Wind developer and states fight Revolution Wind order

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WIND

• Connecticut, Rhode Island, and wind developer Ørsted sue the Trump administration, challenging the ​“potentially devastating” order that stopped work on the Revolution Wind project. (Canary Media)

• Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee seeks a one-on-one meeting with Trump to make his case that completing Revolution Wind would save jobs and lower energy prices. (WPRI)

• The U.S. Department of Justice announces plans to rescind federal approval for New England Wind, a project intended to come online off the coast of Cape Cod in 2029. (New Bedford Light)

• The Trump administration orders at least a half dozen federal agencies to find ways to throw up obstacles to offshore wind development, such as the possibility of hazardous electromagnetic fields. (New York Times)

• A federal judge in Massachusetts expresses skepticism about a multistate lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order prohibiting offshore wind development, noting that the administration’s anti-wind policies would remain in place even if the order were vacated. (Rhode Island Current)

• The cancellation of $34 million in federal funds to develop an offshore wind port in Salem, Massachusetts is a ​“huge gut punch,” say local leaders and advocates. (WBUR)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Pipeline company Enbridge announces it has secured utility contracts to pay for a planned $300 million capacity expansion of its system in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)

CLIMATE

• Carbon dioxide emissions in Connecticut rose 1.5% in 2023, largely because of a prolonged outage at the state’s nuclear power plant, but emissions from transportation and buildings declined. (CT Mirror)

• Massachusetts legislators are considering a bill that would require fossil fuel companies to pay for damages caused by climate change, even as similar measures in other states are under federal attack. (WWLP)

AFFORDABILITY

• The provisions of the Republicans’ massive budget bill will likely increase wholesale energy prices in New York and the PJM region by slowing renewable energy development and increasing use of fossil fuel power plants, a new report finds. (RTO Insider)

SOLAR

• In Delaware, some farmers are delighted by a federal decision to stop providing loan guarantees for large-scale solar projects built on farmland, saying such developments have made it more expensive to secure land for agriculture. (Spotlight Delaware)

• None of the 74 Pennsylvania schools that received state grants to install solar panels are pulling out of the program, despite the loss of federal tax credits that were expected to help fund the projects. (WHYY)

• A city in Maine considers measures to hide solar installations from view in light of public complaints, but many argue a proposed 1,200-foot setback requirement is excessive. (Bangor Daily News)

BUILDINGS

• Advocates say investing $2.2 billion in new heating and cooling systems, ventilation, and solar-ready roofs for New York City’s deteriorating public schools would create jobs, improve the health of students, and save money through energy savings. (City Limits)

TRANSMISSION

• A federal judge in Maryland declines to provide U.S. marshals for protection for surveyors working on a highly controversial transmission project, but grants developers the right to access 150 more properties whose owners had been attempting to block access. (Maryland Matters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Vermont is set to receive $15 million in federal funding to build EV charging infrastructure. (WRGB)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• California quietly guts ambitious virtual power plant bill — Jeff St. John

• Chart: State lawmakers introduced a ton of anti-renewables bills this year — Dan McCarthy

• Virginia’s data center boom tests clean energy law — Elizabeth Ouzts

• These conservatives want government to stop working against clean energy — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• Colorado goes big on clean energy before tax credits vanish — Julian Spector