Making Maine’s next generation of housing fossil

BUILDINGS: Maine has a unique opportunity to tackle its housing crisis and the climate crisis at the same time, advocates say, but it will need to be careful to manage costs and balance priorities. (Energy News Network/Maine Monitor)

ALSO:• Boston’s mayor says her city’s “hands are tied” when it comes to eliminating fossil fuel use in new buildings since state law preempts the city from doing so and its inclusion in a pilot program to set a ban is uncertain. (WBUR)• More Vermont schools are increasingly turning to wood pellets to heat their buildings, up to 75 schools from 60 in 2017. (WCAX)

POLITICS:• In New York, a new climate progress report finds the state needs to increase its renewable power generation by more than 200% over 2022 levels to reach its emissions goals, a prospect the state’s comptroller calls “attainable” with careful management. (Times Union)• A review of partially redacted documents sheds light on the secretive working group convened by Pennsylvania’s governor to debate the state’s future inclusion in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, including its members and recent meeting agendas. (Inside Climate News)

WORKFORCE: Pennsylvania will use up to $400 million in federal climate funds to train up to 10,000 workers for clean energy and infrastructure jobs, like capping abandoned wells. (E&E News, subscription)

GRID: New York’s grid operator says federal regulators shouldn’t grant an environmental review delay for a 650 MW energy storage project under development, but if they do they should ensure a precedent isn’t set for future projects. (Utility Dive)

OFFSHORE WIND: New York invites offshore wind developers to submit lower-cost proposals, noting it plans to announce winning bids in the fourth quarter of this year. (RTO Insider, subscription)

FLOODS:• New Hampshire officials want private property owners to sign up for flood insurance as some face the reality that their homes are destroyed but their homeowner’s policy won’t cover water or flood damage. (New Hampshire Bulletin)• Early trend lines show last month’s floods in Vermont had an outsized effect on the state’s critically needed affordable housing stock. (VT Digger)• New Hampshire issued 38 flash flood warnings in July, the most it has ever announced and breaking a 1996 record. (NHPR)

SOLAR:• Residents of a northern New York county express fear of possible contamination following a fire at a solar plus storage project; meanwhile, the county’s zoning board may vote tonight on the future of a new 1.25 MW project. (Spectrum News 1, NNY360)• A self-storage company begins constructing 130 rooftop solar arrays on its facilities to generate roughly 87 MW of power in Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois. (news release)

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Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.