Maine’s dubious claims of highway expansion climate benefits

TRANSPORTATION: Maine says a proposed bypass outside Portland will reduce emissions by alleviating gridlock, but advocates say this claim has been frequently disproven by the outcomes of similar projects elsewhere. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:

• New York City’s transit agency says it will take the state governor ​“at her word” that she will find funds to plug the $15 billion budget gap created by her indefinite pause of the Manhattan congestion pricing program. (Gothamist)
• A school district transportation manager in Buffalo, New York, has become state officials’ go-to guy for advice on transitioning school bus fleets to electric. (Buffalo News)

WIND:

• Federal ocean energy regulators release their final environmental impact statement for US Wind’s three-phase offshore wind project that could generate up to 2.2 GW off the Delmarva Peninsula. (news release)
• Cape Cod’s tribal and legislative leaders say the federal government must create new protocols to ensure they know about hazardous situations much more quickly than they did when Vineyard Wind’s turbine blade snapped. (Cape Cod Times)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• Pennsylvania utility regulators file a 22-count complaint against Peoples Natural Gas over a fatal Tyrone home explosion in 2021, recommending an $800,000 fine and several safety procedural reforms. (Altoona Mirror)
• Clean energy advocates say newly proposed rules within the Philadelphia Gas Commission would limit stakeholder participation during what they characterize as more meaningful moments to influence decisions. (WHYY)

GRID:

• A newly signed New Hampshire law gives the state’s energy department just over a year to draft regulations for a cost-effective, uniform grid interconnection process for new energy resources. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
• Some residents of New York City’s Queens borough attend a public meeting to support a transmission project that would carry offshore wind energy to the Ravenswood Generating Station, which is being redeveloped into a clean energy hub. (QNS)

NUCLEAR: Constellation Energy says several large tech firms want to develop data centers at Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant to avoid grid interconnection, but some question if this will benefit ratepayers. (Baltimore Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• While the number of overall e-bike fires in New York City are roughly the same as last year, city fire officials say fatalities and juries appear to be falling amid a campaign to store batteries outside. (Gothamist)
• A Maine couple look to expand their electric picnic boat business, having sold dozens around the region in the past few years. (Bangor Daily News)
• After years of opposition to their use by conservationists, an Acadia National Park official says about half of all bicycle traffic on its gravel paths are now e-bikes. (Bangor Daily News)

POLICY: A new analysis suggests that Maryland could establish a carbon cap-and-trade program that would help pay for low-income communities’ clean energy projects, but there are drawbacks. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR:

• In Maryland, state utility regulators consider proposals for six new solar projects in Carroll County, even though the projects would be on farmland labeled off-limits to such development in the local zoning code. (Baltimore Sun)
• Maryland is one of only six states offering grant funds to municipalities to help them expedite solar project permitting. (PV Technology)