Rhode Island bill would require solar in new construction

SOLAR: A Rhode Island bill would require new buildings to add on-site solar generation except in a handful of cases, such as if other renewable energy projects are already being incorporated. (Go Local Prov)

ALSO: The future of a slew of proposed Maine community solar farms is murky because of the pricey grid upgrades needed to make them a reality. (Bangor Daily News)

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GRID:
• Rhode Island legislators say a state coastal management agency shouldn’t have approved two underwater power cables for a wind farm without sending the matter to them, as is legally required. (Providence Journal, Boston Globe)
• Challenging meteorological conditions in December and February bent but did not break New York’s grid because of tempered peak demand and the use of a lot of stored fuel, according to the grid operator. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Work begins to lay a 56-mile undersea power cable between the South Fork wind farm and Long Island, New York. (Newsday)

CLIMATE:
• In light of a damning new climate report from the United Nations imploring developed nations to more quickly end fossil fuel use, observers question whether Massachusetts can do it. (Boston Globe)
• Recorded infections from a potentially fatal, seawater-borne pathogen have increased over the past three decades along the Atlantic coast, raising concern the number of infected people will rise as climate change warms waters. (Inside Climate News)
• As the ocean becomes more acidic because of increased carbon dioxide absorption, a new study finds that the Gulf of Maine’s sea scallop industry could be threatened. (Portland Press Herald)
• Allergy season has become roughly 20 days longer in Washington, D.C.,and eight days longer in Baltimore since 1970 due to warmer temperatures hitting the area earlier. (WTOP)
• Wildflowers in southwestern Pennsylvania appear to have bloomed early this year, leaving one ecologist concerned about their exposure to sudden temperature drops. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

OFFSHORE WIND: Multiple offshore wind project proposals submitted in New York’s recent solicitation utilize Staten Island’s offshore wind manufacturing sites, suggesting the borough is crucial to the industry. (SI Advance)

FINANCE: A New York environmental agency official says the regulations forming the state’s cap-and-invest program likely won’t be ready before a deadline this year. (Buffalo Business First)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The cost of electrifying buses is a contributing factor to Washington, D.C., transit officials’ proposal to cut three bus lines. (Axios DC)
• New Jersey advocates say the state needs to accelerate its work to adopt a clean car policy and apply it to model year 2027 vehicles. (RTO Insider, subscription)

AFFORDABILITY:
• An audit of embattled Ohio utility FirstEnergy shows a New Jersey subsidiary — Jersey Central Power & Light — needs to pay its customers back $9.6 million for improper allocation of costs. (NJ Spotlight)
• Maine lawmakers consider approving the $2 billion Aroostook County power line and wind energy project, but some are concerned about unknown kilowatt hour costs. (Maine Public Radio)