NH court: solar project can’t be blocked over aesthetic concerns

SOLAR: New Hampshire’s Supreme Court decides a town can’t block solar projects over aesthetic or property value fears if the project otherwise satisfies local ordinances. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

ALSO:

• Federal energy regulators approve tariff revisions proposed by New York’s grid operator to set a 10 kW minimum capacity for a single distributed energy resource to participate in the market. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Maine town council decides to rezone a general industrial parcel to allow a property owner to develop a solar farm after one council member spoke with frustrated residents and alleviated concern. (Morning Sentinel)
• Connecticut lawmakers consider bills to speed up current solar developments, support community solar projects and optimize already approved projects. (Connecticut Public Radio)

GAS:

• Construction begins on a $440 million anaerobic digester in Linden, New Jersey, that will convert food waste to methane, touted as the nation’s largest-such facility. (NJBiz)
• A gas main rupture at a New York City school leads to a large firefighter and rescue response but no evacuations or injuries. (SILive)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:

• The Brooklyn Navy Yard issues a solicitation for clean energy projects or technologies to be sited at a 130,000-square-foot waterfront parcel. (New York Business Journal)
• Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives advances legislation to allow Lake Erie land leases for clean energy development. (Erie News Now)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Tesla’s plan to lay off about 10% of its workforce includes employees at the South Buffalo, New York, gigafactory. (WKBW)
• Boston and New York City are among the American cities with notable electric vehicle charging installation plans this year. (Utility Dive)
• A New York City preservation committee approves a plan to turn an old newsstand into a delivery worker e-bike charging hub, despite local opposition over the new design. (Streetsblog)

OFFSHORE WIND: With some residents for siting an offshore wind hub on Sears Island and others against it, officials in Searsport, Maine, are publicly neutral on the matter, which the town manager says local officials hold no sway over regardless. (WABI, Bangor Daily News)

FINANCE: A state board approves the formation of the New Jersey Green Bank to help make clean energy, zero-emission transportation and building decarbonization investments. (news release)

POLICY:

• The Pennsylvania House Blue-Green Caucus showcases a legislative agenda that includes bills to increase solar on schools, allow community solar facility subscriptions and require a prevailing wage for government-funded clean energy projects. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• Boston names its first-ever chief climate officer, the city’s former environment cabinet chief under multiple administrations. (Boston Globe)

COAL: A former coal town in Washington state could serve as a model for Pennsylvania towns facing existential questions over a coal-free future. (WITF/​StateImpact PA)