Maine secures first U.S. floating offshore wind research lease

WIND: Federal ocean energy regulators give the country’s first floating offshore wind research lease to Maine for a project of up to 12 turbines near Portland; the state first sought the lease in 2021. (Associated Press)

ALSO: Federal officials grant $89 million to Eversource to develop its Huntsbrook Offshore Wind Hub on the southeastern Connecticut coast, building a new interconnection point for future projects. (news release)

GRID:

• Two New Hampshire property owners — including a state lawmaker — file a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, ISO New England and Eversource to stop a 49-mile transmission line rebuild they say will result in unfair and unreasonable rates. (InDepth NH)
• New York’s grid operator publishes its 2025 budget recommendation of roughly $42.1 million, which delays or deprioritizes several current or planned projects. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• New York utility regulators approve a new pilot project aimed at capping prices for some low-income households while testing a new planning framework with a focus on utility coordination. (Utility Dive)
• In Vermont, Green Mountain Power begins using remote-controlled drones for faster storm recovery and power restoration assessments. (Rutland Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Pennsylvania’s transportation agency plans to use $7.1 million of National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure funds to install electric vehicle chargers across nine counties. (news release)
• Concord, New Hampshire, says it probably won’t receive its three electric school buses until 2026 due to global supply chain issues making it hard to procure electric transformers. (Concord Monitor)

SOLAR:

• A developer subsidizes the install of a 20-panel solar array to help improve the climate resiliency of a Falmouth, Maine nonprofit farm operation that provides land access for refugee and asylum-seeking families to grow culturally significant crops. (Mainebiz)
• Some farmers and solar developers tell a Maine state agency during a public commenting hearing that ​“high value agricultural soil” compensation rules currently being drafted would hurt both industries. (Maine Public Radio)

FOSSIL FUELS: Pennsylvania’s energy production will collapse, making it a ​“Third World” state, if Vice President Kamala Harris becomes president and enacts her fracking policies, former President Donald Trump claims. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

UTILITIES:

• New York regulators say they now plan to investigate why Con Edison’s rates are so much higher than National Grid’s following a state lawmaker’s report that shows the former’s customers pay twice as much as the latter. (Crain’s New York, ABC 7)
• Maryland regulators are being sued by a third-party power supplier over their decision that the company used deceptive sales tactics and broke state telephone solicitation laws. (Baltimore Sun)
• A representative of Connecticut’s utility regulator blasts Avangrid’s assertion that the commissions’ chair ought to remove herself from a rate case involving two of its gas utilities. (Hartford Courant)

TRANSPORTATION: The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority seeks public comment on its plan to build a new Amtrak station for Portland that would reduce Downeaster trip times by an estimated 15 minutes. (Portland Press Herald)

FLOODS: A storm sweeps New England, dropping historic rainfall totals on parts of Connecticut and New York and causing widespread floods; Connecticut officials expect a lengthy recovery. (NBC News, CT Mirror)

COMMENTARY: PJM Interconnection pushes back on criticism that its planning processes aren’t helping accelerate the energy transition, saying its power grid reforms are working. (Baltimore Banner)