Maryland offshore wind area dropped from mid-Atlantic lease sale

OFFSHORE WIND: Federal officials drop a leasing area off Maryland’s coast, separate from a joint Maryland-Delaware tract, over defense and aeronautic concerns, though officials will soon consider a new area for leasing. (Utility Dive, Offshore Wind Biz)

ALSO:

• Massachusetts’ energy siting board approves the landing of underground cables at Barnstable’s Craigville Beach from the Park City Wind project. (CAI)
• A New Jersey citizens’ group writes to the governor asking for a review of how offshore wind projects will impact electricity rates. (The Sandpaper)

GRID: In New York, officials say the Marcy-to-New Scotland transmission line rebuild has wrapped up, an upgrade that now allows five times as much electricity to run along the line as before. (CNY Homepage)

SOLAR:

• Western Massachusetts residents continue fighting planned projects to clear-cut trees for solar fields, despite acknowledgement that forests aren’t the best place for such projects. (The Shoestring)
• A developer begins construction on a 5.2 MW corporate solar installation in Reading, Pennsylvania. (news release)

TRANSIT: In Boston, transit agency staff present research on the impact of halving fares for low-income people, but a mayoral appointee on the agency’s board pushes for an examination of fare elimination. (CommonWealth Magazine)

BUILDINGS: A Massachusetts community college receives a nearly $800,000 state grant to undertake energy efficiency projects ranging from weatherization to window replacements. (Mass Live)

ADAPTATION:

• In Maine, residents of towns including West Paris and Hanover attend a public meeting to discuss how best to use an up to $50,000 state grant for climate resiliency projects the town intends to apply for. (Sun Journal, Kennebec Journal, Bethel Citizen)
• Trenton, New Jersey, environmentalists are planting trees in neighborhoods suffering from the heat island effect to lower summertime temperatures and reduce related hospitalizations. (WHYY)

MINING: The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum opens a new exhibit focused on lithium and its supply chain as the state considers the impact of potentially extracting a major lithium deposit in Newry. (Bethel Citizen)