More details of Trump energy cuts emerge

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

FEDERAL ACTION

• The Trump administration’s plan to slash nearly $8 billion in energy funding, largely for the states that voted for Kamala Harris, targets renewable power research and an electric aircraft company in Vermont, agrivoltaics research in New Jersey, clean hydrogen production in Delaware, and heat pump component manufacturing in New York. (VTDigger, WHYY, Syracuse.com)

OFFSHORE WIND

• A judge denies the Trump administration’s request to pause an ongoing lawsuit against the US Wind project off Maryland, saying its lawyers are unable to work on the case during the government shutdown. (WBOC)

• Data from the first year of operation at New York’s South Fork Wind development undermines U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s claim that, ​“You don’t get wind power” in the winter. (E&E News)

CLIMATE

• The city of Baltimore and two Maryland counties will argue in court that they should be allowed to sue fossil fuel companies for misleading the public about the impacts of their operations, as they appeal a ruling that threw out their previous challenges. (Baltimore Sun)

• Carbon emissions created by electricity generation in New England were up 1% from 2023 to 2024, but have dropped 20% since 2015 as wind and solar have effectively replaced most oil and coal generation. (ISO Newswire)

STORAGE

• Some New York towns are among a growing group of communities nationwide enacting moratoriums on battery energy storage systems that opponents say come with an outsized risk of fire. (Associated Press)

• Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board will hold a hearing on a proposed 125-megawatt battery storage facility that has drawn protests from neighbors of the intended site. (Lowell Sun)

TRANSMISSION

• Workers surveying private land as part of a plan to build a 67-mile transmission line through part of Maryland face hostility and sometimes threats from angry property owners who oppose the project. (Baltimore Sun)

EFFICIENCY

• Maryland commits $36 million to fund a range of efficiency, electrification, and clean energy projects in the state’s public schools. (WJZ)

ELECTRIFICATION

• City councilors in Providence, Rhode Island, approve a proposal to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers by 2033. (WPRI)