NYPA sets clean-power goal

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

WIND

• A federal judge strikes down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking the leasing of federal lands and waters for wind development, which several Northeast state attorneys general had challenged. (Canary Media)

UTILITIES

• The New York Power Authority approves a target of 5.5 GW of new solar, wind, and energy storage construction, blaming federal tax credit cuts for its step back from a 7-GW draft plan unveiled in the summer. (Canary Media)

• The NYPA also approves $40 million in funding to train workers for nuclear energy and other clean energy industries. (Finger Lakes 1)

• A Connecticut Republican lawmaker calls for an investigation into whether the Public Utility Regulatory Authority, under former regulator Marissa Gillett, was pushing its own priorities over those of consumers. (Hartford Courant)

GEOTHERMAL

• Cornell University aims to build a geothermal heating network to keep its campus cozy, but will first have to conquer upstate New York’s rocky geology. (Canary Media)

POLICY

• New Jersey’s outgoing governor unveils a new set of clean energy and climate goals, which Democratic Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will have to implement amid challenges from the federal government and PJM Interconnection. (Canary Media)

SOLAR

• Philadelphia agrees to buy power from Oriden Power’s solar farm planned for Pennsylvania’s Clearfield County. (WHYY)

• Construction of a 28-MW solar farm in southern Maine nears completion. (MaineBiz)

• The Maryland Public Service Commission allows a Carroll County solar farm to begin operating in spite of neighbors’ opposition, citing the state’s need for more energy generation. (Baltimore Sun)

• Manchester, Connecticut, plans a 370-kW solar-powered microgrid on its public library. (news release)

EMISSIONS

• New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation finalizes new rules mandating companies and fuel suppliers report their greenhouse gas emissions. (Rochester First)

• A new study finds New York City’s congestion-pricing program is reducing air pollution across the five boroughs and broader metro area. (E&E News)

AFFORDABILITY

• Liberty Utilities asks Massachusetts regulators to let it raise gas rates by an average of 55% to improve its infrastructure and comply with pipeline-safety regulations — a move Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has fought as part of her energy-affordability push. (CommonWealth Beacon)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Pennsylvania’s environmental regulator agrees to environmental groups’ petition and will study increasing setbacks between gas drilling sites and homes, schools, and hospitals. (Inside Climate News)

• A Connecticut oil trader is sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme that helped his companies win contracts to sell fuel oil to Brazil’s state-owned energy company. (Hartford Business)

NUCLEAR

• A Delaware task force will study whether the state should encourage the development of small modular reactors. (Delaware Public Media)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Europe’s world-first carbon tariff is coming. Here’s what to know. — Maria Gallucci

• Fervo nabs $462M to complete massive next-gen geothermal project — Maria Gallucci