CLEAN ENERGY: New York legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agree on a state budget that includes streamlining of permits for large renewable energy projects that lessens local input; the bill also includes a fracking ban. (Albany Times Union)
ALSO:
• International energy giant Iberdrola, parent of U.S developer Avangrid Renewables, says it will “turbo-charge” development post coronavirus. (Greentech Media)
• Dylan Voorhees leaves a leading environmental and clean energy advocacy in Maine to take a similar position in Vermont. (Portland Press Herald)
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NUCLEAR:
• U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette says refueling at the Limerick nuclear plant in Pennsylvania should be allowed despite requiring workers to be in close contact. (E&E News, subscription required)
• A state senator joins critics of Exelon after two workers at the plant test positive for COVID-19 as the company launches a refueling operation. (The Mercury)
• The company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Massachusetts continues transfers of spent fuel despite calls for a delay during the coronavirus outbreak. (Cape Cod Times)
PIPELINES: Three regulatory agencies say the decision by the developer of the PennEast natural gas pipeline to split the project into two phases requires more environmental review. (NJ Spotlight)
EMISSIONS: Candidates running for the same Baltimore City Council seat urge officials to appeal a federal court ruling that struck down a city clean air law last week. (Baltimore Fishbowl)
OIL & GAS:
• Experts are questioning the assumptions underlying the proposals to build a large petrochemical industry based on fracked gas from Pennsylvania and neighboring states. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• A Maryland suburb is a testing ground of whether a community can go completely fossil-fuel free over the next 25 years. (Christian Science Monitor)
SOLAR:
• Maryland regulators adopt rules that ease the interconnection process for solar and other distributed energy resources. (Solar Builder)
• A Maine town is deciding whether to sign onto a solar project that is reserved for municipalities. (PenBay Pilot)
COMMENTARY: A Pennsylvania environmentalist says the coronavirus pandemic reminds us that policy decisions matter, including the decision to keep an emissions-free nuclear generator open in response to a state clean air proposal. (TribLIVE)