Trump megabill fallout continues

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 IMPACT

• Connecticut lowers its standard rebate for electric vehicle purchases from $1,500 to $500 as the looming expiration of federal EV tax credits drives a surge in interested buyers and forces the state to ​“ration” its incentive program. (CT Mirror)

• Vermont could feel an outsized impact from the expiration of federal tax credits for solar installations and heat pumps, as 6% of the state’s workforce is employed in the renewable energy industry, the highest percentage in any state. (Vermont Public)

• Pennsylvania solar installers prepare for a surge of business over the next few months, as homeowners scramble to take advantage of expiring federal tax credits. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

NUCLEAR

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s goal of building a new, one-gigawatt nuclear facility will test the state’s ability to pull off a complex megaproject. (New York Focus)

• Maine lawmakers and officials consider whether nuclear power should be a part of Maine’s future energy strategy, but environmental advocates say wind and solar are likely to be more cost-effective alternatives. (Maine Public)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Maine is closely watching the development of offshore wind in Canada, in case the state finds itself needing to procure power from its northern neighbors, but advocates say the state doesn’t need to turn abroad quite yet. (Maine Morning Star)

• At a public comment session about a plan to run offshore wind transmission cables through Rhode Island, many project opponents repeat debunked misinformation about the cables heating up seawater or stirring up toxic heavy metals. (ecoRI)

SOLAR

• Rooftop solar panels cut the demand on New England’s grid by 5% last year as they generated enough power to run 600,000 homes for a year. (Monadnock Ledger-Transcript)

BIOMASS

• Nearly 30 western Massachusetts organizations sign onto a letter asking the state’s highest court to reverse a decision that could pave the way for a wood-burning power plant to move ahead in a city long known for its high asthma rates. (WWLP)

STORAGE

• Maryland’s goal of deploying 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2033 might be hard to reach, as proposed projects get stuck in the interconnection queue, delaying progress and forcing some developers to give up their plans as costs increase while they wait. (Baltimore Banner)

DATA CENTERS

• The speaker of the Delaware House urges county officials to reject plans for a data center that is projected to consume 11.3 million megawatt-hours of power per year, more than one-third of the state’s current annual consumption. (Spotlight Delaware)

• A Pennsylvania state senator plans to propose legislation that would create a separate electricity price for high-load data centers and require such projects to pay for grid expansions. (ABC27)

EMISSIONS

• The city of Syracuse, New York, has lowered its greenhouse gas emissions nearly 30% since 2010 and slashed municipal emissions 67% over the same time period, progress that is ​“exceeding the targets by a wide margin,” the mayor says. (Central New York Business Journal)

AFFORDABILITY

• Connecticut’s State Bond Commission is set to vote on whether to borrow $155 million to cover some of the costs associated with a hardship program for low-income customers and an EV charging initiative, a measure aimed at saving consumers $4 to $10 a month on their utility bills. (Hartford Courant)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• As rooftop solar gets hammered, virtual power plants offer a way forward — Jeff St. John

• Energy bill could cost North Carolina billions in lost investments and jobs — Elizabeth Ouzts

• EVs had a decent quarter. The next could be record-breaking. — Kathryn Krawczyk