NY crypto moratorium won’t impact Seneca Lake facility

CRYPTOCURRENCY: New York’s new cryptomining permits moratorium won’t impact a contentious facility near Seneca Lake that is currently appealing its permit renewal denial. (Rochester Beacon)

SOLAR:
• A northern New York planning board provides conditional approval for a 5 MW solar array, despite local concerns over its decommissioning plan; access road construction; and the loss of farmland and wildlife habitat. (NNY360)
• A Massachusetts county judge considers appealing the permit of three solar arrays at the request of a local abutter and an environmental group. (Greenfield Recorder)

GRID:
• Federal officials intend to investigate the cause of a small plane crash that knocked out power to 120,000 Maryland homes after striking a power transmission tower. (Washington Post)
• Top officials with Maine’s utility commission and Central Maine Power weigh in on whether the state’s grid is ready for an electric vehicle-heavy future. (News Center Maine)
• Several New York utilities sue the state utility commission over the implementation of a state law regarding customer bill credits for prolonged outages, saying it lacks a cost-recovery mechanism. (Crain’s New York)
• A New York utility plans to upgrade its drone inspection program with artificial intelligence to identify and evaluate power failures. (news release)

AFFORDABILITY:
• Connecticut legislators call for a multi-state investigation into Eversource’s ​“exorbitant and punishing” rate increases. (CT Post)
• A leading credit rating agency questions whether Connecticut utilities’ major projects could be delayed as customers struggle to pay their bills. (New Haven Register)
• New York legislators pass a bill that funds individuals or nonprofits seeking to intervene in utility ratemaking cases. (WAER)
• Connecticut governmental and utility officials agree to provide bill credits to offset electric rate hikes in 2023. (Connecticut Public Radio)

BUILDINGS: New Hampshire will receive $6.2 million in federal funds for its weatherization program, roughly $5.6 million of which will be allocated to low-income households. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

TRANSIT: The subway in Washington, D.C., hasn’t seen the same post-pandemic ridership resurgence as other major U.S. cities but still seems crowded because fewer trains are in service. (Daily Record)

OFFSHORE WIND: The developers behind Revolution Wind and Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium team up to study how offshore wind turbines impact marine wildlife. (news release)