NATURAL GAS: A controversial Massachusetts compressor station is forced to shut down for the fourth time since it opened in 2020, with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and some experts questioning why the company called the shutdown an “act of God” despite blaming it on maintenance work. (WBUR)
ALSO:
• Pennsylvania utility regulators will hear public testimony this week over a proposed PECO natural gas-reliability station derided by nearby residents as being too close to homes and businesses. (WHYY)
• Anti-natural gas activism in Massachusetts first grew out of concern for sick and dying trees. (Eos)
OFFSHORE WIND: Vineyard Wind and a Massachusetts start-up are backing an incubator that includes companies building night-vision cameras and weather-resistant aerial drones to protect marine life near offshore wind farms. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• A New Jersey planning board rejects a zoning variance for a proposed 150 MW solar project, with several members skeptical about its dual agricultural plans to host a sheep farm. (pv magazine)
• Community solar projects intrigue Mainers but leave many with questions about the new subscriber-based business model that numerous companies are marketing across the state. (Portland Press Herald)
UTILITIES: Some opponents of Maine’s bill to establish another consumer-owned utility in the state argue it would both hurt clean power development and limit customer protections while raising bills. (Daily Energy Insider)
GRID:
• Canada approves construction of the contentious New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project on its side of the border. (Maine Public)
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission investigates why the operator of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant is “dragging its feet” on substation upgrades needed for New England Clean Energy Connect. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
• New York Power Authority’s chief executive says although a crucial undersea transmission line running from Long Island to Westchester has been repaired, further repairs or enhancements are likely needed. (Newsday)
• Five utilities file updated battery storage deployment plans with New York’s utility commission a month after it relaxed the utilities’ deadlines to install a combined 350 MW. (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY: A National Grid executive writes that “targeted investment” in nationwide transmission infrastructure would create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and help fight the climate crisis. (Energy News Network)