Governor Wes Moore announced that the Maryland Energy Administration is awarding $6 million for new projects through the Solar Energy Equity Program. The awards will help increase access to clean, renewable energy for Marylanders with low to moderate incomes who live in underserved or overburdened communities.
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More DMV News
Construction Begins on Largest U.S. Transit Depot Microgrid Powered by Renewable Energy
WSP
Work is underway on the landmark David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center (EMTOC) that will feature electric bus charging and on-site green hydrogen production powered by solar and battery energy storage.
Alexandria’s Electric Car Market Growing Quickly, But Charging Infrastructure Struggling to Keep Up
ALXNow
Alexandria’s City Council voted last week in favor of a new process to encourage the building and operating of more electric vehicle charging stations around the city, Patch reported.
Report Card Gives Chesapeake Bay a C+, its Best Grade in 21 Years
Maryland Matters
The Chesapeake Bay’s health, which has waffled between middling and poor for decades, ticked upward in 2023 to its best condition in more than 20 years, according to the latest annual report from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
Fairfax County Offers Financial Aid to Protect Homes From Flooding
FFXNow
With climate change exacerbating storms and other extreme weather, Fairfax County has created a new grant program that will reimburse residents who shore up their home against flooding.
National and International News
Is the EPA About to Get Serious About Methane Pollution from Landfills?
Canary Media
Landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions both in the U.S. and globally. These emissions heat the atmosphere at about 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide over 20 years, but the methane that rises from the decomposing food and organic waste that ends up in landfills has thus far received much less attention in the fight against climate change than methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure.
Energy Companies Win Dismissal of Baltimore’s Climate Change Case
Reuters
A Maryland judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by the city of Baltimore seeking to hold energy giants such as Exxon Mobil(XOM.N), BP(BP.L), and Chevron(CVX.N), responsible for climate change, saying the case went beyond the limits of state law by trying to address the effects of gas emissions globally.
The $1.7 Billion Bet on American-Made EVs, Explained by the Secretary of Energy
Grist
The Department of Energy announced $1.7 billion to fund the conversion of 11 auto manufacturing facilities, which had either been shut down or were at risk of shutting down, to make EVs and supplies for the burgeoning industry.
Marathon Oil Agrees to Record Penalty for Oil and Gas Pollution
Washington Post
Marathon Oil will pay a record $64.5 million penalty and invest an estimated $177 million in pollution-cutting measures to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at oil and gas operations in North Dakota, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department announced Thursday.
‘More Heat, More Often’: Temperature Records Keep Breaking
New York Times
June was the Earth’s 13th consecutive month to break a global heat record. It beat the record set last year for the hottest June on record, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union.