Vermont to make oil giants pay for climate damages

POLICY: Vermont’s governor allows the Climate Superfund Act to become law without his signature, becoming the first state to pass a measure requiring major oil companies to pay for climate damages. (VT Digger)

ALSO: New York advocates continue to push legislators to pass the NY Heat Act before the end of their current legislative session. (News 10)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• The fossil fuel-fired Mystic Generating Station in Massachusetts is slated to close today after years of unprofitability. (WBUR)
• Massachusetts’ attorney general and the owner of a contaminated former oil tank site in Everett agree on terms to remediate and redevelop the property into a multi-use district. (news release)

BUILDINGS: New York opens up the country’s first energy rebate program supported by $158 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds, providing up to $14,000 to low-to-moderate-income homeowners for energy efficient upgrades. (Spectrum News 1; Gothamist)

WIND:

• Federal ocean energy regulators decide to lease a 15.2-square-mile site in the Gulf of Maine to the state of Maine to form the first U.S. floating offshore wind research site in federal waters. (Mainebiz)
• Officials in Maryland and Delaware schedule public information sessions to discuss proposed offshore wind projects from US Wind. (news releases)
• A coastal New Jersey township’s council passes a resolution to oppose offshore wind projects, ​“regardless of height of the structures and distance from New Jersey’s pristine shorelines.” (Press of Atlantic City)

HYDROGEN: In Pennsylvania, a gas company is pushing its allies in the governor’s office to help ensure it can tap into the most lucrative tier of hydrogen production federal tax credits. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

BATTERIES: Energy storage experts say Massachusetts’ battery storage sector will be able to mature to the point it no longer relies on state incentives, pointing out that an intermittent resources-heavy grid pairs well with the tech. (RTO Insider, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION: The Trucking Association of New York sues New York City’s transit agency, seeking to block the higher fees it says it will ​“unfairly and unconstitutionally” have to pay through the Manhattan traffic congestion tolling plan. (NBC New York)

SOLAR:

• A Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker introduces legislation to enable power utilities to offer a 100% solar subscription program to customers. (news release)
• Western Vermonters debate large-scale solar, with some saying the size of proposed projects are too much for the state. (VT Digger)
• Some residents of Pennsylvania’s Lehman Township say they aren’t against green energy but want caution exercised as local officials consider a proposal for a ​“massive” solar farm on agricultural land. (WFMZ)

COMMENTARY: Two biofuel advocates point out outdated information used in a recent newspaper op-ed, saying the piece was ​“downplaying the merits of clean, commercially available biofuels” as a decarbonization strategy. (CT Mirror)