The end of coal in New England

COAL: New Hampshire’s Granite Shore Power will shut down its last coal-fired power plants in 2025 and 2028, replacing them with solar, battery storage, and other clean energy and marking the end of coal in New England. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

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OFFSHORE WIND:

• Four developers bid to build offshore wind projects off the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island coasts, including two bids from Avangrid and SouthCoast Wind that are essentially rebids of recently retracted projects. (CT Mirror, Rhode Island Current)
• The proposed wind farms envision a prominent role for Massachusetts’ New Bedford marine terminal. (New Bedford Current)
• An offshore wind training center at New Jersey’s Atlantic Cape Community College will begin offering courses next month. (Press of Atlantic City)

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UTILITIES: Hundreds of Massachusetts residents say they’ve unknowingly or mistakenly signed up to receive power from a competitive energy supplier after being promised rate savings, only to receive shockingly high bills months later. (Boston Globe/WBUR)

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TRANSPORTATION: The New York City MTA board grants final approval to a congestion pricing plan aimed at curbing emissions and encouraging public transit use. (Gothamist)

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SOLAR:

• Schools, government offices and other institutional buildings around Greensburg, Pennsylvania, could save about $19.3 million on power bills over 25 years if they installed solar panels, and the New Kensington area could save about $45 million, a Pittsburgh nonprofit finds. (TribLive)
• A planned solar array at Maine’s Knox County airport is indefinitely delayed as the company hired to build it deals with unpaid bills for a separate project. (Bangor Daily News)
• Waterville, Maine’s town board recommends rezoning a parcel of land for a solar farm, though it still needs further approval. (Morning Sentinel)
• A solar developer appeals a Rhode Island zoning board’s rejection of its plan to buy 150 acres of woods and build a solar farm, continuing a 2-year fight over the project. (Hummel Report)

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BIOFUEL: A $91 million contract to supply New York City’s heavy-duty vehicles with renewable diesel went to a company whose CEO has donated to the mayor’s campaign, despite never having secured more than a $7 million contract before, and other questionable business practices. (The City)

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BUILDINGS: Amherst, Massachusetts, breaks ground on a new elementary school that will be equipped with heat pumps, solar panels and efficiency measures, making it the town’s first net-zero building. (Amherst Indy)

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COMMENTARY: A Maine bill would give regulators the power to make sure utility profits line up with their performance and alignment with renewable power goals, a clean energy advocate writes. (National Resources Council of Maine)

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