Offshore wind stoppage ripples through South Brooklyn

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OFFSHORE WIND

• The future of an offshore wind staging terminal in South Brooklyn — and the economic boost it was expected to give the community — is in jeopardy following federal orders stopping work on the Empire Wind project off Long Island. (Canary Media)

• German energy company RWE ceases U.S. offshore wind activity, including participation in the Community Offshore Wind project near New Jersey, citing the ​“uncertainty” created by the Trump administration’s hostility toward offshore wind. (Reuters, communityoffshorewind.com)

TRANSPORTATION

• In the ongoing legal battle over congestion pricing in Manhattan, federal prosecutors unintentionally file an internal memo saying the current legal strategy would lead to a likely loss in court and suggesting a shift in tactics. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE

• The Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind and renewable energy are likely to delay New York’s ability to meet its ambitious climate targets, climate experts say. (Gothamist)

STORAGE

• Staten Island’s borough president announces plans to file a lawsuit challenging the proliferation of battery storage projects in the community, saying the borough is being asked to host more than its fair share of these facilities. (SILive)

SOLAR

• Connecticut announces the completion of seven solar arrays on prison facilities, estimating that the new panels will reduce emissions by 5,000 tons per year and save the state $11 million over 25 years. (CT Mirror)

• New Jersey adds another 250-MW capacity block to its community solar program, which already serves more than 28,000 subscribers. (Real Estate NJ)

UTILITIES

• Some National Grid and Eversource customers in Massachusetts continue to receive enormous bills after not hearing from the utilities for months, despite state regulators’ warning earlier this year that the companies could not demand payment for charges incurred more than 60 days ago. (WCVB)

GRID

• State officials and data center experts tell utilities regulators that the growth of power-hungry data centers offers economic opportunity for energy-rich Pennsylvania, but care must be taken to ensure these facilities don’t drive up prices or compromise reliability for consumers. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

WORKFORCE

• Massachusetts launches a new curriculum aimed at teaching high school students the basics of climate change, energy efficiency, and renewable energy to help create a pipeline of future workers to address anticipated clean energy labor shortages. (Bay State Banner)

• A Maine nonprofit introduces a six-month training program to introduce students to the practice of designing and constructing highly energy-efficient Passive House buildings. (Sun Journal)

HYDRO

• State environmental regulators issue a water quality certification for a hydro operation in western Massachusetts as part of its federal licensing process, despite opponents’ objections that the facility has an ​“overwhelming negative environmental impact” on the Connecticut River. (Greenfield Recorder)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Startup Electra brings in $186 million from investors to test whether electrowinning — a process for removing impurities from metals — can purify iron without coal-fired furnaces, Jeff St. John reports.

• The clean energy manufacturing investment boom is turning around, as firms have already cancelled $8 billion in projects this year, Dan McCarthy writes.

• A Minnesota bill would sunset the state’s groundbreaking community solar program and weaken its clean electricity standard, Brian Martucci writes for Minnesota Reformer.