UTILITY BILL CREDITS — POLITICO's Ry Rivard: More than a quarter million New Jersey utility customers will receive $175 off their gas or electric bills in September, the Murphy administration announced. The one-time bill credit will automatically be issued to 278,000 customers in low-income households that generally qualify for other forms of public assistance. Eligible customers will see credits on their gas or electric bill, but not both. This program is expected to cost about $51 million total and was approved by the state’s Board of Public Utilities in May, though some kind of payout plan has been in the works since 2022. Money for bill credits comes from the state’s clean energy program, which is funded by ratepayer fees. RENEWABLE RESPONSE DROPS OFF: NYSERDA got bids from developers for just 38 large-scale renewable projects in response to the latest solicitation, according to an update quietly posted on its website. This is a drop from prior years and highlights the uncertainty for developers as the state struggles to reset its portfolio after many project cancellations. The bids total 3.5 gigawatts of capacity, according to the authority. The deadline for bids was Aug. 8. The response this round is less robust than last year’s solicitation, which drew proposals for 57 projects — including 51 that had previously held agreements with NYSERDA — totaling 5 gigawatts. NYSERDA announced tentative awards in April to 24 projects totaling 2.4 gigawatts, some of which may be completed as early as 2025. Cost details have not been released. Contracts are expected to be finalized in the coming months. Previous rounds, before the wave of cancellations, were also more competitive. The 2021 solicitation got bids for 56 projects totaling more than 6 gigawatts of capacity, with more than 60 bids received in 2020 and 42 in 2019. The lackluster response could signal a challenge for keeping the state on track to meet the statutory 70 percent renewable by 2030 target — even three years late, as NYSERDA has acknowledged is more likely. Hitting that level in 2033 largely relies on offshore wind coming online, but it also calls for NYSERDA to procure about 5,600 gigawatt hours of new renewables each year until 2029 to account for possible attrition. The awarded project announced in April of this year fell below that level. — Marie J. French MORE AIR MONITORING QUESTIONS: The Department of Environmental Conservation’s effort to engage communities on air pollution faced skepticism and concern from advocates who represent those communities at a meeting Tuesday. DEC published dense, difficult to navigate and interpret “Story Maps” with data from a yearlong, hyper-local air monitoring effort in 10 disadvantaged communities in New York earlier this month. “If we're having trouble navigating our way through it, then our aunties are going to have trouble,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, director of UPROSE, a Brooklyn-based environmental justice group. The intent was to avoid an unwieldy document and allow community input on the priority areas to address pollution, officials said in response to concerns raised by members of the Climate Justice Working Group. “What we tried to do was to develop something that was more interactive,” said Adriana Espinoza, DEC’s deputy commissioner for equity and justice. “That way, it's not New YorkState producing a 200-page PDF that draws the conclusion about the air that you breathe every day. … I hear you, that maybe we overcomplicated it.” The available data includes potential stationary sources of pollution, like wastewater treatment plants, dry cleaners and auto shops. It also highlights the major impact of mobile sources: buses, trucks and cars. But there’s not much analysis of what the largest contributors are or granular information that could inform future mitigation strategies. DEC in July told Manhattan community members that the initial data demonstrated poor air quality near coal- and wood-fired pizza ovens New York City has pushed to regulate, for example, but that’s not mentioned in the Story Maps. — Marie J. French ELUSIVE EJ ADVISORY GROUP: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration says legislative leaders are the ones dragging their feet on establishing a long-delayed environmental justice advisory group linked to the state’s climate law. The permanent Environmental Justice Advisory Group was intended to create a “model” environmental justice policy for state agencies to implement — with a statutory deadline of January 2021. The group is required to have appointees from the governor, majority and minority legislative leaders, with representatives from community-based organizations, businesses with air or other permits, local governments and environmental experts or members of the public. Nominations from the Legislature to the group are “outstanding,” DEC spokesperson Cecilia Walsh said in response to questions. Hochul has made “several” appointments, which have not been publicized, and the final members will be released when “all members of the group are empaneled,” she said. Spokespeople for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins did not respond to multiple requests for comment. — Marie J. French THE STATION AGE — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: A $50 million plan to overhaul an NJ Transit station in Bloomfield is being derailed by a state historic preservation council. The Historic Sites Council recommended last week the state Department of Environmental Protection deny approval needed to rehab the century-old station. Part of the dispute involves NJ Transit’s plans to make the station compliant with the federally mandated Americans with Disabilities Act. The council said the transit agency’s accessibility plans would interfere with the historic station, which the council praised “as a distinguished example of Proto-Modern architecture that includes Beaux-Arts elements.” The council has offered its own accessibility options. | 
