Federal soot rules could cut Pittsburgh-area pollution

FOSSIL FUELS: A new federal air quality rule could notably curb air pollution in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, particularly at the Clairton Coke Works. (WITF)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

BUILDINGS:

• In Pennsylvania, a residential home repair and efficiency upgrade fund could be resuscitated with $50 million suggested in the governor’s newly proposed budget. (WHYY)
• New York grants just under $57,000 to an Erie County agency to further development of a net-zero office and light manufacturing center on a former Bethlehem Steel site. (Buffalo News)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• The cofounder and chief technology officer of developer NineDot Energy shares how the company approaches problems like bringing solar and storage to dense urban neighborhoods. (Renewable Energy World)
• Brooklyn environmentalists say they’re frustrated with development delays and operational issues at a biogas-to-grid project at a city wastewater treatment plant. (Brooklyn Paper)
• A renewable energy developer plans to bring two utility-scale community solar and storage projects to Massachusetts. (news release)

OFFSHORE WIND: Federal energy officials will grant just under $5 million over five years to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to form an offshore wind resilience and reliability center. (news release)

GRID: Connecticut-based utility Avangrid pilots the use of Boston Dynamics’ robot dogs with artificial intelligence programming to conduct visual and thermal inspections at two substations owned by a subsidiary. (news release)

CLIMATE:

• Rising tides and heavy rains threaten to destroy a historic Revolutionary War-era fort along Philadelphia’s Delaware River. (WHYY)
• A new city comptroller’s report shows that over 25% of New York City’s public school buildings could see extreme stormwater flooding, and educators say they want safer, more resilient infrastructure. (City Limits)

TRANSIT: A New York City budget analysis finds the city could provide free transit for low-income seniors and people with disabilities at a lower cost to the city than its current discounted fare program. (Gothamist)

COMMENTARY: A professor of hydrology warns that allowing new housing structures on existing properties in Burlington, Vermont, may increase stormwater management problems as climate change brings heavier rains to the city. (VT Digger)