Onshore wind could be coming to northern Maine

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

• After more than 15 years of starts and stops, Maine’s goal of developing onshore wind farms in the northernmost parts of the state could finally be coming to fruition, advocates say. (Canary Media)

• A judge dismisses three complaints in a lawsuit challenging the development of the US Wind project off Maryland and Delaware, but allows five complaints to proceed. (WBOC)

FEDERAL ACTION

• New York clean energy businesses are already taking a hit from the federal budget bill’s provisions accelerating the elimination of clean energy tax credits, as potential customers are wary of acting without the guarantee of incentives. (New York Focus)

• The EPA gives two major steelmakers, including Pennsylvania’s U.S. Steel, a pass on strengthened air pollution rules until 2027, increasing estimated emissions by some 120 tons. (E&E News)

• Maine braces for the impact of the federal budget bill, which could cost the state 1,600 clean energy jobs and increase the average utility bill, and which has already put two major solar developments on hold. (Maine Monitor)

NATURAL GAS

• A natural gas company files a new application with New York state regulators to expand an existing pipeline, reviving a plan the state blocked years ago amid widespread belief that Gov. Kathy Hochul has softened her stance against such projects in exchange for the lifting of a federal stop-work order against the Empire Wind development. (WXXI)

• A four-year fight to stop the expansion of a natural gas pipeline through New Jersey comes to an end, as a state appellate court rules that a compressor station does not violate environmental restrictions. (NJ.com)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Massachusetts, New York, and other states that have adopted the California vehicle emissions rules under challenge by the Trump administration work on plans to boost EV adoption in other ways, including increased incentives and the possible implementation of a clean fuel standard. (Inside Climate News)

• A Massachusetts clean energy agency awards grants to 36 municipalities to develop pole-mounted EV charging stations, and to two commercial fleets to implement the use of mobile charging solutions. (WWLP)

HYDRO

• An enduring drought in Canada has slowed hydropower exports to the New England grid for more than a year, and could continue to threaten an important source of clean energy for the region. (RTO Insider)

EMISSIONS

• Vermont’s climate council files the state’s latest climate action plan, though progress could be stymied by lack of federal support, a governor who is focused on short-term costs, and a state legislature with a reduced appetite for advancing new climate measures. (Valley News)

ELECTRIFICATION

• The Marriott hotel chain chooses the small city of Winooski, Vermont, as the site for its first all-electric, net-zero hotel. (Burlington Free Press)

UTILITIES

• Pennsylvania utilities regulators rule against a utility’s demands to access the texts, emails, and memos of climate advocates opposing a proposed rate hike, saying such an action would violate advocates’ First Amendment rights. (WHYY)

TRANSMISSION

• Maryland’s Carroll County Board of Commissioners consider setting aside $100,000 to help fight a deeply unpopular plan to build a 70-mile transmission line through the state. (Baltimore Sun)