TRANSPORTATION: New York City now has the go-ahead to implement its congestion pricing plan next spring, but New Jersey’s governor is hiring lawyers and asserting his state hasn’t been properly consulted. (CNN, NorthJersey.com)
ALSO:
• Maryland’s Montgomery County strikes a deal with a wastewater treatment plant to capture methane gas from human excrement and convert it into fuel for its bus fleet. (WTOP)
• Rhode Island’s governor signs legislation creating a pilot program to financially support mixed-use housing projects that increase density near transit centers. (Rhode Island Current)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• Maine’s governor vetoes a bill setting aesthetic standards for offshore wind projects because of labor provisions she says would “stifle competition.” (Portland Press Herald)
• In New Jersey, supporters and opponents of the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind farm make their case at the first of two virtual public hearings this week. (Asbury Park Press)
• Some Cape Cod residents question why Massachusetts’ wind farms need to interconnect their transmission lines in their towns, which developers say is the approach with the least environmental impact. (CommonWealth Magazine)
BUILDINGS:
• New York City issues a proposal that would have restaurants with coal- or wood-burning stoves installed before 2016 undergo a pollutant filtering review — immediately receiving backlash from the owners and patrons of pizza shops. (Gothamist)
• A Massachusetts home builders association issues a report claiming that net-zero policies could add an additional 3.8% to the cost of new homes. (North of Boston Media Group)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Connecticut receives more than $26 million in federal funds to buy 20 battery electric buses and make related infrastructure upgrades. (news release)
• Rhode Island will expand transit service and purchase 14 new electric buses with a $13.5 million federal grant. (Rhode Island Current)
• Kingston, New York, considers banning shared e-bike systems until the local council can develop safety regulations for the devices. (Daily Freeman)
GRID:
• Maine’s governor approves a bill to construct a high-voltage power line to support what is planned to be the largest wind farm east of the Mississippi River, but securing all necessary permits could take years. (Portland Press Herald)
• The cable supplying power to Goat Island, Maine, failed in November, leaving the island’s lighthouse keepers without power since then as they consider the costly prospect of either replacing the cable or finding new power sources. (Downeast Magazine)
SOLAR:
• A Maine planning board grants a one-year extension for a solar farm to come online after developers explained that Central Maine Power keeps delaying its interconnection study. (Bridgton News)
• A Black-owned construction firm installs a solar carport at a Washington, D.C., church that will help power 70 low-income households. (Washington Informer)
CLEAN ENERGY: Three Rhode Island farms receive grants totaling almost $60,000 to implement solar generation projects or install heat pumps. (PBN)
WORKFORCE: The developer using the former Ravenswood natural gas-fired plant in New York City as an interconnection point for a potential offshore wind project plans to retrain the 100 union workers at that facility. (Reuters)
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