NY utility’s heat pump incentives falling far below promised benefits

HEAT PUMPS: Although a PSEG Long Island heat pump incentive program promised to fund at least 80% of the cost of installing heat pumps for 350 low-income families, only 20 customers have received rebates since the program started last year. (Newsday)

GRID: A forward market for clean energy resources in PJM Interconnection would help lower greenhouse gas emissions and the costs of such projects, according to a clean energy nonprofit’s new report. (Utility Dive)

OFFSHORE WIND: A virtual public hearing on a New Jersey offshore wind farm’s transmission line plan this week saw over two hundred attendees both for and against the project, underscoring the divisiveness of such infrastructure. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIFICATION: A new report recommends that Maine’s lobster industry transition away from diesel-powered vessels and electrify its boat fleet. (Bangor Daily News)

AFFORDABILITY:
• Gas stations in Massachusetts should have to prove to the state attorney general that they aren’t gouging customers, argues a state official wanting an investigation into ​“rapid price increases.” (WHDH)
• Elevated home heating oil prices put low-income Mainers receiving a fixed amount of fuel assistance in a bind; one rural county has seen 14% more applications for help with energy bills this winter. (Bangor Daily News)
• Massachusetts home heating oil delivery services point to the war in Ukraine as the reason for price spikes; one business says prices have risen by roughly 50% in ten days. (Boston Herald)

FOSSIL FUELS: A Connecticut bill under consideration would restrict diesel-powered generator emissions, which supporters of building more data centers say will limit the industry’s statewide growth. (Connecticut Examiner)

HYDROGEN: Plug Power holds a groundbreaking ceremony for its $55 million hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing facility in the Albany, New York, area. (Daily Gazette)

UTILITIES: Proposed legislation in Maine seeks to disallow foreign governments from purchasing local utilities in the future. (Fox 23 Maine)

SOLAR:
• In Maine, a Bangor-area town considers a ban on new solar arrays larger than 15,000 square feet. (Bangor Daily News)
• In New York, a Staten Island economic development group wants local businesses interested in rooftop solar installation to get in contact so the organization can analyze their facilities. (SI Live)
• A community choice aggregation program in New York says it has saved participating residents around $7 million in the past seven months. (PV Magazine)

TRANSPORTATION: Massachusetts announces $5 million in equitable clean transportation grants, including almost $2 million earmarked for expanding e-bike access. (Commonwealth Magazine)