States grapple with Solar for All cancellation

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.

FEDERAL ACTION

• The Trump administration’s declaration that it will claw back funding for low-income solar programs ripples through the states: New Hampshire’s plan to put solar on public housing is on the line, Pennsylvania expects rising energy prices, and Maine could lose funding for clean energy workforce training. (NHPR, Spotlight PA, Maine Morning Star)

• The U.S. EPA revokes a $1 million grant the University of Maine was using to develop strategies for deploying renewable energy in rural and Indigenous communities. (Maine Monitor)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Massachusetts delays its fifth offshore wind procurement until at least 2026 ​“due to uncertainty surrounding federal permitting and tax credits,” the state says. (State House News Service)

HEATING

• A new law in Maine that prohibits towns from banning any specific fuel source for heating passed amid constituents’ concerns about consumer choice and high energy costs, as well as an unexpectedly intense lobbying effort by heating fuel interests. (Maine Morning Star)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The Federal Transit Administration investigates a battery fire in a retired electric school bus in Philadelphia, using the opportunity to suggest that the Green New Deal (which was never actually passed) creates public safety hazards. (WHYY)

• A University of Connecticut campus deploys two new electric buses as part of the university system’s strategy for reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. (Hartford Courant)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

• Maryland awards $17 million to 30 projects that will expand solar power and electrification and improve energy efficiency at public schools around the state. (CoastTV)

FOSSIL FUELS

• New York regulators consider whether to approve an air quality permit for a natural gas power plant as opponents argue the state’s climate laws require the application be rejected. (Spectrum News)

• Hundreds of protestors march across the Brooklyn Bridge as part of a demonstration against natural gas pipeline projects being considered for the waters off Staten Island and elsewhere in the state. (SILive)

DATA CENTERS

• New Jersey utility regulators weigh options for maintaining a reliable electric system as demand from data centers increases, creating an ​“unprecedented” grid situation. (RTO Insider)

COMMENTARY

• Massachusetts could reduce its carbon emissions by more than 500,000 tonnes and save $250 million by 2040 if the state uses federal money on transit and multimodal transportation projects, rather than using the funds to expand roadways, says a transportation advocate. (CommonWealth Beacon)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• DOE is raising power bills by thwarting transmission line, Heinrich says — Jeff St. John

• This hydrogen microgrid is the first of its kind. Is it a good idea? — Julian Spector

• Tech giants look to low-carbon cement to curb their huge climate impact — Maria Gallucci

• Building electrification and fast, affordable construction can coexist — Kathryn Krawczyk