Maine not considering Sears Island alternatives, company says

WIND: An energy and port services company says the state won’t consider their alternative offshore wind port plan, which they say would be cheaper and not have land use concerns like the state’s preferred site on Sears Island. (Portland Press Herald)

ALSO:

• Federal ocean energy regulators say offshore wind lease sales in Delaware and Maryland waters shouldn’t have ​“significant impacts” on the environment ahead of a lease auction that could power 2.2 million homes. (E&E News, subscription)
• In New York, the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub selects six companies — including two from the Northeast — to help develop their offshore wind technologies, like autonomous underwater vehicles. (news release)

GAS: A Massachusetts firm wants to invest $100 million to build an anaerobic digestion facility in Pennsylvania’s Adams County to turn food waste into gas. (Fox 43)

SOLAR:

• A Massachusetts television station continues its energy efficiency plans by using a $60,000 matching grant to install rooftop solar on its facility. (Cape Cod Chronicle)
• In Connecticut, the northeast’s largest dairy farm installs 1,200 kWh worth of solar panels. (news release)

GRID:

• The Northeast Power Coordinating Council says the states under its purview — all of New England and New York, plus parts of Canada — will have enough power this summer under most conditions. (RTO Insider, subscription)

• Officials in a Boston suburb hold a public forum on a $98 million grid reliability plan to help the town meet its 2040 net-zero goal, although one official says it won’t start for at least two years. (Hingham Anchor)
• Pepco finishes upgrading and energizing a Washington, D.C., substation as part of its city grid modernization plans. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION:

• A Boston transit agency subcommittee votes in favor of a 2025 budget that will use up its entire savings account and increase spending by 11%, despite a looming $700 million budget gap. (CommonWealth Beacon)
• Despite the governor of New York’s hesitation around a traffic congestion plan in New York City, cities around the world have kept similar policies in place — even in areas where it was initially unpopular. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• A Maine school district may need to pay back federal funds to purchase electric buses if it doesn’t put its fleet back into service after breakdowns took them off the road. (Kennebec Journal)
• Rhode Island’s legislature sends a bill to the governor’s desk to make it legal for certain e-bikes to be used on state bike paths, among other e-bike regulations. (Boston Globe)

BUILDINGS: A Maine firm will soon open a new assembly line process to manufacture 25 – 50 prefabricated homes that meet passive house standards every year. (Bangor Daily News)

WORKFORCE: Three Massachusetts schools will share a $3.4 million grant to provide clean energy job exposure and training to underserved students . (Mass Live)