PIPELINES: Mariner East pipeline construction spills 10,000 gallons of drilling mud into a Pennsylvania lake, causing environmental officials to shut down two drillings sites. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• The vast majority of public comments in written and online forums before federal regulators support the Vineyard Wind project to become the first major offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. (Energy News Network)
• The developer of an offshore wind farm of New Jersey partners with wildlife experts to study the migratory patterns of an endangered shore bird that migrates from the Arctic to South America. (news release)
• New Jersey development authorities and Rutgers University will study if contracts for a proposed port to aid offshore wind development are distributed equitably. (ROI-NJ.com)
***SPONSORED LINK: The ESA Annual Energy Storage Conference & Expo (#ESACon20) is a true 360-degree conference experience gone digital. Featuring one-on-one conversations and interactions, keynotes and educational content, demos of real projects from exhibitors in the eMarketplace, and more. Use code ENN2020VTL for 5% off. ***
SOLAR:
• A draft of a proposed revamp on New Jersey solar incentives suggests a hybrid approach that includes competitive solicitations for grid-scale projects and fixed incentives for smaller ones. (Solar Power World)
• A Washington, D.C. homeowner wins his fight to increase the city’s limit on the size of solar installations. (PV Magazine)
• Two lifelong friends in New Jersey started a solar installation business that now employs 81 people. (Asbury Park Press)
NUCLEAR: Pennsylvania environmental officials withdraw their objection to the license transfer of the damaged reactor at Three Mile Island after an agreement that allows them greater oversight of the plant’s decommissioning funds. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
UTILITIES:
• A Pennsylvania utility regulator who previously supported a total moratorium on utility shut-offs due to the coronavirus pandemic says the policy is not sustainable and asks for public comment before the topic returns later this month. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• New York utilities spent $3.5 billion after Superstorm Sandy damaged infrastructure from storm surges, but Tropical Storm Isaias effects were mostly caused by broken tree limbs. (Bloomberg)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Renewable energy advocates in New Hampshire worry that a nascent recovery in the clean energy economy after the worst effects of COVID-19 will stall without more activist policies from the state. (NHPR)
***SPONSORED LINK: Register today for emPOWER20 August 26-28, emPOWER is a virtual experience with 30 sessions and 40+ hours of content designed to foster a new kind of energy leadership. Join experts across the clean energy industry in finance, policy, and technology.***
MICROGRIDS: Although few in number and widely scattered, microgrids performed as expected during widespread outages on the East Coast caused by Tropical Storm Isaias. (Microgrid Knowledge)
FRACKING: A new Pennsylvania poll shows a small majority of residents opposed to fracking, a political position that is usually considered fatal to a campaign in the state. (PGH City Paper)