ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: New Jersey legislators give final approval to a bill that gives environmental justice communities more say in the siting of polluting sources like power plants. (NJ Spotlight)

UTILITIES:
• Eversource CEO Jim Judge is blasted by Connecticut legislators in a five-hour hearing over the utility’s recent storm response as he hints customers may be reimbursed for some losses. (The Advocate)
• For the third time, Pennsylvania regulators fail to decide whether to end utility shut-offs during the coronavirus pandemic and postpone action for another month. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

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GRID: New York focuses on grid reliability as it shifts to more renewable energy, and experts say the state doesn’t have the same capacity challenges that California does. (Platts)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Some New York utilities say the state’s new $72 million “build-ready” program for large-scale renewable energy projects needs more planning to avoid extra costs. (Utility Dive)
• A new study commissioned by a progressive party says Maine can reach its net-zero emissions goals by 2050 primarily with wind and solar power. (WABI)
• A new report says New Hampshire renewable energy businesses seem to have weathered the worst of the job losses caused by COVID-19. (NH Business Review)
• More than 30 small businesses in rural Maine receive federal grants to transition to renewable energy. (Centralmaine.com)
• Massachusetts awards $13 million in clean energy grants to 103 municipalities. (news release)

OFFSHORE WIND: A Long Island congressional representative writes to federal officials seeking answers for the delay in approving offshore wind projects. (WSHU) 

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A startup electric vehicle manufacturer eyes southern Delaware for a production plant that could deliver vehicles in about a year. (Delaware Business Times)

COMMENTARY:
• Energy attorneys argue that Congress must act to prevent federal regulators from undermining state clean energy programs by unfairly propping up polluting resources in regional capacity markets. (Utility Dive)
• The New Jersey Audubon Society says recent federal and state reports on climate change and the state’s possible responses portray a roadmap for action to equitably recover from COVID-19. (NJ Spotlight)

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.