Massachusetts gives $53M to cut emissions in affordable housing

BUILDINGS: Massachusetts awards $53 million — with plans for additional funding — to allow affordable housing operators to execute energy efficiency retrofits to reduce carbon emissions, cut energy bills, and create healthier, more comfortable homes for residents. (Energy News Network)

POLICY: In the final hours of their legislative session, Massachusetts lawmakers fail to pass a notable renewable energy bill that would’ve streamlined the permitting process. (Associated Press)

HYDROGEN:

• Federal energy officials agree to provide $30 million to the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub for its first slate of work across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia; the hub could receive up to $925 million. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Some environmental advocates say pay-to-enter hydrogen networking events help backers of the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub network get non-public facetime between involved businesses and officials. (WHYY)

COURTS: In the legal fights over the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Pennsylvania’s governor and lawmakers have paid over $4.2 million in legal fees. (Spotlight PA)

GRID:

• Almost 1,000 people attend a four-hour public forum to learn more about the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project and cite their concerns with the proposed power line, including the possibility of eminent domain. (Fox 45)
• New York’s grid operator says that power demand in the state could skyrocket by as much as 90% by 2042 because of electrification efforts and the development of energy-intensive industries, like data centers. (Utility Dive)
• First Energy’s CEO says the results of PJM Interconnection’s last two capacity auctions — with high prices but inadequate amounts of new, cleared generation — show the grid operator is unable to meet the power needs of its stakeholders. (Utility Dive)

HYDROPOWER: The New York Power Authority grants low-cost hydropower allocations to support industrial expansions: 10 MW for a renewable diesel fuel and paraffinic wax maker and 1,370 kW for a tungsten powder producer. (Post Star)

RENEWABLE POWER: Five New Hampshire communities encourage local community power program participants to individually opt in to receive larger shares of renewable energy; most are set to the base rate, which includes between 24.3% and 33% renewable power, depending on the town. (NHPR)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• In New Hampshire, Liberty Utilities says it can’t assist with any new gas hook-ups for the rest of the year, citing a ​“full construction schedule.” (Concord Monitor)
• A private equity firm in Bethesda, Maryland, purchases 300 MW of gas-fired and dual-fueled power plants in Long Island, New York. (news release)

SOLAR: A developer completes a 2.8 MW community solar project on a New York landfill site formerly used by the U.S. Army. (news release)

WORKFORCE: Almost $5 million in federal funds will help Maryland train residents for the state’s offshore wind workforce and set them up with jobs. (The Daily Record)

ELECTRIFICATION: Plattsburgh, New York, will receive $10,000 from the state to switch to electric construction and landscaping equipment. (WCAX)

COMMENTARY: A Maine Conservation Voters senior policy director writes that rural energy and Inflation Reduction Act funds help farmers make renewable energy investments that benefit their farms’ finances and climate resiliency. (Bangor Daily News)