OFFSHORE WIND: Fishers tasked with advising Rhode Island on offshore wind development decry a “backroom deal” between state coastal regulators and the developers of the South Fork project to reduce the number of turbines installed and establish a fishing compensation fund. (Providence Journal)
GRID:
• Maine’s secretary of state finalizes the wording of a Nov. 2 ballot question that will determine the future of the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line. (Portland Press-Herald)
• Pennsylvania regulators reject a controversial transmission project that would have run from two south-central counties into Maryland. (PennLive)
• Maine regulators consider a pilot project to install a $1 million battery at a Portland terminal to power up a new hybrid diesel-electric ferry. (Portland Press Herald)
• In Washington, D.C., a massive wastewater treatment plant wants recommendations for designing, installing and operating a microgrid. (Microgrid Knowledge)
UTILITIES:
• A state-imposed utility payment moratorium protecting hundreds of thousands of New Jersey ratepayers from paying a collective $650 million in debt will likely expire by the end of June. (NJ Spotlight)
• Some Long Island Power Authority ratepayers call on officials to drop their contract with PSEG and become a completely public utility through testimony at a virtual public hearing. (Newsday)
NATURAL GAS: Pennsylvania Democrats plan to sponsor a package of bills that aim to increase transparency and oversight of the fracking industry after an investigatory report revealed families living near wells developed unexplained health issues. (WBRE/WYOU-TV)
SOLAR:
• A developer wants a zoning exception to install three 5 MW solar arrays on industrial property in upstate New York, separate from its proposal for a single 5 MW array on nearby rural residential property. (Lockport Union-Sun & Journal)
• A central Maine planning board approves construction of a roughly 3.9 MW solar array, which is expected to take about six months. (Sun Journal)
• A Rhode Island metalcaster installs a 40-kW solar array to power operations, which it acknowledges are criticized for its energy consumption. (news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• New York City’s transit agency plans to buy 60 all-electric buses by the end of the year, roughly a quarter more than previously announced. (New York Daily News)
• Long Island leads New York sales of electric passenger vehicles, accounting for a third of all purchases. (CBS 2 New York)
• Four new electric vehicle fast chargers are available at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, with plans for six more underway. (Patch.com)
COAL: A New York youth climate group wants the state’s teachers retirement system to divest of the coal stocks in its pension portfolio. (Times Union)