OFFSHORE WIND: Federal officials schedule a February lease auction expected to result in up to 7 GW of offshore wind power generating projects off the New York and New Jersey coasts. (CNN)

EFFICIENCY:
• A Boston-area startup works to commercialize a clear, lightweight material that can be used to make windows more insulating than more expensive alternatives. (Energy News Network)
• A Connecticut diner uses subsidies and rebates to make efficiency upgrades estimated to save the restaurant over $4,000 every year. (Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals)

FOSSIL FUELS: Maryland regulators decide a plan to convert two coal plants to run on oil won’t need to undergo a typical review process because the company claims the move will lower emissions. (Baltimore Sun)

TRANSIT:
• New York City receives $6 billion in federal pandemic relief to support its public transit system, which has massively shed its usual ridership amid the pandemic. (Gothamist)
• Vermont’s transportation agency expects to lose $560,000 in gas tax revenue in 2022 as a result of the electric vehicle transition, which could result in revenue losses of $80 million by 2050.  (RTO Insider, subscription)

JUSTICE:
• Vermont lawmakers consider developing a statewide environmental justice policy and related implementation tools; the Green Mountain state is one of a handful of states to not already have such a policy in place. (WCAX)
• Climate refugees escaping extreme weather in their communities are flocking to Vermont, which some fear will drive up home prices and push out middle-income Vermonters. (Seven Days)

CLIMATE:
• Maine legislators consider a pilot program that would make $3 million available for public schools wanting to improve their educators’ climate knowledge. (E&E News)
• Chesapeake Bay environmental advocates detail their legislative climate priorities this year, from solar and efficiency tax incentives for Maryland’s low-to-middle-income families to proposed increases in Pennsylvania’s renewable energy mandate. (Bay Journal)
• New Jersey’s state climatologist says the record-tying heat the state experienced in 2021 is part of the “overwhelming evidence” of a climate-related heat trend in the “last decade or two.” (NorthJersey.com)
• Average sea temperatures in the Gulf of Maine reached their warmest fall surface levels ever in 2021 at 59.9°F, which is over 4° higher than the long-term average. (Portland Press Herald)

NUCLEAR: Four Massachusetts representatives implore the company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear plant to find an alternative disposal plan rather than pour 1 million gallons of radioactive water into the Cape Cod Bay. (NBC Boston)

UTILITY BILLS:
• Maryland regulators impose a $150,000 fine on an energy supplier over misleading marketing practices and unauthorized customer enrollments. (The Daily Record)
• Maine’s public advocate says at his confirmation hearing that people should never be “forced to choose between paying for necessities, such as food, and medicine, and paying their utility bills.” (News Center Maine)

SOLAR: In New York’s Niagara County, two developers seek county sales and mortgage recording tax exemptions for their respective projects: a 5 MW array and a 4 MW farm. (The Buffalo News)

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Bridget Reed Morawski

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.