ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Cape Cod launches its first plan to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, but reining in transportation emerges as a challenge for the sprawling, car-centric region. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: A federal agency grants the Vermont Agency of Transportation and NJ Transit $1 million and $5.15 million, respectively, to buy electric buses. (VT Digger, NorthJersey.com)
UTILITIES:
• Central Maine Power and PSEG Long Island ranked lowest in a nationwide survey of ratepayers’ opinions of their utilities conducted by a market research company. (Mainebiz)
• A rural electric co-op in Vermont is seeking a new general manager to take the helm in late 2021. (news release)
• Despite a well-known and increased need for utility bill assistance in Philadelphia, few city ratepayers have applied for PECO’s customer assistance programs. (Philly Voice)
• Massachusetts’ utility shut-off moratorium ends July 1. (WWLP-22News)
SOLAR:
• In upstate New York, poorer communities welcome large-scale solar development while wealthier second-home owners organize against such projects. (Times Union)
• A bill awaiting Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ approval may inadvertently raise electric distribution rates as it tries to alter net-energy policies and curb the amount of medium-sized solar arrays trying to interconnect. (Bangor Daily News)
NATURAL GAS: A local zoning board approves the installation of natural gas-powered fuel cells at a hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, which could power 42% of the hospital’s main campus and 88% of a nearby health center. (New Haven Register)
CLIMATE: An affluent Maryland county adjacent to Washington, D.C., plans to reach net-zero emissions a decade earlier than the state. (WTOP)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Baltimore officials say a proposal to build a high-speed maglev train line doesn’t address equity, environmental justice and local community impact concerns. (Washington Post)
• New Jersey environmentalists warn that the state is hindering its climate goals by repeatedly diverting clean energy funds to plug NJ Transit funding gaps. (NJ.com)
COMMENTARY: A “core member” of Maine Youth for Climate Justice supports the state bill seeking to take over investor-owned utility assets, arguing that if young people will inherit the grid, they should own it. (Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel)