A surprise call for offshore wind proposals

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.

OFFSHORE WIND

• Maryland requests proposals for offshore wind power purchase agreements from currently licensed developments. (Maritime Executive)

• In another setback for New Jersey’s offshore wind push, the operator of a marine terminal asks a judge to let it evict a wind-energy manufacturer after years of stalled projects and safety concerns. (NJ.com)

DATA CENTERS

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week takes up the question of how power plants co-located with data centers in the PJM region should connect to the grid. (E&E News)

• A proposal for a data center in an historic mill building in Lewiston, Maine, includes plans to build a gas power plant to help meet the facility’s electricity needs. (Maine Public)

• Maryland state lawmakers from both parties are poised to override Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of a bill funding a study into the impact data center development could have on the grid, environment, and economy in the state. (Baltimore Sun)

GRID

• New York utilities are planning $4 billion in grid investments that customers will have to foot the bill for, though the companies say the upgrades will help connect more renewable power supply and rein in soaring prices. (Times Union)

• The staff at grid operator PJM plan to recommend an $11.6 billion package of transmission projects aimed at meeting expected load growth in coming years. (RTO Insider)

ELECTRIFICATION

• The cost of installing and operating home heat pumps is going up in Maine, as federal tax credits expire and a utility pilot program offering lower electric rates for customers with heat pumps comes to an end. (Maine Monitor)

• Ithaca College installs 36 new EV charging ports on campus as part of an effort to become a ​“leader in clean transportation” for the school and the wider community. (Central New York Business Journal)

• Connecticut’s first all-electric, net-zero library is slated to open in 2026, and will include grid-interactive renewables, battery storage, and EV charging. (Facility Executive)

CLIMATE

• An energy plan proposed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and set to be finalized this week would not achieve legally mandated emissions reduction targets. (E&E News)

REGULATION

• Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection reduced staff and barely increased spending from 2010 to 2023, even as the fracking boom continued, according to a new report by an environmental advocacy group. (PennLive)

SOLAR

• Townships in southwestern Pennsylvania race to update zoning and ordinances to manage an influx of developers interested in building solar farms in the countryside. (TribLive)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Why this Colorado coal town is digging geothermal — Alison F. Takemura

• Indiana says it’s retiring two coal plants, but is it making other plans? — Kari Lydersen

• Permitting talks are back, and clean energy is caught in the middle — Kathryn Krawczyk