States sue New York over climate change superfund

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CLIMATE

A group of 22 states sues New York, arguing that the state’s plan to charge fossil fuel companies $75 billion for damages caused by climate change is unconstitutional and will leave ratepayers in other states footing the bill. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• In Massachusetts, two utility proposals to offer lower rates for off-peak EV charging would do little to save customers money, according to an analysis by the state attorney general’s office. (Canary Media)

• New York may struggle to meet its electric vehicle targets because of a shortage of charging infrastructure, according to an automobile dealers’ group. (Democrat and Chronicle)

POLITICS

• More than $90 million in funding for solar panels, air quality monitors, and other renewable energy and climate projects is held up in Maine in the confusion surrounding President Trump’s attempt to freeze federal spending. (Maine Public)

• In New Hampshire’s Republican-led House, lawmakers declined to move forward with several climate bills, including proposals for a carbon price and a study of climate change costs, with many questioning settled climate science during the process. (New Hampshire Public Radio)

NUCLEAR

• Maryland lawmakers hear from a nuclear energy trade group as they consider a flurry of bills aimed at strengthening the state’s power supply, including one that would allow nuclear facilities to claim some state clean energy subsidies. (Maryland Matters)

• The decommissioning of a nuclear plant in Massachusetts is being held up by the state’s refusal to allow the company to discharge radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. (The Enterprise)

OFFSHORE WIND

Officials say the Trump administration’s hostility to offshore wind will not render a training center opened last year in Massachusetts obsolete, as the skills being taught are relevant in many other industries. (South Coast Today)

GRID

• Federal regulators’ failure to rule quickly on ISO New England’s interconnection reform proposal could keep up to 3 GW of resources out of the next capacity auction, resulting in higher electricity costs for the region, an analysis finds. (Utility Dive)

• Maine legislators consider a bill to allow utilities to charge lower rates for electricity used during low-demand hours to save customers money and potentially avoid the need for some transmission upgrades. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)

MANUFACTURING

Energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova plans to invest $600 million in U.S. factories, including facilities in Maine, New Jersey, and New York. (Manufacturing Dive)

SOLAR

A project in the works on a farm in northern Maryland could become the state’s first agrivoltaics installation, incorporating solar panels on active farmland. (WMAR)