TRANSPORTATION: Vermont’s biggest ever annual omnibus transportation bill becomes law, with millions of dollars set aside for electric vehicle charging, rail projects, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. (VT Digger)

ALSO: An urban planning nonprofit’s survey finds many nearby residents don’t want the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway widened but do want it capped and covered. (Brooklyn Eagle)

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OFFSHORE WIND:
• As offshore wind supporters wave off concerns about SouthCoast Wind’s viability, the project’s top executive says it will still be built despite the company’s desire to cancel its power purchase contracts amid economic troubles. (Rhode Island Current, Providence Journal)
• A top Rhode Island utility commissioner highlights regulators’ tough choice as they consider renegotiating contracts with offshore wind companies looking to renegotiate contracts: pay higher rates or lose progress toward clean energy goals. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Construction begins on Vineyard Wind’s turbine foundations as workers install the development’s first monopile tower. (Cape Cod Times)

OIL & GAS: Environmental activists want a western Pennsylvania board to better monitor air quality at an ethane cracker plant that has repeatedly violated its permits in the short time it’s been operational. (Beaver County Times)

GEOTHERMAL: Eversource begins construction of a geothermal energy pilot program that will help determine whether to develop a utility-scale networked geothermal system to Framingham, Massachusetts. (WCVB)

GRID:
• The head of New York’s grid operator says fossil fuel-fired generation facility may need to delay their retirements to ensure reliability margins don’t narrow too much. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• With bipartisan support, the New York legislature passes a bill that requires state and utility officials to determine what grid improvements are needed to develop an electric vehicle charging network. (RTO Insider, subscription)

FLOODING: Officials in Hoboken, New Jersey, celebrate its latest climate resiliency project: a new five-acre park that has underground basins to store 2 million gallons of stormwater runoff. (Gothamist)

WILDFIRES:
• With longer, more intense wildfire seasons expected, Connecticut officials consider how to protect residents from increased bad air quality days. (NHPR)
• Existing smog and acute wildfire smoke plumes contributed to over 500 New Jerseyans seeking hospital care for intense asthma attacks. (NorthJersey.com)

CLIMATE:
• Federal climate estimates suggest Asbury Park, New Jersey, will see twice as many hot days this year than it did three decades ago. (Asbury Park Press)
• Researchers take to the skies to pinpoint methane-emitting hotspots in Pennsylvania, using drones and satellites to map leaks and dysfunctional equipment. (Bay Journal)
• Cornell University researchers test whether an old mathematical equation can inform ways to store or reuse carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. (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.