FOSSIL FUELS: In Massachusetts, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey says federal regulators are reconsidering their earlier approval of the Weymouth natural gas compressor station that activists have derided as a climate and community threat. (State House News Service)

ALSO:
• A Maine newspaper examines the tension between the state’s desire to stop generating power with natural gas and its continued dependence on the fossil fuel. (Portland Press Herald)
• A cryptocurrency miner in New York’s Finger Lakes region halted operations over the bitterly cold weekend to direct its gas-fired generation to the grid. (news release)
• Philadelphia’s gasoline prices are currently the highest in the country east of the Rocky Mountains, AAA reports, partially due to high nationwide crude oil prices. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Northeastern states including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland are set to receive billions of dollars worth of federal investments to fix their frail bridges. (Lehigh Valley Live, CBS Boston, news release)
• A plan to expand an airport along the coast of New Haven, Connecticut, exemplifies problems with infrastructure development in areas likely to see increased flooding amid the climate crisis. (CT Mirror)
• Vermont’s housing and community development department kicks off a grant program to incentivize the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at multi-unit rental properties. (news release)

GRID:
• Western New York towns consider the role of industrial-scale battery storage systems in their area and discuss potential regulation. (Lockport Union-Sun & Journal)
• A developer scraps plans to construct Rhode Island’s first utility-scale battery storage system without disclosing its reasoning. (ecoRI)

CLIMATE:Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker swears in a group of regional stakeholders making up the inaugural Commission on Clean Heat, including an MIT energy research scientist and a gas utility president. (Berkshire Eagle)

WIND: Maine’s Oxford County sees its fourth wind farm come online — a roughly 15 MW, four-turbine onshore project. (Spectrum)

UTILITIES: Maryland utility regulators decide embattled Ohio utility FirstEnergy and a local subsidiary don’t need to publicize the results of their internal investigation into a major bribery scandal. (Cleveland.com)

UTILITY BILLS: Rhode Island approves around $22 million in pandemic-related utility bill assistance. (Newport Buzz)

BIOMASS:
• A New Hampshire town board gives its conditional support for a planned wood-fired biomass plant intended to power a mixed commercial development and a retirement home. (Conway Daily Sun)
• The 1,000-pound butter sculpture created for this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show will be processed through a nearby farm’s anaerobic digester to generate energy. (69 News)

COMMENTARY: A Philadelphia editorial board argues the city can’t continue both operating a municipal gas utility while touting net-zero emissions goals. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

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.