GRID: Maine voters tell Central Maine Power to stop building a $1 billion transmission corridor, with 60% of them voting against it as of this morning;  legal challenges to the referendum are sure to keep the project in limbo. (Maine Public)

ALSO: Some activists against the transmission corridor call on Massachusetts to find another way to achieve its climate goals without hurting another state’s environment. (Commonwealth Magazine)

SOLAR:
• A proposed pilot project seeks to install solar panels on highway noise barriers just south of Boston, which could help expand where solar panels can be installed in the state. (Energy News Network)
• An energy developer’s decision to drastically scale back its plans for a 500 MW solar facility in New York exemplifies the pushback from rural communities seeking to protect their open spaces. (New York Times)
• In Maine’s Kennebec Valley, a town votes to codify a new ordinance outlining the conditions under which commercial- and industrial-scale solar farms can be developed. (Livermore Falls Advertiser/Franklin Journal)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Maine voters sanction a $100 million bond issuance to fund transportation investments, such as transit facilities and railroads. (Bangor Daily News)
• In Boston, the mayor’s race is called for Michelle Wu, who ran in part on a free public transit platform. (NBC News)

CLIMATE: Although COP26 is an entire ocean away, a Massachusetts public radio station explains why state residents should care about the climate conference. (WBUR)

REGULATION: New England commissioners, grid operators and policymakers met last week to talk about transmission, carbon pricing, severe weather and gas pipeline constraints. (RTO Insider, subscription)

FOSSIL FUELS:
• A Massachusetts legislative committee hears testimony supporting and opposing a bill that would require gas companies to transition to renewable thermal energy. (WWLP)
• With oil prices 58% higher than this time last year, a community agency opens an application period for fuel payment assistance. (Patriot Ledger)

LABOR: Two New Hampshire roofers are in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after their ladder touched power lines. (CBS Boston)

HEAT PUMPS: A Vermont utility partners with an efficiency organization to provide customers with an upfront $400 rebate on heat pump installations; customers previously had to apply for the discount after the installation. (Burlington Free Press)

COMMENTARY:
• A clean energy nonprofit’s project manager explains how New York’s decision not to permit two natural gas power plants sets back the gas industry’s argument that these facilities can eventually be converted to hydrogen. (Renewable Energy World)
• A Democratic New Hampshire lawmaker says that when it comes to economic recovery, his state “has everything to gain from climate action.” (Union Leader)

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Bridget Reed Morawski

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.