Trump threatens community solar successes in New York

SOLAR: Community solar developments are proliferating in New York, but President Trump’s moves to stymie renewable energy growth could jeopardize this progress. (New York Times)

ALSO: Two of Maine’s newest solar developments will become home to flocks of grazing sheep, which will help improve long-term soil quality while managing vegetation on the site. (PV Magazine)

HYDROGEN: A last-minute infusion of funds from the Biden administration will allow the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub to begin planning and collecting community input, though some environmental advocates are skeptical the process will truly be climate-friendly. (Delaware Public Media)

OFFSHORE WIND:

• The mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is expected to be a hub of offshore wind activity, says the industry is ​“here to stay,” despite federal hostility. (Standard-Times)
• The Vineyard Wind project off Nantucket works to replace replace all turbine blades made by the Canadian company that supplied the blade that collapsed into the ocean last summer. (Cape Cod Times)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• The New York Power Authority finalizes plans to develop 3 GW of renewable energy projects, less than the 3.5 GW originally proposed. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Massachusetts lawmakers consider clean energy bills that would speed up residential solar permit approvals, set goals for adopting distributed energy resources, and establish an Office of Environmental Justice and Equity. (PV Magazine)

TRANSMISSION: Eversource breaks ground on the country’s first fully underground electrical substation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of a plan to meet growing power demand as the state moves away from fossil fuels. (WBUR)

GRID: An agreement is reached to keep two power plants — one burning coal, the other oil — online in Maryland until 2029 to ensure reliability until transmission upgrades can be complete. (POWER)

TRANSPORTATION: Since New York’s congestion pricing plan launched on Jan. 5, one million fewer cars have entered Manhattan’s central business district and subway ridership has grown by more than 7%, transit officials say. (Reuters)

OIL: In South Portland, Maine, city officials and residents look for assurances that unused oil storage tanks won’t come back into use and cause air quality problems in the community. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)

AFFORDABILITY: The challenge of lowering electric bills in Connecticut is complicated by the region’s reliance on natural gas-fired power plants and the need for new sources of power generation, experts say. (CT Mirror)

STORAGE: Connecticut increases the amount of incentive money available to commercial and industrial battery storage projects. (news release)