Rochester to start New York’s largest community choice program

SOLAR: Rochester, New York, will automatically enroll 57,000 of its residents into its new solar community choice aggregation program, now the largest in the state. (PV Magazine)

WIND: Vineyard Wind reaches financial close, the first commercial offshore wind farm in the country to do so; developers may now use investment funds to prepare for and begin construction. (news release)

CLIMATE:
• The U.S. EPA indicates it will reject Pennsylvania’s power plant-related ozone reduction plan. (E&E News, subscription)
• The University of Maine will work with two neighboring cities on climate mitigation strategies to help the municipalities reach their emissions goals. (Bangor Daily News)
• Pennsylvania state senators on the environment and energy committee pass a resolution decrying Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to enter the state into the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative without legislative authorization. (Indiana Gazette)

OIL & GAS:
• A recent diesel fuel spill at a Delaware coal plant killed almost 100 Canada geese and harmed dozens more. (Delaware News Journal)
• In New York, a University of Rochester economist highlights her research showing any financial benefits from fracking are outweighed by the public health costs. (Rochester Beacon)

NUCLEAR: By Thanksgiving, no radioactive fuel is expected to remain at the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts. (WBUR)

UTILITIES: National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. sues Erie, Pennsylvania, over what it characterizes as excessive and unlawful fees imposed when the utility needs to excavate public rights of way. (Erie Times-News)

TRANSPORTATION:
• The Bangor, Maine, police department buys its first fully electric vehicle, which will help the court officer make short but frequent round-trips between the police station and the courthouse. (Bangor Daily News)
• A southern Maine town installs electric vehicle chargers at its public library, with the town manager promoting the economic benefit of having such chargers available for tourists. (Portsmouth Herald)

GRID:
• Portland, Maine, issues a request for proposals for energy efficiency projects, as well as solar projects. (Mainebiz)
• Following post-hurricane power restoration efforts in Louisiana, Central Maine Power crews return home after two weeks of almost constant work. (WMTW)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: A New Jersey suburb of New York City considers the local sewer authority’s proposal for a gas-fired peaker plant, as well as whether to instate a community choice aggregation program. (Hudson Reporter)

EFFICIENCY:
• A United Way chapter will run a volunteer-led home winterization effort in two Maine counties to help reduce residential energy consumption and costs. (news release)
• Two Syracuse University architecture professors are using nearly $1.6 million in state and academic grants to retrofit and decarbonize existing on-campus housing. (Daily Orange)

COMMENTARY: As National Grid puts its Rhode Island electric and gas utility on the market, a solar developer and a policy advocate argue the state should ​“think boldly” about the future and consider having an existing public power authority buy the assets. (Providence Journal)