NATURAL GAS: New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio announces a plan to ban natural gas hookups in new and renovated buildings by 2030 in his final State of the City address. (Politico, news release)

ALSO:
• Record low impact fees from natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania create a budget crunch for municipalities and state agencies that have come to depend on the revenue source. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he will try again to pass a natural gas drilling tax that the Republican-dominated legislature has repeatedly rejected. (Pennlive)

CLIMATE:
• With little fanfare, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature pass the same version of a comprehensive climate bill that Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed earlier this month. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Activists expect a series of climate-friendly bills to be introduced in the Rhode Island legislature, although their prospects are uncertain. (ecoRI)
• Maryland state senators hold hearings on eight climate bills that show broad consensus that action is likely this session on some of the issues raised. (Maryland Matters)

SOLAR:
• The competing interests of farmland preservation and solar energy projects continue to cause controversy as Connecticut legislators will consider more restrictions on development. (CT Examiner)
• Connecticut regulators propose a revamping of how residential solar systems are compensated that has been surprisingly endorsed by virtually all stakeholders. (CT Mirror)
• The first community solar project in New Jersey, authorized by a 2019 pilot program, is dedicated by Gov. Phil Murphy. (news release)

HYDROPOWER: The western Pennsylvania county that includes Pittsburgh signs a 35-year contract with a developer that will build a hydropower plant on the Ohio River to supply electricity to county facilities. (TribLIVE)

OFFSHORE WIND: A $2.8 million federal grant to the University of Maine will be used to develop wind turbine blades using 3-D printers. (Associated Press)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A new report says 243,000 clean energy jobs could be created annually in Pennsylvania over the next decade. (WESA)
• The Delaware House joins the state Senate in passing a bill that raises the renewable portfolio standard from 25% to 40% by 2035. (Delaware Business Now)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Steamship Authority that runs ferries from Cape Cod buys three electric buses to shuttle passengers from its parking lots. (CapeCod.com)

COMMENTARY: A former Rhode Island state legislator says the pursuit of a climate lawsuit against oil companies wastes taxpayer resources, has little chance of success and lacks public support. (Providence Journal)

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.