Wind farm seeks legal protection from Trump interference

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.

LITIGATION

• US Wind asks a court for an injunction preventing the Trump administration from halting work on a wind farm off the Maryland coast before an ongoing lawsuit is resolved, saying a reversal of federal approvals would pose an ​“existential threat” to the company. (WBOC)

• Most northeastern states are part of a coalition of 21 states and Washington, D.C., that has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s attempts to cancel $7 billion for Solar for All, a Biden-era program intended to support solar projects serving disadvantaged populations. (Associated Press)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Ten Democratic Congress members urge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject a revived proposal for a natural gas pipeline, a project some worry she could support as part of a deal with the Trump administration that allowed work to restart on Empire Wind. (New York Times)

DATA CENTERS

• A former air force base in far northern Maine is set to become the home of the state’s first large-scale AI data center, which developers hope will eventually be one of several on the site. (Portland Press-Herald)

• Several Pennsylvania communities are using zoning measures and public protests to push back against a proliferation of proposed data centers. (Inside Climate News)

• Federal regulators should reject a deal between Amazon and a Pennsylvania utility that fails to address a planned data center’s potential impact on energy prices and reliability, argues the market monitor for grid operator PJM. (Utility Dive)

• A data center in Massachusetts withdraws its application to more than double its backup diesel fuel storage, a proposal that nearby residents had strongly opposed by. (Lowell Sun)

AFFORDABILITY

• Maine’s utility regulators are flooded with comments, at an in-person hearing and online, opposing a possible electric rate hike that could increase the average household’s monthly bill $35. (Maine Public)

• The new chair of Massachusetts’ Department of Public Utilities welcomes Gov. Maura Healey’s request that regulators scour electric rates to look for ways to reduce or eliminate charges. (WCVB)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Environmental advocates in Maryland push the state to implement promised rules requiring homeowners to replace aging fossil fuel heating systems with electric heat pumps. (Maryland Matters)

UTILITIES

• Two years after Connecticut established a program to help organizations working with low-income consumers represent these households in utility cases, only a handful of groups have taken advantage of the funding opportunity. (Connecticut Public Radio)

EFFICIENCY

• New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will undertake a $25 million project to replace its lighting systems with more energy efficiency technology that will also help preserve the museum’s collections. (Renewable Energy Magazine)

• Environmental groups argue that Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott acted illegally when he issued an executive order intended to stimulate new housing construction by rolling back energy efficiency requirements and weakening wetlands protections. (Seven Days)

GRID

• A group of 21 Democratic U.S. House members are pushing grid operator PJM to make it easier for new power projects to connect to the system, a move the lawmakers say could help rein in soaring energy prices. (Utility Dive)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Trump admin approves $1.6B in financing for AEP transmission project — Alexander C. Kaufman

• Chart: EV sales just hit a record in the US, but a cliff looms — Dan McCarthy

• This startup’s electric roasters cut carbon and costs from coffee-making — Jeff St. John

• Trump admin complicates New York’s clean-energy plans — Lauren Dalban