GAS: Some residents of an apartment building in the Washington, D.C., suburbs that exploded yesterday and injured a dozen people reportedly smelled gas prior to the blast. (CNN)
ALSO: In Washington, D.C., a local councilmember introduces legislation to retrofit 30,000 low-income homes with high-efficiency electric appliances, like induction stoves, heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. (DCist)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Federal officials identify eight new areas for offshore wind development off the East Coast, including off Maryland and Delaware’s shores. (Offshore Wind Biz)
• Local coverage of a self-described New Jersey community group opposed to offshore wind development neglects to mention it’s funded by a think tank that receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the oil and gas industry. (Popular Information)
CLIMATE:
• A bill planned for New York’s next legislative session would let municipalities consider values other than cost savings for food procurement, helping New York City buy more climate-friendly products. (City Limits)
• In New York City’s Manhattan borough, officials want the city to expand a curbside composting program recently kicked off in Queens. (Gothamist)
TRANSIT:
• New York’s governor announces ten recipients will split $85 million to advance clean transportation in the state, ranging from electric shuttle services on Long Island to “clean mobility” initiatives in western New York. (news release)
• Amtrak will expand its New York City to Albany route, with two new weekday trains going between the cities starting in December. (Mass Transit)
BUILDINGS:
• Hundreds of people virtually attend a New York City buildings department meeting to advocate for the closure of loopholes letting wealthy building owners avoid efficiency retrofits. (Gothamist)
• In New York, Erie County officials may decide that a new football stadium for the Buffalo Bills doesn’t need to undergo an environmental review, despite decades of precedent to do so around the state. (Investigative Post)
• A New York real estate trade association plans a $150,000 campaign to promote the state climate action council’s draft recommendations around heating, vehicles and appliances. (Albany Business Review)
BIODIESEL: A New York-based biodiesel company says cooking oil and grease thefts in the past year have doubled across its service territory, amounting to around $15 million in annual losses. (Times Union)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A New York City councilmember suggests ways buildings and the city should keep people safe from fires stemming from lithium-ion batteries. (WNYC)
AFFORDABILITY:
• Maine regulators select a 49% higher standard-offer supply rate for many of Central Maine Power’s residential customers. (Portland Press Herald)
• A proposed settlement between Summit Natural Gas and Maine’s public advocate could mean a 49% rate hike for customers over 4.5 years — less than the 200% over seven years initially sought by the utility. (Portland Press Herald)
SOLAR: Red Cross New Jersey works to install a rooftop solar array to make its building net-zero. (news release)
GRID: Delaware Electric Cooperative energizes a new Sussex County substation that utilizes a recycled transformer, intended to support the country’s growing power consumption. (news release)
Editor’s note: Maine regulators selected a 41% higher standard offer power supply rate for Versant Power. An item in yesterday’s digest implied Versant sought the rate increase.
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