New England utility plans to pay EV owners to back up the grid

GRID: A New Hampshire electric co-op is testing a transactive energy rate that pays owners of electric vehicles and battery storage systems for sending power to the grid during high demand periods. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Transmission advocates watch for progress with Central Maine Power’s transmission corridor legal challenges, marking the project as a harbinger for the future of American transmission siting. (E&E News)

GAS: Pennsylvania environmental officials say an air quality plan for a planned 1.24 GW gas-fired power plant set certain emissions limits too high, but it’s unclear why the higher limit was established. (PennLive Patriot-Star)

EFFICIENCY: Maine finalizes new household appliance efficiency rules that one nonprofit leader says will save around $36 million every year by 2035. (Maine Public Radio)

PUBLIC TRANSIT:
• Over $23 million in federal transportation funds will go toward electrical upgrades and backup generators at three Philadelphia bus depots for electric buses. (WHYY)
• Two long-awaited bus rapid transit lines in Maryland’s Montgomery County procure funding and set start dates in 2027 and 2028. (Greater Greater Washington)

GEOTHERMAL: Officials in Woodstock, New York, are confident the state energy research agency will grant them funds to assess the feasibility of a community geothermal system. (Daily Freeman)

HYDROELECTRIC: A new pollution control plan is now in place for the Chesapeake Bay’s Conowingo Dam, but participating states still won’t reach their federal pollution reduction deadline. (Bay Journal)

OFFSHORE WIND: A proposed offshore wind port along New York’s Hudson River faces environmental obstacles related to tree clearing and an endangered fish that could jeopardize its construction. (Politico)

COAL: A provision of the federal Inflation Reduction Act could help Pennsylvania miners suffering from black lung disease as it makes permanent a coal tax that funds healthcare costs. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

AFFORDABILITY:
• National Grid says its Long Island and central New York gas heating customers will respectively see bill increases of up to 29% and 39%, which the utility says is due to continued gas pricing volatility. (Newsday, Syracuse.com)
• A Massachusetts energy supplier begins allowing users to install more solar than necessary in order to donate any unused power to low-income families. (news release)