The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a meeting of the Climate Justice Working Group. The working group is tasked with establishing criteria for identifying disadvantaged communities to reduce co-pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions, prepare regulatory impact statements, and allocate investments pursuant to the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The meeting will begin the process of reviewing the disadvantaged communities, or DAC, criteria. This will include a presentation from the DAC technical team on updating to the 2020 Census as well as recommendations on additional indicators.

The New York Public Service Commission will hold hearings to discuss Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc.’s proposal to increase its annual electric and gas delivery revenues. The company seeks an increase in electric delivery revenues of $18.1 million, a 7.3 percent increase in base delivery revenues or a 3.7 percent increase in total revenues. For natural gas, the company proposes an increase of $14.4 million, which represents a 11 percent increase in base delivery revenues or a 6.3 percent increase in total revenues. The proposal is expected to raise the total monthly bill for residential electric and gas customers by approximately 6 percent and 8 percent, respectively. 24-G-0061

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is due to receive concept papers on the second round of funding for a $12 million opportunity to support the development and demonstration of innovative, replicable solutions that advance electric vehicle adoption and integration with the electric grid. The focus is on technologies and strategies that can better integrate EVs into the electric grid, improve the charging experience for drivers and fleet owners, lower the costs of deploying EV charging infrastructure and utility upgrades, and increase the potential of EVs to become an asset for grid flexibility. This includes projects aimed at developing innovative solutions for the medium- and heavy-duty and non-road EV markets, improving grid reliability and flexibility, and advancing vehicle-grid interactions.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing regarding a proposal to construct two natural gas to liquid hydrocarbon energy conversion facilities, each with an associated 100-megawatt steam-powered electric energy conversion facility, in Williams County. The project, proposed by Cerilon GTL ND Inc., includes electric power generation as a secondary benefit from excess steam generation. Each facility would be able to convert 240 million standard cubic feet per day of gas to 24,000 barrels per day of liquid hydrocarbon products. The project is planned to be built in two phases, with the estimated cost of phase one at $3.2 billion and phase two expected to have a similar cost.

The California Energy Commission is due to receive comments on funding allocations in a draft version of the 2024-2025 Investment Plan Update for the Clean Transportation Program. A recent meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Clean Transportation Program Investment Plan included discussions on the implementation of the program and related zero-emission vehicle infrastructure analysis and planning activities. A 2007 law established the program and authorized the commission to develop and deploy zero-emission and other advanced fuels and transportation technologies to help attain the state’s climate policies. Legislation enacted last year reauthorized the program until July 1, 2035 with some additions and revisions. The program has a base annual budget of about $100 million to support projects including electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure and workforce training programs. In recent years, the commission has also received state General Funds and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds. 24-ALT-01