Offshore wind advances despite Trump

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OFFSHORE WIND

• The five offshore wind developments the Trump administration stopped work on last year are all back in progress and projected to hit key milestones, with one nearly complete and two expected to start delivering power within weeks. (Canary Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Exxon Mobil looks to move its legal home from New Jersey to Texas, a move experts say is an attempt to avoid climate and environmental lawsuits. (E&E News)

AFFORDABILITY

• As final budget negotiations loom, it remains unclear what changes New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to make to the state’s climate mandates as she strives to rein in rising energy costs. (New York Focus)

• Maryland state lawmakers consider repealing a program that encourages utilities to replace aging gas pipes, as advocates say the initiative has been a ​“tremendous money grab” for utilities and contributed to soaring energy prices. (Maryland Matters)

NUCLEAR

• Hochul ​“emphatically” opposes the Trump administration’s push to restart the Indian Point nuclear plant, which closed in 2021 and is now being decommissioned. (Reuters)

SOLAR

• A Maine town unanimously passes an ordinance prohibiting the development of utility-scale solar projects. (Maine Monitor)

• Progress on a proposed solar farm in western Pennsylvania is likely to be stalled by the cleanup of toxic coal-mining waste on an adjacent site. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

TRANSMISSION

• Maryland utilities field questions from state lawmakers about the soaring cost of proposed transmission projects. (WYPR)

FUEL CELLS

• Taxpayers in a Connecticut town are on the hook for $63 million for a fuel cell project that was approved by municipal leaders but been rejected by the state siting council. (Valley Independent Sentinel)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Pennsylvania announces $9 million in federal funding for 12 electric vehicle charging projects on major roadways across the state. (news release)

• Two new EV charging stations in Vermont aim to make it easier to recharge in rural parts of the state. (Burlington Free Press)

STORAGE

• A Rhode Island developer proposes building a 208-MW battery, a system that would be the largest in the state. (ecoRI News)

COMMENTARY

• Innovations in computer modeling and the use of abandoned coal mines for geothermal cooling could help Pennsylvania’s growing data center industry use less energy, says a Penn State engineering professor. (The Conversation)

NEW FROM CANARY

• A food bank cut costs with solar. A local Goodwill noticed. — Elizabeth Ouzts

• As Californians electrify, can this tech combo prevent grid overload? — Jeff St. John

• Oil and gas workers find an easy segue into geothermal jobs — Benton Graham