US Wind’s Maryland project predicted to have mostly minor impacts

WIND: The environmental impact statement for US Wind’s Maryland project shows mostly minor or temporary impacts, although ​“moderate to major” visual impacts are expected from shore. (Baltimore Banner)

ALSO: Some Searsport, Maine, residents describe what’s at stake for them and the ecology of Sears Island if part of the undeveloped site is turned into an offshore wind hub. (Bangor Daily News)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• New Jersey notches a climate policy win after a federal appeals court throws out federal approval of the Transcontinental Pipe Line Co.’s Regional Energy Access Expansion project, saying regulators didn’t consider market demand and environmental concerns. (E&E News, subscription)
• Federal officials seek to delist a once-endangered plant from the Endangered Species Act, noting that oil and gas development in Pennsylvania is its only remaining threat in its otherwise successful expansion across the Northeast. (E&E News, subscription)

TRANSIT:

• Some observers think part of the decision by New York’s governor to indefinitely delay the Manhattan congestion pricing program was to maintain her favorability with voters, but case studies from other cities show the programs eventually become much more popular once implemented. (Grist)
• New York’s governor pledges $54 million in state resources to immediately start construction of the 2nd Avenue subway expansion project, which had been slated to rely on funds from the Manhattan congestion pricing project. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New England’s EPA administrator says funding should be approved and finalized by this fall for Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey to increase medium-to-heavy-duty vehicle charging infrastructure along I-95 and reduce truck emissions. (Connecticut Public Radio)

GRID:

• The head of New Jersey’s PSEG discusses his utility’s view of power demand growth factors like more electric vehicle chargers and data centers — as well as plans by Talen Energy to use some of their nuclear capacity for data centers. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Maryland couple describes the benefits of being the first residential ratepayers nationwide to participate in a vehicle-to-grid pilot. (WBAL)

SOLAR: Some residents of a town near Annapolis, Maryland, are frustrated by the lack of communication and coordination with the U.S. Navy over its plan to build a solar plant on agricultural land it owns there. (Baltimore Sun)

POLICY: A New York business, energy and labor coalition wants the state to assess its climate mandates, figure out which won’t be met by deadline and analyze the possible industrial and business impact. (Times Union)

REGULATORS: Connecticut lawmakers disagree on whether the state’s governor should fill the state utility commission to the maximum number of members allowed or to keep it to the three currently seated. (Register Citizen)

FLOODS: Extreme rainfall is again inundating Vermont this summer, leading to renewed flash flooding conditions and over two dozen water rescues since early Tuesday. (CNN)