Backlash as NY governor pauses congestion tolling

TRANSIT: As New York’s governor pauses the Manhattan traffic congestion tolling program, legal experts say freezing the program aimed at reducing emissions and raising transit system funding may not be a power she has. (New York Focus, Gothamist)

ALSO: The now-jeopardized future of the Manhattan traffic tolling plan is making ​“odd bedfellows” of ​“furious” business leaders and left-leaning legislators, both of which want the tolls to be implemented. (Gothamist, The City)

FOSSIL FUELS: Despite residents’ concerns and formal complaints, a cryptomining firm with a habit of noncompliance with Pennsylvania environmental laws is using gas wells to power its energy-intensive operations. (Capital & Main)

HYDROPOWER: Officials in a suburban Philadelphia county want to operate an unused Schuylkill River dam to generate 7,300 MWh of hydroelectricity, helping the county reach its goal of only using renewable energy for county operations by 2050. (WHYY)

GEOTHERMAL: A Salem, Massachusetts, church hires an energy developer to study whether it could develop a geoexchange network for its facilities and its residential and commercial neighbors. (news release)

SOLAR:

• Two developers wrap up construction of 22 MW worth of agrivoltaic projects in upstate New York; all projects will involve sheep grazing. (news release)
• Developer ReVision Energy wants to install a 1.25 MW community solar farm in Harpswell, Maine, seeking a 35-year lease for the five-acre site. (Harpswell Anchor)
• Maryland’s Worcester County intends to rescind its rejection of a 7.54 MW project on about 25 acres of Snow Hill farmland and instead issue no recommendation to state regulators. (Bayside Gazette)
• A Vermont solar installer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just a few months after hiring a new chief executive officer and restructuring its leadership. (Solar Power World)

BATTERIES: An energy developer says its planned 15 MW/60 MWh battery energy storage facility at the former Arthur Kill peaker power plant will be the largest such project in New York City. (RTO Insider, subscription; SI Live)

GRID: Central Maine Power is reportedly almost done with an $85 million rebuild of a 115 kV power line between the midcoast towns of Windsor and Warren. (WABI)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• The Burlington, Vermont, electric department shares the locations where it will install electric vehicle chargers on utility poles to improve access and see whether having them in neighborhoods improves local purchase rates. (news release)
• Vermont transportation officials publish the list of eight entities they’ve selected to build out the state’s electric vehicle charging network. (news release)

BUILDINGS: A new analysis suggests Maryland ratepayers could save over $1,000 on their heating, cooling and water heating by upgrading to heat pump and heat pump water heaters. (RMI)

NUCLEAR: Although Seabrook is the largest nuclear plant in New England, a little-known research facility at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has a 1 MW reactor for its nuclear engineering program. (Concord Monitor)

WORKFORCE: Massachusetts Maritime Academy plans to use a $2 million grant to design a course for offshore wind workers on how to survive a helicopter crash in the ocean. (Cape Cod Times)

COMMENTARY: A member of Maryland’s state climate commission details recommendations for the state to ensure new climate policies are inclusive of people with disabilities. (Maryland Matters)