Empire Wind installation vessel canceled

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

• The contract for a massive wind-turbine installation ship Equinor planned to use in the construction of Empire Wind is canceled, jeopardizing the offshore wind farm once again after the Trump administration attempted to cancel the project earlier this year. (Canary Media)

• Community advocates and leaders in Salem, Massachusetts, who spent 10 years pushing for the development of an offshore wind port in the city are left shaken by the cancellation of $34 million in federal funds supporting the project. (Canary Media)

• The stalled SouthCoast Wind project plans to withdraw its application to connect to the regional power grid on Cape Cod amid ongoing uncertainty at the federal level. (CapeCod.com)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

• A proposal to expand the largest solar array in Connecticut and build a second utility-scale project in the same town has local residents telling a state permitting body, ​“We don’t want any more of these.” (CT Mirror)

• Maine and Connecticut agree to coordinate on renewable energy procurements in an attempt to get more clean power under construction before federal tax credits expire. (Maine Public)

• Constellation Energy’s agreement to spend $340 million improving water quality as part of a deal to relicense a hydro facility on the Susquehanna River could set an important precedent for hydroelectric relicensing cases nationwide. (Inside Climate News)

HYDROGEN

• The hydrogen industry worries about reports that the Trump administration is set to pull funding from all clean-hydrogen hubs, including two under development in Appalachia and the mid-Atlantic. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Fossil fuel-burning power plants may emit more carbon during a federal government shutdown when there are lapses in federal monitoring and enforcement of pollution levels, according to new research from Penn State. (news release)

GRID

• Grid operator PJM proposes an expedited interconnection process for up to 10 projects with a minimum capacity of 500 megawatts each to help accommodate anticipated data center demand growth; critics say only gas plants would qualify. (Inside Climate News)

BUILDINGS

• New Jersey launches a grant program offering up to $12.5 million to commercial, industrial, and institutional building owners undertaking clean energy, electrification, and energy efficiency retrofit projects. (New Jersey Business Magazine)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Landscapers in Providence, Rhode Island, are concerned about a possible ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, saying a forced switch to electric equipment could drive them out of business. (WPRI)

UTILITIES

• Rhode Island Energy’s rollout of advanced electric meters throughout the state will help the utility cut costs and transition to a more modern grid, while allowing customers to monitor and better manage their own usage. (Providence Journal)

TRANSMISSION

• Utility company PSEG files a third petition asking courts to grant it access to survey private land along the proposed route of a widely opposed Maryland transmission line, even as more than 150 landowners have appealed rulings allowing surveyors onto their property. (Baltimore Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY

• How Trump gutted the team meant to build America’s energy future — Maria Gallucci

• Trump’s cuts to billion-dollar hydrogen hubs rattle industry — Alexander C. Kaufman

• This mysterious DOE​‘hit list’ has the clean-energy world on edge — Kathryn Krawczyk