogen energy generation and electric bus charging. (news release)

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CLIMATE:

• In Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, officials have blown past their own deadline to form a climate action plan, frustrating advocates. (Public Source)
• The heat island effect makes New York City 9.7 degrees hotter for an average resident, which a new report finds is the largest per-capita difference among 65 U.S. cities. (Gothamist)

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