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)

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.