More offshore wind payouts likely

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.

OFFSHORE WIND

• Offshore wind experts predict more companies will try to secure Trump administration payouts to abandon their projects, with likely candidates clustered on the New Jersey, New York, and California coasts. (E&E News)

• The Delaware Supreme Court upholds a lower court decision that supported a law allowing an electrical substation for a planned offshore wind project despite opposition from the town and country. (Cape Gazette)

NATURAL GAS

• The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sues to block an effort to restart construction of the Constitution Pipeline, a proposed natural gas project that would run from Pennsylvania into upstate New York. (E&E News)

UTILITIES

• State lawmakers in New Hampshire advance a bill that would allow utilities to own up to a 10% stake in natural gas or nuclear power plants. (InDepthNH)

NUCLEAR

• New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) vetoes one bill promoting nuclear energy in the state but says she will work with legislators on a second bill including similar provisions. (Boston Globe)

• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signs a bill requiring the state to study the workforce that would be needed to support the construction and operation of advanced nuclear reactors. (Hartford Business Journal)

SOLAR

• A planned 100-MW solar farm in upstate New York receives state approval, though some environmental groups worry it will disturb bird habitats. (CBS 6)

• State regulators in Vermont look into whether large swaths of solar panels that were damaged by storms in the fall and winter could have contaminated the soil underneath the arrays. (VTDigger)

DATA CENTERS

• Delaware state legislators consider a bill that would create a separate, higher electricity rate for the largest customers in an attempt to protect consumers from rising prices associated with an anticipated surge in data center demand. (WHYY)

TRANSMISSION

• New England states, consumer advocates, and large energy users condemn transmission owners’ request to significantly increase their return on equity, an effort the region’s governors say would ​“increase their profit margins at the expense of families and businesses already struggling to pay their electricity bills.” (RTO Insider)

• A report by two clean energy groups concludes that public financing for much-needed transmission infrastructure in New England could save consumers as much as $9 billion in coming decades. (Maine Public)

BATTERIES

• Massachusetts researchers are developing a new approach to recycling lithium-ion batteries that could make it easier and cheaper to recover and reuse critical materials. (news release)