Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
After over a decade of attempts, New England is one step closer to a major investment in wind energy. Maine’s Public Utilities Commission has selected a developer to build 800 megawatts of new onshore wind energy in Northern Maine, and a second developer to build a transmission line able to carry up to 1,200 megawatts of power down to Southern Maine and New England.
Maine is collaborating on the wind energy project with Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, “whose residents will help pay for the transmission line via charges on their utility bills, even as two of those states elected not to sign long-term deals for the new power,” Nathaniel Eisen writes for Inside Climate News.
Before construction can commence, project leaders must secure all local, state and federal approvals. “Federal approvals remain dicey under the presidential administration of Donald Trump, which has used every tool at its disposal to block the development of domestic wind power,” Inside Climate News reports. If all goes well, PUC Chair Phil Bartlett said power will flow through the new transmission line in the early 2030s.
Read the full story: New England Affirms Faith in Wind Energy’s Future
Through ‘questionable’ means,Trump is paying to make offshore wind power disappear
The East Coast is in need of renewable energy, but wind farm developers face permit revocations and stop-work orders from the Trump administration.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
California’s ‘unrecognizable’ water plan may go down the drain
After four years of regulatory processes, water agencies say the plan to overhaul how cities and farms take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has changed dramatically.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority