BUILDINGS: Massachusetts lawmakers and municipal leaders increasingly push for measures that would lower the greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
• Spray foam insulation is frequently pitched as a great weatherization tool in Vermont, but some homeowners are discovering undisclosed risks after the work is done. (VT Digger)
• The redevelopment of a former Philadelphia coal plant into an apartment building, office complex and event space is almost complete. (Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Business Journal)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Avangrid is reportedly trying to alter its power purchase contract for the Park City Wind farm over financial concerns, signaling potential trouble for the Connecticut project. (CT Mirror)
• Federal officials release the Ocean Wind Farm’s final environmental review, which suggests a final approval date this summer. (E&E News, subscription)
• In Massachusetts, the New Bedford Port Authority wants SouthCoast Wind to consider developing a fisheries innovation fund akin to one Vineyard Wind created to support the local industry. (Standard-Times)
• Massachusetts is seeking up to $250 million in federal funds to make onshore grid upgrades along the south shore to support offshore wind power transmission. (Boston Globe)
SOLAR: A New York court upholds a lower court decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought by opponents of a Columbia County solar farm that sought to overturn parts of the state’s large solar farm fast-track program. (Times Union)
CLIMATE:
• Boston’s nighttime temperatures in the summer have risen two degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970’s, which a new study says leads to a shorter amount of sleep. (WCVB)
• Rhode Island’s governor orders the restoration of a chief resilience officer position to put the state’s climate strategy into action. (PBN)
• Portland is installing tanks to store stormwater and untreated sewage to comply with a federal water quality permit, but the projects will also combat climate change side effects, like rising sea levels and heavier rain. (Maine Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Newark, New Jersey’s electric scooter and bike rental program has now seen one million rides since it started two years ago. (NJ Advance Media)
GRID: Although reforms have been made, a national nonprofit’s report finds that PJM Interconnection’s interconnection queue is still backed up, slowing down new clean energy projects coming online. (New Jersey Monitor)
AFFORDABILITY: New York’s utility commission will audit two Avangrid utilities for the first time in five years because of persistent billing issues and ratepayer complaints. (Auburn Citizen)
REGULATION: New Jersey’s legislature approves two new members of the state utility board, two months after the governor nominated them and weeks after a testy confirmation hearing. (New Jersey Globe)
UTILITIES: Several Vermont utilities work to identify how to best communicate with customers during extended outages that make internet access difficult. (Vermont Public Radio)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West