ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Almost every New England state ranked highly in a national nonprofit’s latest transportation electrification report, but it found that Rhode Island and New Hampshire have work to do. (Providence Business News, Providence Journal, Center Square)
ALSO:
• The transit agency of Buffalo, New York, will receive almost $29 million in federal funds to buy 20 new electric buses and build out its charging infrastructure. (Buffalo News)
• Almost $40 million in federal funds will go toward replacing 35 old diesel-fueled buses owned by the University of Maryland, College Park, with electric models and installing charging stations. (news release)
• Norwalk, Connecticut, will use almost $200,000 in Volkswagen emissions scandal settlement funds to purchase and install 24 electric vehicle chargers at four garages. (CT Post)
• Connecticut’s $3,000 price cap on incentive-eligible e-bikes leads one startup in the state to lower its prices. (CT Insider)
• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren says more municipalities in her state need to apply for federal grants to electrify trains and buses. (Boston Herald)
SOLAR:
• The Maine House votes against a bill supported by the solar industry to reduce state subsidies the sector receives, instead approving a bill that lets utility regulators ratchet back incentives; the state Senate still needs to weigh in. (Bangor Daily News)
• A Maine town’s select board implements a six-month moratorium on commercial solar facilities as it crafts related ordinances but debates how much public input is needed. (Livermore Falls Advertiser)
• A former sand quarry in North Berwick, Maine, is now the home of a new community solar farm mainly serving small businesses. (WMTW)
• A developer installs 3.31 MW worth of solar panels on seven buildings of a New Jersey school district, covering 21% of its energy demand. (news release)
BUILDINGS:
• The largest holder of office space in the Washington, D.C., area plans to power its entire regional portfolio with zero-emissions electricity by next year. (Commercial Observer)
• A Vermont town celebrates the completion of 24 affordable, energy-efficient apartments, a project delayed nine months by a fire. (WCAX)
TRANSPORTATION:
• As vehicles become more fuel-efficient or switch to electric, Connecticut joins an effort to study mileage-based driving fees in lieu of fuel taxes. (WPRI)
• Boston officials encourage drivers to make the switch to public transit ahead of a planned eight-week closure of a key highway tunnel. (WCVB)
WILDFIRES: Smoke from Canadian wildfires has again engulfed parts of the Northeast, raising health risks in poor or minority communities and driving poor air quality in New York and Philadelphia. (Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer)
OFFSHORE WIND: The University of Rhode Island and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration form a five-year partnership to study how offshore wind development impacts marine ecosystems and humans who rely on the ocean. (news release)
GRID: After a Maryland utility allowed space under a transmission line to become a meadow, dozens of species of plants, insects, birds and mammals have returned to the area, bringing biodiversity to an oft-barren tract of land. (Sierra Magazine)
CLIMATE: Baltimore officials consider how to create a climate change-focused authority to address local adaptation and mitigation needs. (WBAL)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West