OFFSHORE WIND: Federal officials tell Vineyard Wind that its decision to pause its application for an offshore wind development in Massachusetts will require a new application and will delay it by at least a year. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• The developer says the project can be restarted quickly and will not lose much time in its regulatory review. (E&E News, subscription)
• In an interview, the former CEO of Deepwater Wind says there have been “unrealistic expectations” about how fast offshore wind would develop. (E&E News)

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PIPELINES: A Boston Globe investigation shows that a six-year fight by community residents against a compressor station had little chance of success before state and federal authorities.

UTILITIES:
• Consumer advocates in New Jersey ask state regulators to suspend pending utility rate increases while they sort out a backlog of more than $442 million in late payments caused by the pandemic. (NJ Spotlight)
• Vermont Legal Aid asks the state to reimpose a moratorium on utility shutoffs. (Rutland Herald)

GRID: Maryland and other states that may leave PJM over a controversial rule for capacity markets must decide whether to wait for more favorable rules from a reconstituted federal regulatory board. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:
• A state auditor says Massachusetts law for payments by solar developers to host communities is outdated and biased against smaller towns and favors wealthier ones. (Solar Power World)
• A historic Connecticut farm that closed two years ago is approved by state siting officials for a solar array. (Hartford Courant)

BIOFUELS: A biofuels company in New Hampshire that processes used cooking oil copes with raw materials shortages as the pandemic closes or curtails restaurant operations. (Concord Monitor)

CLIMATE: A Vermont county is the first in the state to conduct a climate study that pinpoints origins of greenhouse gases and determines its largest sources are transportation, buildings and agriculture. (VT Digger)

POLITICS: A former leader of the Republicans in the Maine Senate and critic of a proposed power line from Canada blasts his party for being passed over for a seat on a committee that oversees utilities and energy policy. (Bangor Daily News)

COMMENTARY:
• A former college professor says renewable energy embodies the “Live Free” sentiments of New Hampshire. (Concord Monitor)
• An editorial board praises a city council for meeting its self-imposed deadline to draft a 100% clean energy plan. (Keene Sentinel)

Bill is a freelance journalist based outside Albany, New York. As a former New England correspondent for RTO Insider, he has written about energy for newspapers, magazines and other publications for more than 20 years. He has an extensive career in trade publications and newspapers, mostly focused on the utility sector, covering such issues as restructuring, renewable energy and consumer affairs. Bill covers Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire and also compiles the Northeast Energy News daily email digest.