Trump policies could slow EV adoption in Massachusetts

Northeast Energy News is taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll be back on Monday, Dec. 2.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: President-elect Trump’s stated plans to end existing policies supporting electric vehicle adoption and charging could slow the transition away from gas vehicles in Massachusetts, advocates say. (The Boston Globe)

OFFSHORE WIND: Offshore wind companies are steeling themselves for permitting slowdowns and other obstacles from the federal government as Trump, a vocal offshore wind opponent, prepares to take office. (E&E News, subscription)

ELECTRIFICATION: Massachusetts’ port authority announces plans to invest $60 million in a system that will allow visiting cruise ships to plug in and turn off their engines when docked in Boston. (WGBH)

TRANSMISSION: ​“I don’t see a plan moving forward” without adjustments, says Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, of the controversial Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project transmission line project, which is slated to cut through three counties. (WBFF)

SOLAR:

• Provisions in Massachusetts’ new climate law will make it easier to receive approval for home solar panels in historic districts, like one on Cape Cod that includes some 45,000 people. (CAI)
• A Massachusetts city launches construction of a solar-powered, cloud-based microgrid that will provide clean energy during peak hours and help protect its most vulnerable residents during power outages. (news release)

HYDROGEN: In Pennsylvania and neighboring states, the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub faces opposition from environmental and community groups who are concerned about the plan to use fracked gas to produce hydrogen. (E&E News, subscription)

STORAGE: Maryland and other states in the PJM territory need to bring a lot more battery storage online to help alleviate soaring capacity market prices, experts say. (RTO Insider, subscription)

EMISSIONS: Air quality in several western Massachusetts cities has declined over the past year, even as an energy company fights to build a wood-burning power plant in the region. (MassLive, subscription)

DECARBONIZATION: New England states need to reform their policies for community engagement in renewable energy planning or risk stalling progress in the transition to clean energy, says a report from two regional nonprofits. (ecoRI)

WAVE ENERGY: Six teams from Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania are among those winning $10,000 and training and mentorship opportunities from the U.S. Energy Department for promising technologies generating power from the movement of ocean water. (Offshore Energy)

COMMENTARY: A proposed 70-mile transmission line through Maryland would damage the economy, ecosystems, and beauty of the area for no reason other than corporate profits, says an opponent of the project. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)