WIND: Documents show the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts is being delayed by bureaucratic infighting between federal energy offices and agencies advocating for fishing interests. (Reuters)
ALSO:
• Scientists say the project creates little risk to endangered right whales, which tend to congregate off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. (Energy News Network)
• Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and other officials toured a University of Maine facility that is developing a floating wind turbine. (News Center Maine)
OIL & GAS: County officials in Pennsylvania unveiled a series of initiatives for assistance for laid-off workers from a damaged oil refinery and a hospital. (Daily Times)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Rhode Island’s energy office says the state’s predominant utility fell short in its response to a solicitation for 400 MW of renewable energy. (Providence Journal)
GRID:
• Federal regulators cancelled a power supply auction for August as PJM and stakeholders in its member states have been unable to set policies that ensure just and reasonable rates. (NJ Spotlight)
• Major cities joined a list of constituents asking grid operator PJM to appoint a new CEO who is attuned to climate goals adopted by an increasing number of states. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
BIOMASS: Three prominent scientists who are graduates of Dartmouth college urged the school to abandon its conversion to a biomass-fueled heating system, saying it will not reduce CO2 emissions. (Union Leader)
MARKETING: A federal appeals court revived a New York couple’s class action lawsuit against an energy marketer which claims deceptive pricing practices. (Reuters)
UTILITIES: Streetlights remain dark in Portland amid a dispute with Central Maine Power over responsibility for repairs that has implications for numerous towns who have switched to LED lighting. (Portland Press Herald)
COMMENTARY:
• An executive of PPL says the Pennsylvania utility is building the electricity industry of the future with its integration of clean energy and grid modernization. (Times Leader)
• A commentator suggests Eversource recently killed the Northern Pass power line but its demise had been years in the making. (InDepthNH)
• An author and academic say the revived interest in nuclear power as a clean energy source is misplaced as its advocates downplay its safety risks and the long-term health effects from radiation exposure. (Boston Globe)