Maine board upholds controversial transmission line permit

GRID: A Maine board upholds the permit previously granted to Central Maine Power’s controversial New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line, only opting to modify some conditions. (Portland Press Herald)

ALSO:
• Central Maine Power officials still need to get their transmission project over further legal hurdles, including the state Supreme Court’s pending decision over the constitutionality of the anti-line voter referendum. (News Center Maine)
• Despite some outages this summer, ISO-New England officials say they aren’t concerned about grid reliability in the coming months; their worries still stem from wintertime demand. (Boston Globe)

CLIMATE:
• Massachusetts legislators pass a climate bill that, if the governor approves it, will allow ten municipalities to ban new buildings’ gas connections; remove biomass from the state renewable portfolio standard; end certain fossil fuel incentives; and alter offshore wind policies. (Boston Globe)
• Nearly $20 million in state infrastructure adaptation grants are slated to support 13 Maine municipalities to gird against the extreme conditions brought by climate change. (Mainebiz)

UTILITIES: Ithaca, New York, could be supplied by a community choice aggregation program as early as spring 2023, which is expected to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by up to 50%. (Ithaca Voice)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Some Maine truck drivers say high diesel prices aren’t enough to get them to switch to electric, while a state motor transport executive says the transition is ​“in the messy middle.” (Maine Public Radio)

OIL & GAS:
• A power outage at a Delaware oil refinery results in excess emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and other harmful gases. (Delaware News Journal)
• In Connecticut, New Haven Terminal will pay a $44,400 fine to state energy officials over an oil spill in the New Haven Harbor caused by a leaky pipe roughly five years ago. (New Haven Independent)

NUCLEAR: A report finds that closing New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant drove up the grid’s gas power use by 11 percentage points, which pro-nuclear advocates call a sign to use nuclear to transition away from fossil fuels. (LoHud)

AFFORDABILITY:
• In the face of mounting unpaid utility bills, New York City’s council creates a new utility customer advocacy office to assist ratepayers with aid applications, monitor related issues and testify on their behalf. (City Limits)
• High heating oil prices leave many Mainers worrying about how they will safely and affordably keep warm this winter. (Maine Public Radio)