Maine utility strikes tentative deal over alleged excessive spending

UTILITIES: Maine’s public consumer advocate and Central Maine Power have a tentative settlement in place to resolve the state’s claim that the utility overspent on its power restoration efforts following storms in 2022. (Portland Press Herald)

ALSO: An artificial intelligence expert at Quinnipiac University says Connecticut would need to undergo significant energy upgrades to take advantage of the burgeoning industry. (WSHU)

WIND:

• In New London, Connecticut, the first boat delivering turbine blades for the Revolution wind project — the state’s first offshore wind facility — was scheduled to arrive yesterday. (WFSB)
• While Maine officials are looking at the Gulf of Maine as the ideal site of future floating offshore wind projects, they still need to secure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal grants to get a port off the ground. (Maine Public Radio)

SOLAR:

• Two top Pennsylvania officials tout the solar energy potential of the state’s many abandoned mine lands at the site of a similar project in Beaver County. (exploreClarion)
• Vermont utility regulators update the state’s net-metering program, reducing net compensation for systems permitted after August 1. (news release)
• A Pittsburgh suburb plans to spend $70,700 to install solar panels at a public works building to increase the site’s energy efficiency. (Fox Chapel Herald)
• In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, a school district issues a request for project proposals from developers as it decides if it should adopt solar. (Lehigh Valley News)

GRID:

• Federal energy regulators hear from stakeholders, including states and renewable energy proponents, that they should approve the New England grid operator’s competitive long-range transmission planning proposal. (Utility Dive)
• On Long Island, New York, renewable energy supporters say they’re in favor of new transmission projects to help decarbonize their energy supply but want to ensure the subsea cables don’t harm the ocean floor. (Island 360)

HYDROELECTRIC: Dozens of Maine’s dams are owned by a massive corporate firm based in Canada that also owns solar, wind and battery energy storage assets across the state. (Maine Monitor)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A historic inn on the New York-Canada border installs several level-2 charging stations after hearing from travelers that the lack of local charging infrastructure was a problem. (NNY360)

BUILDINGS: FEMA grants $500,000 to New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to safeguard the city’s historic sites that could become victims of climate disasters. (Gothamist)

AFFORDABILITY: A Rhode Island legislator introduces a bill that would require state utility regulators to review monthly utility bill formats to protect ratepayers from hidden costs and fees. (News Radio 920 AM)

COMMENTARY: As Massachusetts regulators draft an energy efficiency incentive program’s new three-year plan, it needs to better target low-to-moderate-income households, two community and environmental advocates write. (CommonWealth Beacon)