Correction: Some Maine utility executives have criticized a ballot measure that would bar foreign entities from spending money to influence state or local referendum campaigns. An item in yesterday’s newsletter incorrectly summarized the story.
CLEAN TECH: The White House designates two parts of upstate New York as federal “tech hubs,” with Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse joining together to boost semiconductor research and Binghamton University looking to lead the way on battery manufacturing and development. (Democrat & Chronicle)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- New York City passes a law requiring every city-owned vehicle to be zero-emission by 2038, and mandating that ride-share vehicles be electric or wheelchair accessible by 2030. (CBS News)
- An environmental group says Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle registrations surged 82% from 2021 to 2022, totalling nearly 43,000 new cars on the road. (Keystone State News Connection)
- New Castle County, Delaware, adds to its goal of installing 100 electric vehicle chargers with new additions at county libraries and parks. (WHYY)
SOLAR:
- After struggling to find good-paying work, graduates of an environmental justice group’s solar installer program form their own worker-owned cooperative. (ENR New York)
- Three Pennsylvania churches install solar panels as a way to care for the planet and inspire their communities to follow suit. (StateImpact)
- The Rhode Island National Guard reports cutting its energy bills by $100,000 since installing a rooftop solar array a year ago. (New England Real Estate Journal)
OFFSHORE WIND:
- New York’s refusal to grant more subsidies to offshore wind projects could derail the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals as some wind projects struggle financially. (Newsday, E&E News)
- A Republican political group that funded anti-offshore power ads looking to unseat supportive Democrats received hundreds of thousands of dollars from fossil fuel interests this year. (Energy & Policy Institute)
- New Jersey’s economic development authority partners with the New Jersey Institute of Technology to create two offshore wind graduate certificate programs. (news release)
CLIMATE:
- Environmental advocates want New York City to redo its storm surge protection plan, saying it fails to address heavy rainfall and sea level rise beyond coastal areas. (City Limits)
- Following this summer’s flooding, Vermont lawmakers plan to consider legislation to establish a state climate fund to help municipalities with disaster mitigation. (Vermont Public)
CARBON CAPTURE: A Brooklyn factory injects carbon from a Manhattan apartment building into cement blocks to sequester the greenhouse gas, and then sells them for use in construction. (Canary Media)
COMMENTARY:
- The head of Maryland’s energy administration celebrates the groundbreaking of a net-zero affordable housing development, and calls for further clean energy projects to prioritize underinvested communities. (Baltimore Sun)
- A New Jersey Natural Resources Defense Council leader calls on the state to develop a plan to ensure residents equitably benefit from energy efficiency and electric vehicle programs. (NorthJersey.com)
- Maine needs to implement clean cars and clean truck standards to fully protect Maine’s natural resources, two state legislators write. (Mount Desert Islander)
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