POWER PLANTS: Federal regulators issue a permit for a New Hampshire coal plant that allows it to discharge heated water into the Merrimack River without using a cooling tower. (Concord Monitor)
MARKETING: Connecticut churches and nonprofits band together for group purchases of electricity for the second time in a year, with double the number of participants. (Energy News Network)
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STORAGE: Despite ambitious targets set for storage in a 2018 law, New Jersey has shown virtually no progress with the technology since. (Greentech Media)
SOLAR:
• Democrats in Congress, including New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, urge federal regulators to reject a petition that would remove solar net-metering programs from state control. (E&E News, subscription required)
• A New Jersey solar installer runs a virtual training program for potential workers with the aim to permanently hire 20 by year’s end for projects serving low-income communities. (Next City)
• Two community solar projects totaling 5.5 MW in central New York are completed. (Solar Power World)
• A New Hampshire school board reverses course on a high school solar installation, opening it to competitive bidding that will imperil incentives. (Ledger-Transcript)
REGULATIONS: Pennsylvania’s budget for environmental regulation will remain flat due to COVID-19, eliminating a plan to hire more staff in its air quality bureau. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
UTILITIES: Maryland regulators seek ways to remove unsafe mercury service regulators from gas furnaces present in older homes that have been blamed for a fatal apartment explosion. (Maryland Matters)
OIL AND GAS: The Marcellus Shale region stretching through Pennsylvania and West Virginia dethrones the Permian Basin in Texas as the largest fracking area in the country. (CBS7)
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EFFICIENCY: Several Maine towns convert to LED street lights with projected savings of more than $800,000 over 20 years. (PenBay Pilot)
COMMENTARY:
• An environmentalist says a New Jersey city’s plan to build a microgrid powered by a trash-burning plant endangers children’s health. (ROI-NJ)
• A sustainability nonprofit says Pennsylvania joining a regional emissions reduction compact will clean the state’s air and provide an economic boost. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)