CLIMATE: New Jersey meets its goal of reducing power plant emissions 20% by 2020 but still has “an incredible hill to climb” to reach its 2050 target. (NJ Spotlight)

ALSO:
• Major oil companies and power producers are among companies that support Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• A Maryland regulator blames regional grid operator PJM for preventing the state from reaching its climate goals. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Vermont utility plans to expand a program to promote car dealerships that keep electric vehicles in stock and help customers obtain rebates. (Energy News Network)
• Officials in a Connecticut town are considering whether to allow electric vehicle charging stations that double as advertising kiosks. (Hartford Courant)

SOLAR: Scientists debunk misinformation being circulated by opponents of a Pennsylvania solar project. (Allegheny Front)

WIND:
• Ørsted launches a $15 million fund to support minority- and women-owned businesses that supply offshore wind development. (NJ.com)
• A new training facility for offshore wind workers opens in Maryland after being delayed by the pandemic. (reNEWS)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• Rhode Island has developed a plan to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030 but so far has no mechanism to implement it. (ecoRI)
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces a plan to obtain 70% of the state’s renewable energy from in-state sources by 2030. (news release)
• Maine regulators issue a second call for proposals to meet a renewable energy target set in a 2019 law. (MaineBiz)

PIPELINES:
• Pennsylvania landowners that granted easements for a natural gas pipeline are caught up in a contract dispute over the project. (Erie Times-News)
• Enbridge announced on Friday that it would start a contested Massachusetts compressor station over the weekend. (WBUR)

POWER PLANTS:
• Advocates say Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s comments opposing a new natural gas plant stand in contrast to his administration’s decisions to advance the project. (Connecticut Examiner)
• Towns in Rhode Island and Maine are conducting appraisals on nearby power plants as tax agreements are set to expire. (Newport Daily News)
• Climate advocates in a Connecticut town are opposing plans to upgrade a natural gas plant; the plant’s operators say it will enable a conversion to renewable hydrogen in the future. (Middletown Plant)

NUCLEAR:
• Federal regulators are considering license extensions for nuclear power plants, which could keep units at the Millstone plant in New Hampshire licensed through 2075 and 2085. (The Day)
• New York’s attorney general sues the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a dispute over the decommissioning of the Indian Point plant. (WWTI)

UTILITIES: Eversource is expanding energy-efficiency incentives for cold storage units in order to help with COVID-19 vaccine distribution. (Berkshire Eagle)

EFFICIENCY: A Maine town will vote on a $2.8 million energy efficiency project for city buildings at a drive-up town meeting tonight. (Bangor Daily News)

COMMENTARY:
• Advocates say a proposal to allow solar projects on agricultural reserve lands will be key to a Maryland county meeting its climate goals. (Washington Post)
• Maine advocates say the growth of solar power in the state makes it hard to justify continued operation of four hydropower dams. (Portland Press Herald)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.