Baltimore’s climate accountability lawsuit dismissed

COURTS: A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge throws out the city’s climate accountability lawsuit against several major oil companies, saying the case sought to go ​“beyond the limits of Maryland state law.” (Reuters; E&E News, subscription)

BATTERIES:

• A 5 MW battery storage facility on New York’s Long Island is back online over a year after a fire damaged it, but contractor NextEra still won’t say what caused the fire. (Newsday)
• New York’s governor signs into law new measures aimed at improving e-bike battery safety, including a ban on substandard lithium-ion battery sales and new first responder training requirements. (WGRZ)

PIPELINES: A federal court of appeals says Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board has the authority to review permits to expand a gas pipeline network in that state and New Jersey. (E&E News, subscription)

HYDROPOWER: Rumford, Maine, says it’s ​“largely supportive” of the license renewal process for the hydroelectric dam operated by Brookfield Renewable Partners on the Androscoggin River. (Sun Journal)

GRID:

• Another public information session for a proposed Maryland transmission line sees dozens of Carroll County residents come out, with many expressing aggravation with the possibility of developers using eminent domain to secure land. (Fox Baltimore)
• Retiring peaker plants and a higher installed capacity requirement have caused New York City’s capacity costs to rise an astronomical 221% in the first quarter of this year. (RTO Insider, subscription)

SOLAR:

• Some residents of Pennsylvania’s Clearfield County raise frustrations over a planned solar array, but local officials say it already has been permitted, is on private lands and was discussed at meetings two years ago. (WJAC)
• The Maryland Energy Administration plans to award $6 million for new solar projects that expand access to renewable power for low- to moderate-income residents or environmental justice communities. (news release)

UTILITIES:

• Ten New York municipalities consider approving a $1.5 million settlement with Columbia Utilities for failing to create community choice aggregation electricity purchasing programs as the municipalities requested. (Daily Freeman)
• As it recovers from storms this week, Central Maine Power points to climate change for the increased frequency of damaging weather. (Times Record)

WIND: Vineyard Wind says it will hire a carbon-free cement startup in Holyoke, Massachusetts, to provide 2,000 tons of the substance for the Vineyard Wind 2 offshore wind project. (Mass Live)

CLIMATE:

• Still reeling from last July’s extensive floods and waiting for storm recovery assistance, Vermont gets hit again with deadly flooding as the vestiges of Hurricane Beryl pass through. (Associated Press, Boston Globe)
• The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is trying to secure a federal permit for a climate engineering experiment off Cape Cod that would involve altering the ocean’s chemistry to encourage more carbon storage. (WBUR)

COMMENTARY: A climate advocate and a Harvard Medical School professor write that Massachusetts’ legislature should use building codes to phase out the state’s gas system, citing the ​“deadly explosions and climate-harming leaks” that threaten residents’ health and community wellness. (Energy News Network)