UTILITIES: A Maine lawmaker amends his proposal to create a public utility in the state, instead advancing a bill to convene a task force to study the issue. (Bangor Daily News)

POLICY: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu vetoes a bill to increase the state’s renewable energy standard, which is the lowest in New England. (New Hampshire Public Radio)

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STORAGE: A New Hampshire utility’s energy storage pilot program could have implications for how the technology is implemented elsewhere. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIFICATION: Massachusetts lawmakers say plans for electrification bills are complicated by Attorney General Maura Healey’s recent decision striking down a municipal gas ban. (S&P Global)

NUCLEAR: It’s not yet clear whether Ohio’s bribery scandal will affect nuclear bailout bills in Pennsylvania that still remain in committee. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

WIND: Ørsted continues to search for an offshore wind interconnection site after withdrawing plans earlier this month to use a Delaware state park. (Delaware State News)

SOLAR: Cornell University researchers are studying the impacts of solar farms on agriculture land in New York, Maryland and Oklahoma. (Olean Times Herald) 

OIL & GAS:
• A hearing officer rejects a challenge to a proposed LNG export terminal in New Jersey. (Kallanish Energy)
• Pennsylvania regulators fine a natural gas drilling company $310,000 for spills and landslides related to its pipelines. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• Three Pennsylvania lawmakers withdraw their request to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Delaware River Basin Commission’s authority over fracking. (Citizens’ Voice)
• The proposed Granite Bridge pipeline has become a campaign issue in New Hampshire’s gubernatorial race. (Seacoast Online)

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WASTE TO ENERGY: A proposed Rhode Island medical waste incinerator remains mired in a permitting battle between two neighboring municipalities. (East Greenwich News)

COMMENTARY:
• The CEO of Maine’s Chamber of Commerce says forming a public utility would create too much financial risk for the state. (Kennebec Journal)
• An advocate says Massachusetts “has a chance to lead the nation on a just and sustainable, climate-smart economic recovery.” (WBUR)
• The Audubon Society says the Trump administration’s regulatory rollbacks make it harder to develop offshore wind responsibly. (The Hill)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.