CLIMATE: Early estimates from Massachusetts officials indicate the state more than met its legally mandated 2020 emissions reduction goal, reducing emissions 28.6% over 1990 levels. (State House News Service)

ALSO:
• A recently formed New Jersey task force will focus on how the state can manage its forestland, much of which is privately owned, to help mitigate the climate crisis. (NJ Spotlight)
• Pennsylvania conservation officials say they need over $1.4 billion to fund parkland repairs and upgrades to prepare for extreme weather and climate change. (WHYY)
• A Maryland news outlet will host two in-person events during which environmental experts will ask gubernatorial candidates questions about climate policy. (Maryland Matters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The head of a New York student transportation association says the state needs to figure out how much it will cost school districts to accomplish the governor’s school bus electrification proposal and evaluate other challenges before diving in. (Capital Tonight)
• Four New York legislative committees hold a hearing to determine whether the state’s electric vehicle charging deployment plan will instill confidence in consumers. (RTO Insider, subscription)

RATES: A new Maine bill would require the state public advocate to form a group to study how to help residents afford their electricity bills amid decarbonization efforts, and also make the state utility regulator develop a retroactive electric assistance program for low-income residents. (Portland Press Herald) 

FOSSIL FUELS:
• Massachusetts lawmakers question the state’s energy secretary about why the governor’s building code proposal doesn’t allow communities to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new buildings. (Commonwealth Magazine)
• University of Delaware researchers say they can extract nearly all of the carbon dioxide from air through a hydrogen-powered electrochemical process. (news release)

SOLAR:
• Southeastern Pennsylvania utility PECO wants to buy 8,000 solar alternative energy credits from solar generators or aggregators in the state. (PV Magazine)
• A solar developer wraps up construction of a 2.2 MW array in northern Vermont. (news release)

FINANCE: The Connecticut Green Bank says it has made over $2 billion in cumulative investments in the state’s green economy since its formation in 2011 and helped create over 23,000 green energy jobs. (PV Magazine)

COMMENTARY: A Maine editorial board warns that the state needs to think about how it will address increasingly higher energy prices to ensure low-income families aren’t overburdened. (Portland Press Herald)

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.