Conspiracy theories target New Jersey wind farms

OFFSHORE WIND: In New Jersey, activists promoting unfounded theories about electromagnetic waves emanating from offshore wind cables have gathered enough momentum to pose a serious threat to the state’s first planned offshore wind farm. (Heatmap, subscription)

ALSO: Nantucket officials are hiring experts to assess the environmental and economic damage caused by a 107-foot blade that fell from an offshore turbine in July, leading to beach closures as debris washed up onshore. (MassLive)

BIOMASS: A company proposing a widely opposed wood-burning power plant in western Massachusetts is in court arguing its permits, previously ruled expired, should still be considered valid. (MassLive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Philadelphia schools get nearly $17 million in federal funding to buy 45 electric school buses, and New Jersey schools will receive $15 million in state grants for electric buses and charging infrastructure. (WHYY)

STORAGE: Massachusetts-based Form Energy receives $405 million in investments to help speed manufacturing and accelerate deployment of its batteries, which can store up to 100 hours of power. (Associated Press)

GRID:

• Canada, New England, and New York must cooperate on grid planning across the regions to accommodate increased renewable energy resources, say a panel of researchers and industry insiders. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Grid operator PJM considers letting some projects skip ahead in the queue for interconnection studies in order to get additional generation online more quickly and improve reliability. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR: The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission seeks bids to build 15 solar arrays along the cross-state highway, pursuing its goal of becoming the country’s first sustainable highway by 2040. (Chesapeake Bay Journal)

WORKFORCE: Massachusetts awards $16 million in grants to small businesses, nonprofits, and schools to improve and expand training opportunities for jobs in clean energy, energy efficiency, and other ​“climate-critical” sectors. (news release)

BUILDINGS: The Boston Foundation makes a pitch to philanthropists, asking for funds to decarbonize aging homes with the goal of catalyzing more private and public investment in these retrofits. (CommonWealth Beacon)

TRANSPORTATION: Maine seeks a new operator to revive a stretch of coastal rail line, enabling the extension of service from Boston farther North. (Portland Press Herald)

COMMENTARY: A 10-state collaborative aiming to strengthen interregional transmission throughout the Northeast still has vital questions to resolve about cost-sharing, reconciling competing standards, and cooperation between grid operators, says a power transmission engineer. (Utility Dive)