TRANSMISSION: A television ad accuses Maine Gov. Janet Mills of a “backroom deal” on a hydropower transmission line, but it is not known who paid for it. (Portland Press Herald)
CLIMATE:
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker wants to shift the state’s proceeds from a regional carbon market to adaptation measures, rather than efficiency and clean energy. (Boston Globe)
• The Vermont House will not have enough time this session to consider two bills to tax carbon that were just introduced, the chamber’s speaker said. (VT Digger)
• Some advocates say a tax credit for carbon capture may be critical to limit global warming. (USA Today)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: How Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle roadmap fits into the national picture. (Energy News Network)
OVERSIGHT: A Massachusetts official who helped push for the state’s renewable energy standard is expected to be named to lead Maine’s energy office. (Portland Press Herald)
NATURAL GAS:
• A Pennsylvania environmental official recently testified that the switch to natural gas-fired electricity generation has helped the state meet its goals under the Clean Power Plan. (Pennsylvania Business Report)
• A business columnist says it’s unlikely for now that other Massachusetts communities will follow suit with gas moratoriums. (Boston Globe)
PIPELINES: Energy Transfer plans to resume construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline in an area where water wells were damaged in 2017. (WITF)
WIND:
• Residents of a Rhode Island community tell city officials that placement of wind turbines at a landfill is a violation of their civil rights. (Cranston Herald)
• A fishing industry leader says a recent deal with Vineyard wind is “lousy,” “insulting,” and “poorly, poorly designed.” (ecoRI)
SOLAR:
• An early push for solar power has enabled a Maine city to offset nearly 90 percent of its energy costs. (Bangor Daily News)
• The Maryland Senate held its first hearing on a bill that would create a statewide “blueprint” for solar energy intended to balance clean energy requirements and protecting natural resources. (KPVI)
POWER PLANTS:
• A developer has canceled a project to convert a defunct coal-fired plant to natural gas that would have required a new pipeline to traverse 22 miles of a forest preserve. (NJ Spotlight)
• Advocates say 43 mayors support resolutions opposing a new natural gas plant in New Jersey. (Hudson Reporter)
POLICY:
• Supporters of a Maryland bill to allow community energy aggregation say it will help local governments clean up their energy supplies. (Patch)
• A Long Island town board has voted to explore community choice aggregation to help it reach its goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. (Patch)
• Connecticut regulators fine a third-party energy provider $1.5 million over deceptive business practices. (Hartford Courant)
EFFICIENCY: A dispute over lighting state highways will slow a Rhode Island city’s conversion to LED streetlights. (Valley Breeze)
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ADVOCACY: Youth activists push a Massachusetts congressman to support the Green New Deal. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
COMMENTARY:
• A newspaper editorial praises progress on a transmission line to import Canadian hydropower: “Modern civilization is impossible without infrastructure to deliver the energy it requires.” (Providence Journal)
• Maryland has become a clean energy leader with its “customer-centric” policies to encourage solar power, energy storage and electric vehicle adoption. (Clean Technica)
• Advocates say requiring solar on all new homes in Maine could increase the state’s capacity 15-fold by 2045. (Environment Maine)
• An official from the city that is home to the Three Mile Island nuclear plant urges Pennsylvania lawmakers to help keep it running. (PennLive)
• A Massachusetts advocate says “We are at the forefront of an opportunity to truly modernize the Commonwealth’s energy economy.” (CommonWealth Magazine)