GAO: Offshore wind won’t hurt whales

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

OFFSHORE WIND

• A report from the Government Office of Accountability suggests offshore wind developers improve their engagement with the fishing industry and tribes, but finds no evidence that the industry will harm whales, like Republican Congress members who asked for the probe had hoped. (Heatmap, GAO)

• The federal government asks a judge to dismiss two of Ocean City, Maryland’s claims against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as the city opposes a proposed offshore wind farm from U.S. Wind. (WBOC)

TRANSPORTATION

• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection delays enforcement of Advanced Clean Trucks regulations, citing limited availability of trucks and uncertainty around federal incentives. (State House News Service)

• New Jersey will pay $13 million to put six hydrogen fuel-cell trucks to work at the Port of New York and New Jersey, as well as install fueling facilities and contract with a logistics firm to operate the trucks. (RTO Insider)

• The New York MTA finds congestion pricing deterred about 82,000 vehicles each day from entering Manhattan. (Gothamist)

• The federal government approves Massachusetts’ use of NEVI funding to build five EV charging stations. (Boston Globe)

• Massachusetts unveils a $3.6 million e-bike incentive program that will offer point-of-sale vouchers of up to $1,200. (Worcester Business Journal)

GRID

• The head of PJM Interconnection will resign at the end of the year as Democratic governors blame his leadership for rising power prices. (E&E News)

• Landowners, farmers, and conservationists continue to fight the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a 70-mile line which would run from a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania through Maryland to power Virginia data centers. (Floodlight)

• Pennsylvania utility regulators prepare for a hearing later this month where they’ll examine the potential impact of data centers on the power grid. (Pittsburgh Business Times)

EFFICIENCY

• Brockton, Massachusetts, will use a $7 million energy savings performance contract with Ameresco to make energy-efficient upgrades at two historic buildings. (Utility Dive)

GAS

• Climate advocates voice their support for a Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities proposal that would require new gas customers to cover the whole cost of connecting to the system. (RTO Insider)

• Pennsylvania advocates call out Philadelphia Gas Works for its membership in the American Public Gas Association, which they say is lobbying against Philadelphia climate efforts. (WHYY)

• A backup gas generating station for a Newark, New Jersey, wastewater plant receives another round of approvals. (NJ.com)

CLIMATE

• Rhode Island’s lawsuit against fossil fuel companies over their climate impacts will largely rest on a judge’s interpretation of an ​“and/​or” phrase included in Rhode Island’s initial complaint. (Rhode Island Current)

CLEAN ENERGY

• Maine energy experts say federal climate policy uncertainty has jeopardized the state’s efforts to decarbonize its power supply. (MaineBiz)

HYDRO

• Maine Republican legislators introduce bills that would make it harder to remove hydroelectric dams, but state officials and advocates say the rules would violate federal law and environmental protections. (Maine Monitor)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• The mayor of a majority Black, devastatingly poor North Carolina town is looking to uplift his community with plans for a solar farm, weatherization resource center, and new resilience hub, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

• A new report shows solar is closing in on gas as the top producer of electricity in California, Julian Spector reports.