New Jersey utility files nearly $1B grid upgrade plan

GRID: Jersey Central Power and Light files a plan with New Jersey regulators to get approval for what it calls its ​“largest-ever infrastructure upgrade investment plan,” $935 million worth of grid modernization and resiliency projects. (Asbury Park Press)

ALSO:

• Although Massachusetts failed to secure any of the $250 million it sought from a federal grid resilience program, utilities National Grid and Generac have each locked down $50 million for grid projects in the state. (Boston Globe)
• After successfully trialing a prototype, Eversource distributes ​“rapid pole” technology to crews in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to halve power restoration time. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators propose a $43,750 fine for Holtec International over improperly handled radioactive material shipments from New Jersey’s former Oyster Creek nuclear plant, which the company is decommissioning. (Asbury Park Press)

FOSSIL FUELS: A Philadelphia nonprofit receives $500,000 in federal funds to increase monitoring of Delaware’s largest polluter, the Delaware City Refinery. (Delaware News Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• NJ Transit officials say their new $685 million deal to purchase 750 diesel-fueled buses is potentially the ​“last diesel bus procurement” the agency will ever make. (NorthJersey.com)
• A new deal between GM and workers means $300 million in electric vehicle manufacturing investments for its Tonawanda, New York, facility, a plan that essentially solidifies the town’s place in the EV future. Buffalo News)
• A state judge prevents New York City from issuing new for-hire taxi licenses as it worked to roll out unlimited licenses for electric vehicles. (Gothamist)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• Gulf of Maine lobster catchers eagerly await the federal government’s final map of where offshore wind development could be located in their traditional fishing waters. (Maine Public Radio)
• The lobster industries of Maine and Canada’s Nova Scotia province share similar concerns about offshore wind development, but Canadian lobster catchers say their government isn’t taking the matter as seriously as Maine. (CBC)
• The New Jersey GOP increased attacks on offshore wind development ahead of elections this week but couldn’t stave off Democrats’ wins. (E&E News)
• Some Rhode Island fishers consider new gear and techniques for working around offshore wind turbines. (ecoRI)

SOLAR:

• Portland-based ReVision Energy will acquire Sunbug Solar, a Massachusetts company, to improve service for customers in that state. (Maine Public Radio)
• In Connecticut, a developer intends to soon file plans to build a solar farm slated to power 760 homes, but some residents are concerned about noise pollution and using farmland for the site. (Hartford Courant)
• More Rhode Island breweries are turning to solar power to electrify their operations. (Boston Globe)

GEOTHERMAL:

• New York City environmentalists see hope in creating geothermal energy networks to decarbonize the city’s buildings. (City Limits)
• Rhode Island’s Brown University plans to drill three geothermal test wells to heat some of its campus buildings, a project that helps the college take steps toward decarbonization. (Boston Globe)