New Jersey’s offshore wind collapse signals opportunity for Northeast

Editor’s note: Northeast Energy News is taking a quick break and won’t publish tomorrow. We’ll be back Thursday.

OFFSHORE WIND: With New Jersey’s offshore wind industry faltering, New York and other Northeast states will have to pick up the pieces to stay on track to achieve federal energy goals. (Politico)

ALSO:

• Eversource’s top executive says it has found a buyer for its 50% stake in the Revolution Wind and South Fork wind farms it shares with Ørsted, but declines to share who it is. (CommonWealth Beacon, PBN)
• Somerset, Massachusetts, voters authorize a $20 million property tax break for a company planning to build an up-to-$300 million facility to service the offshore wind industry. (CommonWealth Beacon)
• The approval of Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind I but the rejection of Revolution Wind II underscores the delicate balancing act offshore wind developers must handle. (ecoRI)

ELECTIONS: With every New Jersey Democrat’s seat up for election, observers question whether Ørsted’s canceled New Jersey offshore wind farms could change the vote of anyone in the state today. (E&E News, Washington Examiner)

TRANSIT:

• President Biden announces billions in new federal funds to help Amtrak and other transit agencies to renovate rail infrastructure and speed up service along the Boston-to-DC passenger rail line. (Washington Post)
• The transit agency of Albany, New York, launches a long-awaited bus rapid transit line that includes device chargers and internet access. (Troy Record)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Maryland transportation officials mull new registration fees for electric and hybrid plug-in vehicles to help pay for infrastructure projects typically covered by the gas tax. (Daily Record, Maryland Matters)
• Pennsylvania would see $157 billion in benefits by 2050 if it achieves 100% clean power by 2040 and adopts clean car policies, according to a study commissioned by an environmental advocacy organization. (NRDC)

SOLAR:

• New York grants a draft permit to a 60 MW solar array in a rural town near Albany, despite community concern. (WAMC)
• A firm wants to clear cut 10 acres of trees along a popular Maine hiking trail to develop a solar array, a plan upsetting residents who say the firm could put the panels elsewhere. (Times Record)
• A health care center in Mystic, Connecticut, installs enough rooftop solar to cover all but 5% of its annual energy demand. (Hartford Business Journal)
• New solar carports have been installed at two subway stations in Washington, D.C. (news release)

BUILDINGS:

• Steam heat technology from the 19th century keeps apartments so toasty it forces many New Yorkers to keep their windows open in the winter, but the city’s new building emissions law could change that. (The Guardian)
• A real estate developer breaks ground on what will be one of the first all-electric buildings in Brooklyn, a mixed-use complex complete with apartments, office space and classrooms. (Brooklyn Eagle)

FOSSIL FUELS: Environmentalists keep seeing miles-long oil sheens on the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh, not far from several industrial facilities. (Daily Climate)

WORKFORCE: Maine’s clean energy workforce is growing apace but lacks diversity, according to a top state energy official. (News Center Maine)