Hydropower from Quebec dries up

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

HYDRO

• It’s been nearly a month since hydropower company Hydro‑Québec sent electricity into the New England grid over its main transmission line, raising questions about how the region would deal with a longer-lasting or more widespread stoppage of Canadian energy. (Canary Media)

OFFSHORE WIND

• As offshore wind opponents use sealife safety as a reason to fight projects, studies show turbine platforms often become homes for haddock, lobsters, and other creatures. (Canary Media)

FEDERAL FUNDING

• New Hampshire farms and small businesses welcome the promised release of federal funds designed to help pay for solar arrays, but will have to decide whether to ​“voluntarily revise” their projects to better align with the Trump administration’s energy policies. (NHPR)

• In Maine, federal funding for a regional heat pump initiative, plans to prepare coastal communities for climate change, and advanced energy storage is still flowing, though the state still awaits the release of money supporting energy efficiency programs and clean energy installations on small farms. (Maine Public)

LEGISLATION

• Vermont Gov. Phil Scott pushes a bill that would replace requirements to lower greenhouse gas emissions with a net-zero target that would allow for more emissions and rely on the state’s ample forests and farmland to offset their impact. (Inside Climate News)

• Maryland environmental groups face a tricky choice as they decide whether to support a major state energy bill that reins in natural gas pipelines and encourages energy storage, but could also fast-track development of fossil fuel-fired power plants. (Maryland Matters)

• After the Connecticut council responsible for energy facility siting decisions is sued a dozen times in four years, state lawmakers propose a bill that would require the body to include a non-voting community representative in its deliberations. (Hartford Courant)

• A bill under consideration in the Rhode Island state legislature would give residents or organizations potentially impacted by proposed energy projects the resources and money needed to participate in important evidentiary hearings. (Inside Climate News)

GRID

• Pennsylvania utility regulators plan a hearing to discuss how growing demand on the grid from data centers and other users could affect the cost and reliability of the state’s power supply. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

• A Vermont electric cooperative will deploy a new AI software designed for small utilities to help target parts of its infrastructure most vulnerable to damage and most in need of maintenance or upgrades. (News & Citizen)

NUCLEAR

• On the anniversary of the infamous partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, opponents of restarting the facility vow to keep fighting, citing the risk of another accident and the need to dispose of nuclear waste. (Inside Climate News)

WORKFORCE

• New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities partners with Rutgers University to create a certification program training master’s degree students in clean energy topics to help advance informed policymaking. (news release)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• The USDA is demanding grant rewrites favoring fossil fuels over renewables, leaving some rural recipients doubtful they’ll receive money they were promised, Floodlight and Barn Raiser report.