CLIMATE: State legislators effectively killed a major Maryland climate bill after they couldn’t compromise to reconcile differences between separate versions of the legislation, although some provisions were separately passed. (Maryland Matters)

ALSO:
Burlington, Vermont, says it met its emissions reduction goals in 2019 and 2020 but missed its 2020 electrification goal. (VTDigger)
Maine received over $4 million during the first quarter of 2021 from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program that the state’s utility regulator says has brought in over $127 million in total. (Associated Press)

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PENSIONS: A New York state pension fund plans to divest from its $7 million investment in seven oil sands companies as part of the state comptroller’s pledge to reduce fossil fuel-related investment risks. (Pensions & Investments)

INFRASTRUCTURE: Giving no state high marks, the White House has published infrastructure report cards detailing decades of underinvestment, particularly in transportation; Massachusetts and Pennsylvania both earned a C-, while Delaware got a D. (Boston.com, CBS Pittsburgh, Delaware News Journal)

SOLAR:
A roughly 1.8 MW rooftop solar array under construction at the University of Albany will supply 60% of the estimated power needs of a new tech and business building. (New Haven Register)
A New York City realty company says it has placed solar panels on roughly half of its 45 buildings in Queens; once complete, 6,500 solar panels will be installed through the $6.5 million project. (POWER)
New York’s Rensselaer County has subscribed to 7.4 MW of community solar projects, which may save the local government $3 million on its power bill over the next 25 years. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A New Jersey state agency has granted $88,000 to Mercer County in order to install 11 county-owned electric vehicle charging stations. (Patch.com)

NATURAL GAS: New York should impose a moratorium on new natural gas-fired power plants, according to members of a state advisory panel. (Times Union)

BATTERIES: In the Bronx, Con Edison and GI Energy have installed a 1 MW battery storage system, their demonstration project’s second lithium-ion system. (pv magazine)

COMMENTARY: While officials are considering the environmental effects of a third crossing of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, an editorial board says it is shocking that the draft environmental impact statement barely outlines overall climate change-related risks. (Baltimore Sun)

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.