Energy News Network (https://energynews.us/category/digest/northeast-energy-news/)
Our free email roundups deliver the most important energy news of the day directly to your inbox. Browse the archive below, or sign up for our Northeast Energy News digest to receive the latest headlines from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C.
COAL: New York’s last coal-fired power plant will shut down permanently today; a developer is seeking state funds to convert the site into a data center. (Buffalo News)
ALSO: Consol Energy closes a Pennsylvania coal mine, idling 500 employees, after two workers test positive for COVID-19. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
***YOUR AD HERE: Webinar? Job posting? Virtual event?
CLEAN ENERGY: New Jersey regulators seek ways to meet the state’s clean energy goals amid a recent FERC ruling that could make wind and solar less competitive; steps could include forming a state power authority or leaving the PJM Interconnection. (NJ Spotlight, S&P Global)
POLLUTION:
• Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs a bill requiring oil storage facilities to remove and clean up unused tanks and prove they can cover the cost. (Portland Press Herald)
• A court throws out a Baltimore policy aimed at cutting pollution from a waste-to-energy plant, saying state law takes precedence. (Baltimore Brew)
***YOUR AD HERE: Webinar? Job posting?
SOLAR: Elon Musk says Tesla’s New York factory that fabricates solar panels will convert to manufacturing ventilators “as soon as is humanly possible.” (Energy Live News)
Oil & GAS: Pennsylvania regulators revoke a permit for an oil and gas wastewater well that a township had sought to ban. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
COAL: A labor union is seeking emergency rules to protect coal miners from the spread of COVID-19. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
STORAGE: Eversource nixes a proposed 1.7 MW battery storage project after New Hampshire regulators suggest expanding its scope. (Sentinel Source)
EMISSIONS: Emissions levels of two pollutants are down up to 30% from a year ago but New Jersey environmental officials say it is too soon to attribute that to stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NJ Spotlight)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Energy producers can apply to participate in supplying resources for the Massachusetts Clean Peak Standard in July.
TRANSMISSION: New Jersey regulators sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in federal court to challenge a ruling that leaves New Jersey residents paying for a multi-state transmission line. (NJ Spotlight)
GRID: New York’s grid operator says the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s stay-at-home order create a “historically unprecedented” shift in energy consumption. (E&E News, subscription required)
UTILITIES:
• Massachusetts regulators ban all utility shutoffs during the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (Eagle-Tribune)
• In response to a dispute over solar tariffs, Delaware regulators rule that utilities should automatically move business customers to the lowest possible rate class rather than wait for a request. (Delaware State News)
• New York regulators delay National Grid’s previously approved $111 million rate increases for electric and natural gas service until July 1 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
OIL AND GAS: Energy Transfer receives a waiver from Pennsylvania to continue some work on sections of the Mariner East pipeline for safety reasons. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
ELECTRIFICATION: Efforts to impose natural gas bans in new construction in several states, including Massachusetts, stall as activists are limited to virtual meetings and officials are preoccupied by COVID-19. (Platts)
EFFICIENCY: New Jersey regulators have developed a proposal to help encourage utilities to adopt more aggressive energy efficiency programs. (NJ Spotlight)
POWER PLANTS: A power plant just commissioned in Pennsylvania is capable of using a blend of natural gas and ethane, a fracking byproduct used in the petrochemical industry. (Utility Dive)
UTILITIES:
• A western Canadian utility closes its deal to acquire Emera Maine a week after it receives approval from state regulators. (E&E News, subscription required)
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker orders all electric, gas and water utilities to cease shutoffs of service for nonpayment during the coronavirus crisis.