A big battery boost in New York

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

STORAGE

• New York awards contracts to eight large-scale battery projects totalling 950 MW of capacity as it aims to reach 6 GW of installed storage by 2030. (Canary Media)
• Vermont’s network of more than 5,000 home battery systems form a virtual power plant that helps keep the lights on and reduce the need to run peaker plants at times of high grid demand. (BBC)

RENEWABLES

• New York announces financial support for 13 solar, wind, and hydro projects totalling more than 700 MW of capacity. (Utility Dive)

AFFORDABILITY

• As heating oil prices hit record highs of more than $6 per gallon, residents in often-frigid northern Maine wonder how they will be able to stay warm this winter. (Maine Public)

NATURAL GAS

• In July, two equipment failures at a Connecticut compressor station caused the release of 35 million cubic feet of natural gas in less than an hour and alarmed nearby residents with a noise ​“like a tornado or freight train.” (Connecticut Public)
• Researchers find the radium levels in groundwater near Pennsylvania fracking sites are well within regulatory limits, but say they couldn’t take enough samples to draw firm conclusions. (Inside Climate News)

ELECTRIFICATION

• A Brooklyn-based startup is testing out a system to allow food cart operators to run their operations on batteries rather than using gasoline-powered generators. (Canary Media)
• New York’s Erie Canal will host a marine electrification demonstration project including an electric workboat, fast-charging infrastructure, and a floating energy storage and charging platform called the ​“ChargeBarge.” (Solar Builder)

NUCLEAR

• Decommissioning is nearly complete at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, but 58 sealed casks of used fuel rods remain in place on the site. (Compass Vermont)

UTILITIES

• Maryland utilities BGE, Pepco, and Delmarva Power intend to pass on $160 million in state tax refund payments onto customers. (WYPR)
• Maine Public Utilities Commission staff recommend regulators deny a request by the state’s major utility to temporarily raise rates by an average of $7 per customer per month as it deals with a financial shortfall. (Maine Public)

TRANSMISSION

• Developers are pushing New York regulators to allow private companies — not just utilities — to propose power-line construction projects in the state, where transmission infrastructure has grown very slowly in recent decades. (Times Union)