NYC already looking to ease building emissions fines

BUILDINGS: As some co-op and condo buildings consider just paying the fines instead of complying with New York City’s building emissions law, the city’s council considers a bill to ease penalties. (Gothamist)

ALSO:

• A federal multi-family housing office loans $192,000 to a 60-unit New York City apartment building to fund efficiency and climate measures. (news release)
• In Maine, the College of the Atlantic completes a new student dormitory built with the climate in mind, using timber for carbon sequestration, designing an air-tight building envelope and planning to add solar panels. (Yale Climate Connections)

TRANSPORTATION:

• In New York, transit advocates are working with New York City’s comptroller to file lawsuits against the governor for her delay of the city’s congestion pricing plan, which they say she cannot legally do. (Gothamist, NBC New York)
• Maine’s governor announces the build-out of 52 new high-speed electric vehicle chargers across the state in the next year, at a cost of roughly $8.6 million. (WABI)

SOLAR:

• As Vermont-based iSun undergoes bankruptcy and seeks a court-overseen sale, filings highlight the various factors — from inflation to bad executive relationships — that appear to have contributed to the meltdown. (Seven Days)
• A central New York town decides to give a $476,000 tax break to a 32-acre solar project. (WHCU)
• A developer signs a lease and receives interconnection approval for a planned 6.41 MW community solar project in western New York. (Solar Industry Mag)
• A town in New York’s St. Lawrence County installs a new solar-powered bus stop using state health department funds. (NCPR)

AFFORDABILITY:

• Maryland utility regulators reject most of utility Pepco’s requested $213.6 million rate increase, instead only allowing a $44.6 million hike that will result in just under $6 in new monthly per-customer charges. (T&D World)
• Pennsylvania plans to use federal LIHEAP funds for the third year to provide free air conditioning units and repairs to eligible households. (WHYY)

WIND:

• Federal safety officials conduct the first-ever inspection of an operational offshore wind turbine in American waters at the South Fork wind project. (WorkBoat)
• A two-turbine wind project in the waters off Fairhaven, Connecticut, is on track to pay more in financial benefits to the town than initially estimated. (The Standard-Times)

GRID: As New York aims to hit a goal of 3 GW of energy storage by 2030, the state’s governor announces more than $5 million to support long-duration projects. (news release)