Opponents sue to re-stop Empire Wind

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OFFSHORE WIND

• A group of anti-wind activists and fishermen sue to reinstate the federal stop-work order on the 54-turbine Empire Wind development off Long Island, arguing the federal government acted illegally in allowing work to resume and that the project will damage fisheries and the marine environment. (E&E News)

DATA CENTERS

• Facebook parent company Meta strikes a 20-year deal with Baltimore-based Constellation Energy to buy 1.1 GW of nuclear energy to help power its artificial intelligence computing needs. (Inside Climate News)

NATURAL GAS

• Natural gas pipeline company Transco applies for federal approval to construct a 23-mile pipeline that would carry gas across central New Jersey, then under Raritan Bay to Long Island, a year after state regulators denied the company’s initial application. (My Central Jersey)

AFFORDABILITY

• The Connecticut state legislature passes a bipartisan bill intended to lower residents’ electric bills $100 or more by shifting some consumer charges to the general budget and lowering utilities’ renewable energy requirements, among other measures. (CT Mirror)

• Rhode Island state lawmakers consider legislation that would repeal the state’s net metering program and eliminate subsidies for heat pumps, in what environmental advocates call a ​“misguided” attempt to rein in rising energy bills. (PV Magazine)

SOLAR

• Massachusetts utilities and regulators agree on a system for splitting the costs of infrastructure upgrades necessary to connect more solar power to the grid. (Canary Media)

• A solar developer plans a 12 MW array on a former iron mining site in northern New York, the first project to come out of a state program to identify underused land and prepare it for development. (North Country Public Radio)

• Nearly 70 solar industry representatives ask Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins to vote to protect federal clean energy tax credits that could be rolled back by Republicans’ ​“big, beautiful” spending bill. (Maine Morning Star)

NUCLEAR

• As more leaders and policymakers look to nuclear energy as a possible source of clean power, Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant celebrates its 50th anniversary and lays out plans for $100 million in upgrades in the 2030s. (The Baynet)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Micromobility company Lime, known for its shared e-scooters, plans to roll out its new e-bike offering in five cities including Baltimore this summer. (Baltimore Sun)

COMMENTARY

• Sussex County, Delaware should not be allowed to block offshore wind development in the name of ​“home rule” when its decisions affect the cost of power and the strength of the grid for the entire state, says an offshore wind activist. (Bay to Bay News)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• The Biden administration’s climate-smart agriculture initiative wasn’t perfect, but its cancellation under President Trump was for all the wrong reasons, Michael Grunwald writes.