CLIMATE: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vetoes a comprehensive climate roadmap bill, saying its efficiency requirements would have burdened the housing sector and that the bill lacked tools for localities to address environmental justice issues. (Masslive.com)

ALSO:
• Maine and two private organizations are taking preliminary steps to include small woodlot owners to use their trees to participate in carbon offset markets. (Bangor Daily News)
• A Rutgers University climate scientist says much can be done by President Biden to revive climate-friendly policies but reversing regulatory rollbacks will be difficult. (NJ Spotlight)

STORAGE: Connecticut regulators propose a home battery storage program that would help the state reach its goal of 580 MW by 2030. (Energy News Network)

ACTIVISM: Twenty defendants pleaded with a New Hampshire district court judge to allow them to have jury trials to face trespass charges stemming from blocking a train delivering coal to a power plant. (NHPR)

SOLAR: New York’s ambitious clean energy plans unveiled this week include two 20 MW solar farms in an upstate town. (Post-Star)

OFFSHORE WIND: The developer of a New Jersey offshore wind farm tells recreational fishermen they are welcome to ply the waters in and among its turbines. (Asbury Park Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An electric vehicle charging station developer says it will install 20 stations at an Albany-area mall. (WRGB)

EFFICIENCY: Some Rhode Island businesses still want the state to suspend billing for energy efficiency despite a rate cut approved by regulators due to unspent funds during the pandemic. (Providence Business News)

TRANSMISSION: Hydro-Quebec says it will participate in a New York solicitation for a transmission “superhighway” from the northern part of the state and Canada to bring clean energy to New York City. (National Observer)

OIL & GAS:
• Two Maine cities rely on citizen scientists as they craft their responses to state regulators who are monitoring emissions from an oil tank storage facility. (WMTW)
• Regulators find 160 environmental violations by a western New York oil and gas driller after investigating a house explosion that turned out to be unrelated. (Olean Times Herald)
• Residents of a Pittsburgh suburb ask Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to block construction of an injection well for fracking wastewater in their community. (Pittsburgh Business Times)

COMMENTARY:
• The retiring environmental commissioner in New Jersey says the state has made significant progress in the past three years as it returns to science-based policies and regulations. (NJ.com)
• A Maryland environmental activist says state legislators must complete action on climate legislation that was interrupted last year by the pandemic. (The Daily Record)

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Bill Opalka

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.