Litigation may have cost Pennsylvania $1.5 billion in missed RGGI credits

EMISSIONS: Two ongoing lawsuits have forced Pennsylvania to skip seven carbon credit auctions since joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in early 2022, a delay environmentalists say has cost the state $1.5 billion. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

HURRICANES:
• Officials in downeast Maine prepare for the possible landfall of Hurricane Lee, which may be the strongest hurricane to hit the state since 1991. (Bangor Daily News)
• A Central Maine Power official warns that an extremely wet summer has stressed out trees, meaning they may be more prone to fall during Hurricane Lee. (WABI)

OIL & GAS:
• Watchdog groups working in Pennsylvania use high-tech infrared cameras to track emissions at gas drilling sites, helping residents validate their health concerns. (Public Source)
• Pennsylvania residents living near fracking operations continue to struggle with debilitating health problems after state lawmakers shelved a bill that would restrict where fracking can occur. (Public Source)

WIND:
• A federal agency provides Ørsted’s Ocean Wind I project with a construction authorization that includes whale and dolphin protection measures and incidental harm guidelines. (NJ Advance Media)
• Vineyard Wind I workers start the offshore wind project’s turbine installation phase. (news release)
• Some conservationists continue to push back against state officials’ consideration of using Maine’s heavily forested Sears Island for an offshore wind port. (News Center Maine)
• Some residents of a western New York town begin organizing against the early development process for a potentially 200 MW wind farm, citing environmental and health impacts. (Buffalo News)
• A New Jersey economic development agency will grant almost $400,000 to the New Jersey Institute of Technology to help develop two offshore wind graduate certificate programs. (news release)

CRYPTOMINING: As a gas-fired New York cryptomining operation in the Finger Lakes region appeals the rejection of its air permit renewal, the company continues to mine Bitcoin and bank profits. (Gothamist)

SOLAR: A solar developer secures $91 million in new financing to construct five agrivoltaic facilities in Massachusetts. (PV Magazine)

TRANSPORTATION: Maryland transportation officials say the state will face a $2 billion shortfall to build already approved projects starting in 2025. (Washington Post)

FLOODS: This week’s flash floods in Massachusetts show that heavy rains spurred by climate change are becoming a new normal. (Boston Globe)

COMMENTARY: The acting director of the Sierra Club’s Massachusetts chapter writes that utilities are undermining the state’s climate goals as they continue trying to build gas infrastructure. (CommonWealth Magazine)