WIND:
• New York issues its first solicitation for offshore wind projects, starting with an initial phase of bids totaling at least 800 MW. (Associated Press, news release)
• A state-funded pilot program in Rhode Island aims to inspire kids to think about careers in the offshore wind industry. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• New Jersey regulators will hire a consultant to help redesign the state’s solar program, which has been criticized as too costly for ratepayers. (NJ Spotlight)
• Stakeholders disagree on the best way to give low- and moderate-income families access to New Jersey’s community solar program. (NJ Spotlight)
• A developer wants to install a solar-plus-storage microgrid system on a parking garage rooftop in southeast Vermont. (Brattleboro Reformer)
• A brewery in northern Vermont builds the state’s first large-scale, solar-covered parking lot. (NBC 5)
STORAGE: A western Pennsylvania waste treatment authority is negotiating a contract to store four batteries with a combined capacity of up to 8.8 MW to serve as a backup power source for the region. (The Herald)
BIOGAS: Leftover grease from Rutgers University dining halls is being used to generate renewable energy from “bug farts” at a plant in central New Jersey. (My Central Jersey)
NUCLEAR: Any decline in nuclear power in Pennsylvania would likely lead to more natural gas and coal power, according to a new report. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
INNOVATION:
• MIT engineers unveil a clear film that reflects the sun’s heat and could be applied to windows to reduce air-conditioning use. (Science Daily)
• Researchers from New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology create a “bionic mushroom” that generates electricity. (New Atlas)
POLITICS: Incoming Democratic lawmakers in Maine and New York could make it easier to advance clean energy standards and carbon-reduction initiatives, say environmental advocates. (InsideClimate News)
PIPELINES: Pennsylvania’s Mariner East 2 pipeline will begin carrying natural gas liquids before the end of the year. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
UTILITIES: Massachusetts utility Eversource writes off its 40 percent stake in a natural gas pipeline expansion, saying a series of explosions outside Boston in September dealt a blow to the industry. (Boston Globe)
TRANSMISSION: Maine regulators tell developers their application to build a hydropower transmission line from Canada to Massachusetts is incomplete, further delaying the project. (Portland Press Herald)
COMMENTARY: Implementing a carbon charge within the PJM grid system could greatly reduce the need for zero-emission payments to nuclear plants, says a professor at Vermont Law School. (Utility Dive)