GRID: Connecticut regulators are offering thousands of dollars in incentives to pay for the installation of battery storage systems or for allowing utilities to tap into them during peak demand. (Energy News Network)

ALSO:
• Around 60,000 New York and Pennsylvania outages were reported this morning as wintry weather sweeps through the region. (PowerOutage.US, NBC News)
• ISO-New England tells regional leaders the larger-than-expected increase in fossil fuels in the grid’s January energy mix underscores the need for faster clean energy transition action. (Commonwealth Magazine)
• PJM Interconnection wants to include distributed energy resource aggregations in its energy, capacity and ancillary services market, which some observers applaud but say needs to be tweaked to allow full market participation. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:
• A solar developer finishes a 1.84 MW portfolio of rooftop solar projects for a New Jersey public school district. (news release)
• A Pennsylvania sustainable agriculture nonprofit installs enough solar power on its property to completely offset its $25,000 annual electric bill. (Observer-Reporter)

GAS: Massachusetts state legislators advance a bill giving towns and cities the ability to develop all-electric building and renovation codes. (S&P Global)

RATES: ConEd seeks an 11.2% electric bill increase and an 18.2% gas bill increase to pay for renewable energy investments and system upgrades, although the exact amount would vary depending on customer class. (Spectrum)

CLIMATE:
• New Jersey climate advocates say nonwhite and low-income New Jerseyans need to be the focus of state climate action, as these communities already are overburdened with environmental hardship. (NJ Spotlight)
• A coalition’s report suggests Rhode Island could combat climate change, the pandemic and inequality through its clean energy economy transition and related actions, like building 35,000 affordable net-zero housing units. (Boston Globe)
• Colby College purchases two coastal Maine islands to advance academic programming, including climate change research.  (Associated Press)

 

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.