SOLAR: Vermont growers see potential in pairing saffron and solar energy after a recently released study found the crop grows well when planted among solar panels, which could provide farmers with dual revenue streams. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• The developers of an already approved 8 MW solar array in Cranston, Rhode Island, will need to undergo the entire approval process again. (Providence Journal)
• A small Maine town’s manager notes there is little opposition to plans for what may soon be their first solar farm, a 2 MW array on a vacant lot. (Bangor Daily News)

PUBLIC TRANSIT:
• Some Boston families trying to get their students to school feel there hasn’t been helpful communication around the city’s Orange Line shutdown and that shuttle buses aren’t punctual. (WBUR)
• In the public transit desert of northern Maine, a nonprofit asks volunteers to use their own vehicles to drive one town’s senior citizens where they need to go, looking to take the model to other parts of the county. (Bangor Daily News)

HEAT:
• Volunteer scientists identified an eight-degree temperature difference between the south Bronx and two nearby wealthy neighborhoods one morning last July — a disparity reflected in who dies of excess heat in the city. (Guardian)
• Extreme drought in the Northeast this summer may mean a visually duller leaf peeping season for both residents and the region’s multi-billion-dollar fall tourism industry. (CNN)

AFFORDABILITY:
• Advocates say Rhode Island Energy should rerun the numbers and try to lower its proposed rate hike because many ratepayers will struggle to afford higher bills. (Providence Journal)
• Two consumer advocacy groups say the federal government should issue more funding for New York’s clean energy transition to help mitigate the cost to ratepayers. (Spectrum News)
• Vermont utilities want ratepayers to know that the last day to apply for state pandemic-related utility bill assistance is December 31. (news release)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• US Wind will conduct near-shore surveys off Delaware’s coast this fall to determine where power cables will be located, among other design needs. (Cape Gazette)
• The Maryland Energy Administration boosts a grant fund for businesses entering the state’s offshore wind supply chain with $1.6 million. (Salisbury Daily Times)
• Rhode Island starts a 30-day window for public comments on a draft request for proposals for between 600 MW and 1 GW of new offshore wind capacity. (news release)

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Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.