CLIMATE: New York environmentalists saw a disappointing state legislative session with few wins to help reduce carbon emissions and bolster the cause of fighting the climate crisis. (Times Union)

ALSO: Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania try to thwart Gov. Tom Wolf’s climate agenda with a bill to require him to get legislative approval to instate a cost for power plant emissions. (TribLIVE)

OIL & GAS:
• Local officials investigate the cause of a fuel spill into a creek alongside an elementary school that killed wildlife and forced students to learn remotely in a western Philadelphia suburb. (Delaware County Daily Times)
• The Pennsylvania Transportation Revenue Options Commission considers recommending a temporary 4.2 cent-per-gallon gas tax increase to offset a funding shortage and get more electric vehicles on the road. (Reading Eagle)
• Local Pennsylvania governments received $54 million less in Marcellus Shale gas well tax revenues in 2020 than in 2019 due to gas price declines and decreased drilling. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Heavily populated parts of New York’s Hudson Valley have plenty of electric vehicle chargers, but venturing into rural areas requires more planning from drivers, state data shows. (Times Union)

UTILITIES:
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy suggests federal funding could offset hundreds of millions of dollars worth of unpaid utility bills. (NJ Spotlight)
• Murphy implements a “grace period” through the end of the year for New Jersey ratepayers with accumulated arrearages. (NJ.com)

SOLAR:
• Answering a call by Pope Francis to combat the climate crisis, the Brooklyn Diocese in New York installs solar panels on the roof of an affordable housing building. (Catholic News Service)
• In New York, the Smithtown Central School District opens a 2 MW solar carport with electric vehicle chargers. (news release)

WIND: The Maine Land Use Planning Commission considers authorizing construction of a 126 MW wind farm in northern Washington County. (Mainebiz)

HYDROPOWER: For decades, a Gloucester, Massachusetts, man has worked on designs for hydroelectric vehicles to help mitigate climate change and improve accessibility in low-electricity or natural disaster areas. (Cape Ann Beacon)

COAL: Local officials believe a fire at an abandoned coal mine in central Pennsylvania has been extinguished. (PennLive)

COMMENTARY: Massachusetts residents living in the most disadvantaged areas aren’t benefiting the most from energy efficiency programs, according to a newspaper columnist. (Boston Globe, subscription)

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.