Connecticut governor wants to quadruple school solar panels

SOLAR: Connecticut’s governor wants to allow the state’s schools to quadruple their solar panel use over the next few years by no longer holding them to an annual solar installation cap. (CT Post)

ALSO:

• A Texas firm sues several Maine businesses for just under $2 million over an alleged failure to pay for solar project construction work in Penobscot County. (Bangor Daily News)
• The founder of a residential solar installation company facing scrutiny by the Rhode Island attorney general’s office has a history of deceptive business practice accusations — although some once-frustrated customers have become fans. (Rhode Island Current)
• A Maine town council considers rezoning a general industrial parcel to allow a property owner to develop a solar farm, although one council member believes the site is habitat to an endangered bird. (Morning Sentinel)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• Maine’s Senate advances legislation allowing developers of the proposed Sears Island offshore wind hub to skirt existing sand dune protections, sending their bill to state representatives, who already voted down a different version of the bill. (Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald)
• A global renewables developer acquires a 1.3 GW portfolio of New York onshore wind projects. (news release)

POLICY: A panel of energy experts says New York can’t meet its goal of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030, citing a lack of available labor, the stakeholder process and insufficient transmission capacity. (RTO Insider, subscription)

EMISSIONS: New Jersey environment officials say the state’s net greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were equivalent to 1.7% of the entire country’s gross emissions. (NJ Spotlight)

STORAGE: A new report from a coalition of public agencies finds four-hour battery storage projects would perform better than two-hour storage and new fossil fuel-fired peaker plants, factoring in air pollution, emissions and overall cost. (RTO Insider, subscription)

GRID: Constellation Energy is among those asking federal energy regulators to stick with the original results of PJM Interconnection’s last base capacity auction, but Maryland and Delaware commissioners and public advocates say doing so would more than double capacity costs in their zone. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• As Tesla looks to lay off over 10% of its global workforce, it’s unclear if those staff reductions will affect a new company hub in Providence, Rhode Island, or a location in Warwick. (PBN)
• Maine’s governor signs a new law handing control of motor vehicle emissions standards to the state legislature from the state environmental protection board, following the board’s rejection of a cleaner cars standard. (Maine Public Radio)
• A New York City preservation committee will vote today on turning an old newsstand into a delivery worker e-bike charging hub, although a local community board says the new design doesn’t fit the neighborhood. (Gothamist)

TRANSIT: In New York, a Republican lawmaker pushes his colleagues to repeal the Manhattan congestion toll pricing plan, slated to go into effect in two months despite confusion over who gets tolled and when. (NBC New York, Gothamist)

UTILITIES:

• A southern Maine landlord sues Central Maine Power, claiming the utility double-charged her and her tenants for power delivery fees over nearly two decades but will only reimburse six years of overcharges; the utility claims bills beyond are legally unclaimable. (Portland Press Herald)
• Burlington, Massachusetts, seeks state approval to form a municipal power aggregation program for residents, some of whom have been supporting the idea since before the pandemic. (Daily Times Chronicle)