CLEAN ENERGY: New Jersey again diverts money from its utility ratepayer-supported clean energy fund to pay for NJ Transit despite the availability of billions in unspent federal aid and highest-ever tax collections. (NJ Spotlight)
CLIMATE: Arguments for two separate lawsuits against Pennsylvania’s entrance into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will be heard this fall. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
LABOR:
• A New Jersey news outlet examines the state’s track record on encouraging new clean energy sector jobs and actually attracting and training workers to the field. (NJ Spotlight)
• In an industry where people of color are underrepresented, advocates say the clean energy transition could be a massive opportunity to provide jobs to Black and Brown communities if officials set intentionally inclusive policies. (Portsmouth Herald)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New York public housing officials propose banning tenants from storing or charging e-bikes or their lithium-ion batteries, pointing to over two dozen related fires since the beginning of 2021. (The City)
GRID:
• New York’s grid operator says the state needs to expand its reliability margins as it pursues a decarbonized grid. (Utility Dive)
• In Maryland, electric utility Potomac Edison begins building a new substation that will serve roughly 4,000 customers in western Maryland when it’s finished in early 2023. (Daily Record)
• Maryland energy officials allot roughly $360,000 for microgrid projects at a public university, a nonprofit and the city of Cumberland. (news release)
BUILDINGS: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signs a law expanding the state’s commercial property assessed clean energy program to include multi-family commercial buildings and the types of approved projects. (news release)
SOLAR:
• Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee allows a new state law to come into effect without his signature, providing tax breaks to solar developers despite municipal pushback. (Providence Journal)
• Officials in Lockport, New York, want to extend a new solar project moratorium by six months. (Lockport Union-Sun & Journal)
• A developer says it has wrapped up construction of a 6.8 MW community solar portfolio across nine locations serving White Plains, New York, that will triple the county’s solar capacity. (news release)
COMMENTARY:
• The New York League of Conservation Voters’ president argues that New York City needs more people on e-bikes to meet its climate mitigation goals. (City Limits)
• A transit activist and a sustainable growth advocate write that Rhode Island must stop building out its highway infrastructure and prioritize equitable, climate-friendly transit systems. (Boston Globe)
Editor’s note: An item in yesterday’s digest was missing a link. Find the correct item here:
New York City’s comptroller reports that while the city’s ferry service fares were $2.75 per trip last year, the actual cost of the ride was $12.88, meaning taxpayers subsidized much more than previously revealed. (Gothamist)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West