Northeast Energy News

Pipeline fines will be used to restore Pennsylvania watersheds

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PIPELINES: A $12.6 million fine against Sunoco for permit violations related to its Mariner East 2 natural gas pipeline will be used to improve Pennsylvania watersheds that were impacted by the project. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

OIL & GAS:
• Dominion Energy scraps plans to build a controversial natural gas compressor station south of Washington, D.C. (Maryland Independent)
• Heating oil prices are on the rise in Maine, with the average price nearing $3 per gallon. (Associated Press)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join 500+ attendees for REVitalize: Transforming Energy Further, Fast, Together with keynote speakers Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North Solutions, and Gordon Van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, October 18-19 in Burlington, Vermont.***

RENEWABLES:
• New York announces $27.5 million in funding to help recruit and train workers for the state’s growing clean energy jobs sector. (Solar Industry)
• A state report says New York had more than 151,000 clean energy jobs as of December, and employers plan to hire another 8,000 this year. (NYSERDA)

SOLAR:
• Developers break ground on a 2.7 MW community solar project in Upstate New York.

Northeast Energy News

Massachusetts city questions permits for long-stalled biomass project

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BIOMASS: The city council of Springfield, Massachusetts, seeks a legal opinion on the permitting status of a proposed 35 MW wood-burning biomass plant. (The Republican)

RENEWABLES:
• A Massachusetts pilot program provides loans to increase renewable energy access for low- and moderate-income homeowners. (WWLP)
• Two townships west of Philadelphia adopt resolutions to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035 and 100 percent renewable heat and transportation by 2050. (Windpower Engineering & Development)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join 500+ attendees for REVitalize: Transforming Energy Further, Fast, Together with keynote speakers Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North Solutions, and Gordon Van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, October 18-19 in Burlington, Vermont.***

WIND: Developers reveal that Microsoft is the company behind a 15-year agreement to purchase power from a 90 MW wind facility under construction in northern Pennsylvania. (news release)

SOLAR: Residents express few concerns about a proposed 77 MW solar project in central Maine.

Northeast Energy News

New Hampshire court to hear transmission project appeal

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TRANSMISSION: The New Hampshire Supreme Court agrees to hear Eversource’s appeal of a siting committee vote to block construction of a 192-mile transmission line that would carry hydro power from Canada to Massachusetts and Southern New England. (The Republican)

NATURAL GAS:
• A series of fatal home explosions outside Boston last month is intensifying calls to phase out natural gas and boost renewables. (Boston Globe)
• Massachusetts orders Columbia Gas to suspend all work in light of a troubling federal report on the explosions. (NBC Boston)
• A Senate oversight panel schedules a hearing next month to further investigate the explosions. (Bloomberg)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join 500+ attendees for REVitalize: Transforming Energy Further, Fast, Together with keynote speakers Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North Solutions, and Gordon Van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, October 18-19 in Burlington, Vermont.***

PIPELINES: A podcast episode tells the story of a Pennsylvania family fighting to regain a piece of land that courts gave to pipeline developers.

Northeast Energy News

Report: Pipeline work triggered deadly explosions outside Boston

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OIL & GAS: A series of home explosions outside Boston last month were triggered by over-pressurized gas lines resulting from a scheduled pipe replacement in the area, according to a preliminary report. (The Hill, USA Today)

ALSO: A Pennsylvania business consortium releases an economic development report as part of an initiative to expand natural gas use in the state. (Ellwood City Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join 500+ attendees for REVitalize: Transforming Energy Further, Fast, Together with keynote speakers Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North Solutions, and Gordon Van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, October 18-19 in Burlington, Vermont.***

PIPELINES: County commissioners in central Pennsylvania ask state utility regulators to require Sunoco to hold public meetings on its Mariner East II natural gas pipeline. (WHTM)

TRANSMISSION: The New York Power Authority will spend $124 million rebuilding an 86-mile portion of an aging transmission line in the northern part of the state. (news release)

RENEWABLES:
• New Hampshire lawmakers and clean energy advocates release a roadmap for powering the state with renewable energy by 2040.

Northeast Energy News

New York announces $40 million for solar-plus-storage

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SOLAR: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces $40 million in funding to support commercial and industrial solar-plus-storage projects. (Energy Storage News)

ALSO: States like New York and Connecticut are embracing programs aimed at providing affordable solar power to low-income residents. (OZY)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join 500+ attendees for REVitalize: Transforming Energy Further, Fast, Together with keynote speakers Katherine Hamilton, chair of 38 North Solutions, and Gordon Van Welie, president and CEO of ISO New England, October 18-19 in Burlington, Vermont.***

WIND:
• Massachusetts fisheries officials say wind farm developers should run a transmission cable ashore at a local beach, rather than through Lewis Bay. (Cape Cod Times)
• Connecticut officials are ramping up efforts to procure offshore wind energy now that the technology has matured and prices have come down. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A coalition of environmental advocates and local businesses want Boston to electrify its public transit system.