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)