In NYC, storm surge gates proposed to spare coast

CLIMATE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes a $52 billion plan to protect New York City from coastal flooding through 12 storm surge gates, but local environmentalists worry about ecosystem consequences. (Gothamist)

ALSO:
• With more intense rainstorms expected, a Pennsylvania town works to understand the causes of its flooding, exacerbating factors and potential solutions. (NPR/WITF)
• University of Connecticut researchers say they can predict flash droughts weeks in advance by observing the amount of fluorescent ​‘glow’ trees emit after absorbing solar radiation. (Gothamist)

HYDROGEN: A New York Power Authority-GE partnership successfully completes one of the first utility-scale hydrogen blending projects at a retrofitted Long Island gas-fired power plant, but the experience shows hydrogen combustion isn’t yet viable. (Power Magazine)

GAS: Seventeen people say they smelled gas odors in the weeks, months and years leading up to a fatal explosion at a Pottstown, Pennsylvania, home in late May; investigators have yet to detail the suspected cause. (Morning Call)

GRID: A proposal to use a slated-to-close New York City gas peaker plant as an interconnection point for the Beacon Wind offshore wind farm could be replicated across the country. (E&E News)

SOLAR: While many want to see Rhode Island developers site new solar projects on brownfields, the developers say it’s often cost prohibitive to do so. (ecoRI)

TRANSIT: Connecticut officials say the state’s fare-free bus program instated in April, as well as high gasoline prices, have enticed residents to become bus riders. (CT Mirror)

LABOR: Massachusetts grants $3.6 million to 25 organizations dedicated to getting more women and minorities in the state’s growing climate mitigation industries and clean energy workforce. (news release)

NUCLEAR: A new report from New Hampshire officials details why it took so long for workers at the Seabrook nuclear plant to notify the public that an emergency alarm was unintentionally activated. (Seacoast Online)

AFFORDABILITY:
• In New Hampshire, Unitil requests a 160% rate hike that the state’s consumer advocate characterizes as an ​“unconscionable” increase for ratepayers. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
• As Massachusetts residents look for ways to save on energy costs, including through renewable energy adoption, a state official proposes a $50 million heating oil reserve fund to help counteract skyrocketing heating fuel prices. (CBS Boston, Boston 25 News)
• A municipal Massachusetts utility executive says his company is a lower-cost island in a sea of rising power prices because it doesn’t need to pay investors. (Patch)
• Rhode Island’s one-time bill credits in the face of a large electric bill hike aren’t sufficient, critics say as they propose their own ideas for how to make energy costs less painful for residents. (Providence Business News)