NetZero Insider reporters located on the East Coast were ― like millions of other Americans ― feeling the heat in the past week.
Even with slightly cooler breezes at the Jersey Shore, New Jersey lawmakers are pushing ahead with a bill aimed at allowing solar projects up to 20 MW to connect to the grid through their local utilities, rather than getting tied up in PJM’s interconnection queue, correspondent Hugh Morley reports.
Rhode Island is upping its energy transition game with a new law, signed by Gov. Dan McKee (D) on June 26, setting targets for the smallest state in the U.S. to deploy 90 MW of energy storage by the end of 2026; 195 MW by the end of 2028; and 600 MW by the end of 2033, our John Cropley writes.
Cropley also had the story on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s final approval of the construction and operations plan of the 924-MW Sunrise offshore wind project off New York. BOEM also issued a draft environmental assessment of potential OSW lease areas off the coast of Maine.
New York is a big part of the East Coast OSW story, with NYISO now evaluating a range of potential projects for connecting new OSW projects to the state grid, according to Vincent Gabrielle, a recent addition to the NetZero Insider staff.
On the West Coast, OSW development is moving in fits and starts, correspondent Elaine Goodman writes. California wants to build 25 GW of OSW projects by 2045, but its strategic plan, already a year late, will be further delayed, as the California Energy Commission allows more time for public review of its final plan.
In our curated content, headlines about heat were inescapable.
San Francisco has the singular distinction of being the least air-conditioned city in the U.S., according to Inside Climate News. Only 34% of city’s homes have AC, which means heat waves nearing 100 degrees find the city and its residents ill-prepared to safely stay cool. Plus, the Bay Area’s famous fog ― its natural cooling system ― is also coming in less frequently.
Heat waves can be especially dangerous for households behind on their utility bills and facing disconnection, according to CNBC in its report on a new law in Virginia prohibiting the state’s power companies from disconnecting customers on Fridays, federal or state holidays or days when the thermometer is expected to hit 92 degrees or higher.
On hold since 2022, elections for Georgia’s powerful Public Service Commission, will resume in 2025, after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a case challenging the state’s policy of requiring commissioners to live in specific districts but electing them by statewide votes. Advocates of change had argued the practice dilutes Black votes, Grist reports.
Meanwhile, Maryland is wrestling with how to raise the $1 billion per year the state will need to meet its ambitious goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2031. Maryland Matters digs into four possible strategies, three of which involve extra fees or penalties for fossil fuel companies and other top GHG emitters.
Former President Donald Trump dodged the single question about climate change in the first presidential debate, but The New York Times has helpfully provided a quick rundown of Trump and President Joe Biden’s records on climate and energy.
Read on for this week’s Intelligence Report:
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