NATURAL GAS: An energy developer wants to build two fracking wells near several environmental justice communities and an elementary school outside of Pittsburgh, and residents are calling for public hearings to voice their concerns. (Daily Climate)
ALSO: Streets in Nashua, New Hampshire, are closed this morning and some residents have been evacuated following a gas leak. (Telegraph)
PIPELINES: Sunoco receives an $85,666 from Pennsylvania regulators after spilling drilling fluids into wetlands during construction of its Mariner East 2 pipeline. (Farm and Dairy)
SOLAR: Plans to site a solar array on what advocates say should be a surefire brownfield development victory fail again in Concord, New Hampshire, over financial concerns. (Concord Monitor)
TRANSPORTATION: In Pennsylvania, a senate energy committee votes to request that a state regulatory board oppose entering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
GRID: Decades ago, Hurricane Bob knocked out power on Cape Cod for days; now, area officials say significantly improved emergency planning measures, including better communication with utilities and smart grid tech, will mitigate such disasters. (Cape Cod Times)
CLIMATE:
• New York City volunteers collect air temperature and humidity data to help build the case that neighborhoods redlined in the early 1900s need green space investments to improve locals’ quality of life. (Inside Climate News)
• A coastal Maine city considers rain gardens, adding more porous surfaces and citizen education to fight its urban heat island problem. (Bangor Daily News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Vermont committee examines how to replace lost gas tax revenues as the state tries to encourage thousands more drivers to go electric by 2025. (WCAX)
• New Jersey utility regulators grant $7 million to an existing program to help buy electric vehicles and charging equipment for municipal and state agencies. (NJ Spotlight)
• Plans to develop an agricultural and environmental center at a farm preserve in Norway, Maine, include four solar-powered electric car charging stations. (Sun Journal)
• New York City sanitation workers rave about the driveability and quietness of their electric garbage trucks, but the department needs the manufacturer to find how they can “pull double-duty” to plow snow. (Popular Science)
UTILITIES: A central New Hampshire town selectboard votes unanimously to join a nonprofit community power coalition. (Valley News)
HYDROELECTRIC:
• National Grid’s East Dam in Potsdam, New York, is back online after some grid equipment failed last month; its West Dam is still offline. (NNY360)
• Two Canadian energy developers, including Hydro-Québec, are purchasing a 60 MW hydroelectric portfolio in Saratoga County, New York. (Hydro Review)