Eversource to slash $500M in Connecticut grid investments

GRID: Eversource jabs at Connecticut’s utility commission, saying it hasn’t been ​“a constructive regulatory environment” and announcing a $500 million decrease in grid investments over the next five years; the governor will reappoint the commission’s chair regardless. (CT Mirror, Hartford Courant, CT Mirror)

ALSO:

• The New York Power Authority and a transmission developer want to build a $3 billion, 90-mile network of power lines that would connect Westchester, New York City and Long Island using a mix of underground, submarine and overhead cables. (LoHud)
• An energy developer and Massachusetts’ municipal utilities agency launch a reportedly first-of-its-kind partnership to deploy grid-scale battery storage systems that benefit the agency’s member utilities. (news release)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• Pennsylvania environmental regulators and a coal plant lose their challenge in a federal appeals court over a U.S. EPA plan to reduce ground-level ozone pollution at coal plants in the state. (E&E News, subscription)
• Massachusetts lawmakers consider covering environmental remediation costs for leaks or spills from home heating oil tanks, which can be inaccessibly exorbitant for homeowners to pay out of pocket. (WGBH)
• Residents of a Niagara Falls, New York, home that exploded yesterday report smelling gas before the incident occurred. (WKBW)

FINANCE: A number of Schoharie County towns sue New York state over the constitutionality and fairness of its solar and wind project taxation rules. (CBS 6)

POLICY: Climate advocates and policymakers say the New York Power Authority hasn’t been transparent enough in its planning to comply with the Build Public Renewables Act for anyone to see if the agency is on track to meet its mandates. (Canary Media)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard residents will soon be eligible for e-bike rebates that cover up to 90% of the purchase price, depending on their income level. (Cape Cod Times)
• New Castle County, Delaware, publishes a sustainability plan that includes adding 22 charging stations, among roughly 200 other climate mitigation measures; public comment forums are underway. (WHYY)
• In Massachusetts, National Grid kicks off a program to fund up to the entire cost of electric vehicle chargers at multi-family residential buildings. (news release)
• A large school district in upstate New York adds four electric school buses to its fleet. (WCAX)

WIND: The Brigantine, New Jersey, city council pushes for fellow municipalities and its county board of commissioners to use legal action to fight offshore wind development. (Press of Atlantic City)

SOLAR:

• A public hearing on a 41-acre solar and storage project in Amherst, Massachusetts shows residents have a variety of concerns, including erosion, stormwater management and the presence of a particularly rare plant. (Amherst Indy)
• Local utility regulators in Washington, D.C., approved over 2,100 new solar systems in 2023, including 66 community renewable energy facilities; current solar capacity in the district is now 214.5 MW. (news release)
• On the site of a former landfill in Depew, New York, a 5 MW solar project is now pushing power to the grid. (WGRZ)
• A life science building just outside of Boston installs a small solar and battery storage project that also incorporates 15 electric vehicle charging ports. (news release)
• A solar installer in Maine says it has introduced a 30-year component warranty for its project, which it believes is the longest term available in the state. (news release)