Offshore wind transmission showdown

Good morning and welcome to the Monday edition of the New York & New Jersey Energy newsletter. We’ll take a look at the week ahead and look back on what you may have missed last week.

OFFSHORE WIND TRANSMISSION SHOWDOWN“,”_id”:”00000181-a46a-d667-abfb-e66f68970000″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>OFFSHORE WIND TRANSMISSION SHOWDOWN — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: Construction on New Jersey’s first offshore wind project is set to begin next year. That’s when Ocean Wind, a joint venture of Danish wind energy giant Ørsted and New Jersey-based PSEG, wants to start installing nearly 100 wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Ocean City. But there’s a problem. Ocean City doesn’t like that plan. And if Ocean Wind’s developers want to bring any of the offshore energy ashore — enough power for 500,000 homes — they say they must run a power line beneath Ocean City’s beach and roads.

The state Board of Public Utilities is being asked to break the impasse. Ocean Wind wants the BPU to give the company permission to seize land and rights-of-way in Ocean City to give it space for the power line. On Friday, BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso heard more than an hour of oral arguments from Ocean Wind, Ocean City and the Division of the Rate Counsel, the state’s ratepayer watchdog. Ocean City’s solicitor, Dorothy McCrosson, said the wind developers were relying on a “hastily adopted” law that hasn’t been tested by the courts to run roughshod over the city’s wishes.

CRYPTO PRESSURE: Ahead of Tuesday’s primary election in New York, opponents of a gas powered digital currency generator will rally in the Finger Lakes. Gov. Kathy Hochul faces a decision on the permit for Greenidge, a coal-turned-gas plant that has ramped up operations to support thousands of Bitcoin mining machines over the past few years.

The Department of Environmental Conservation and the company agreed to extend the deadline for a renewed Title V air permit to June 30, after the primary. If the DEC declines to review the permit, it will be a major victory for environmental advocates and local opponents of the project — as well as an assertion of the broad scope of DEC’s authority under the state’s landmark climate law. If upheld in the face of a potential legal challenge from the publicly-traded company that operates the plant, it would mean DEC can deny even renewed air permits keeping emissions limits steady if the actual emissions have been increased by new activity.

If DEC grants the permit — or delays again, activists will hammer Hochul for failing to move forward with the state’s ambitious climate law. The plant, which employs dozens, has some local support and provides tax revenue to the area, would keep operating. Hochul also faces a decision on a loosely tied temporary two-year moratorium on new or renewed cryptocurrency mining operations using fossil fuels. The moratorium would not apply to Greenidge or another plant in the Buffalo area that’s already submitted for air permit renewals. Lobbying on the proposal has been intense. Advocates at the rally will call for Hochul to sign the moratorium to prevent dormant or infrequently used power plants from burning fossil fuels to mine Bitcoin and deny the renewed permit for Greenidge. — Marie J. French

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What we’re watching this week:

MONDAY

— Climate advocates call for implementation of Local Law 97 during an oversight hearing, 10 a.m.

TUESDAY

— The NYSERDA board meets, with committee meetings starting at 10 a.m.

— It’s election day with primaries in New York for Assembly seats and statewide offices including governor and lieutenant governor. Keep an eye on challenges to incumbents from DSA-backed climate candidates.

WEDNESDAY

— A virtual hearing is held on New York’s disadvantaged communities criteria with a focus on the Hudson Valley, noon.

— The New York Department of Public Service holds a technical and procedural conference on NYSEG/RG&E’s proposed rate hike, 9:30 a.m.

THURSDAY

— The New York siting board meets to consider a solar project in St. Lawrence County, 10:30 a.m.

— Another hearing on the disadvantaged communities definitions with a western New York focus, noon.

— The Times Union’s Chris Churchill shares his take on how the town of Hunter dealt with illegally parked hikers over Memorial Day weekend.

— The New York Times examines the uptick in ticks driven by climate change.

— The state is trying to crack down on illegal ATV use in the Pinelands.

— Offshore wind investments are bringing a boost to this New Jersey town.

— OPINION: A lawyer pushes for more subsidies for landfill and brownfield based solar projects.