Work begins on nation’s largest offshore wind support hub

WIND: New York officials break ground on an $861 million facility on Brooklyn’s waterfront to support construction of the Empire Wind project. (Spectrum News)

ALSO: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey touts the state’s efforts to help students prepare for careers in the clean energy sector. (MV Times)

GRID: In a report released last week, New York’s grid operator warns of reliability concerns as fossil fuel retirements outpace new clean energy development, and data centers and other energy-intensive projects increase demand. (Reuters)

STORAGE:

• A majority of residents at a western New York town board meeting speak out in favor of a proposed battery storage project, with skeptics mostly concerned about disruptions during construction. (Observer)
• A battery storage facility is proposed on Electric Avenue in a Massachusetts town, providing dad-joke material based on the 1982 Eddy Grant song. (Boston Business Journal, subscription)

TRANSPORTATION:

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s delay of New York City’s congestion pricing program rests largely on an agreement letter that federal agencies have yet to issue. (Streetsblog)
• Hochul says she won’t be attending a fundraiser hosted by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, which has called her ​“a staunch supporter of our industry.” (Streetsblog)

SOLAR:

• In Massachusetts, energy developers work with sheep farmers to provide free grazing land in exchange for maintaining the grass around solar arrays. (Boston Globe)
• The first project in Maryland’s Solar4Us program, a solar array on a Baltimore school, will provide benefits to 150 low- to moderate-income households in the surrounding community. (news release)

CARBON CAPTURE: A Pennsylvania bill would allow development of underground carbon capture with consent of 60% of landowners, which advocates say is ​“setting the bar very low.” (Capital and Main)

HYDROPOWER: Industries push back on a proposal to remove four dams in Maine, which collectively could support nearly 47 MW of electricity, according to the company that owns them. (Bangor Daily News)

CLIMATE:

• New York lawmakers next year will consider a bill that would ban insurers from backing new fossil fuel projects while also preventing them from denying coverage to homeowners increasingly at risk from climate change impacts. (New York Focus)
• Massachusetts plans to keep 10% of all forestland in the state in reserve as part of its broader effort to reduce emissions. (State House News Service)

COMMENTARY: An editorial praises Maryland’s progress on reducing emissions, but says lawmakers need to do more to ensure the transition is affordable. (Baltimore Sun)