PIPELINES: Federal and state officials probe a whistleblower’s allegations that a pipeline to serve an ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylvania is installed with improper corrosion protections. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

CLIMATE: A climate bill to make emissions reductions mandatory easily passes the Rhode Island Senate and heads to the House, where its fate is less certain. (Providence Journal)

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SOLAR:
• A community solar advocacy group in Maine issues a report that says the industry is benefiting the economy in ways not previously seen, as legislators prepare for a hearing that may consider scaling back state subsidies. (Portland Press Herald)
• New Jersey officials consider a policy change that would allow a greater amount of ratepayer subsidies to go to out-of-state developers to build out grid-scale solar projects. (NJ Spotlight)
• Residents and officials oppose a solar project in Connecticut that would clear one-third of a forested site of 157 acres for a 9.9 MW development. (The Day)

OFFSHORE WIND: A British diplomat meets with Maine Gov. Janet Mills to advance a recent agreement to promote mutual interests in offshore wind. (Bangor Daily News)

POWER PLANTS: A coalition opposed to peaker plants located in low-income New York City neighborhoods releases a study that says they can be eliminated with investments in solar and storage. (Politico)

EFFICIENCY: Twelve state attorneys general led by New York file a petition with the Energy Department to eliminate a Trump administration rule that allows inefficient residential furnaces and commercial water heaters. (The Hill)

FRACKING: A Pittsburgh-based journalist initiates studies that may provide a missing link between fracking and impaired health of residents who live near drilling sites in recent published reports. (Pittsburgh City Paper)

DIVESTMENT: A student-led group asks Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to investigate Harvard University for its endowment’s fossil fuel investments that they say violate a state law that requires charities to invest with prudence. (E&E News, subscription required)

COMMENTARY:
• The chairman of Central Maine Power says bills before the state legislature to curtail Hydro-Quebec’s involvement in transmission referenda infringes on the company’s First Amendment rights. (Sun Journal)
• A Maryland state delegate and an environmental advocate say climate legislation underpins multiple efforts to address health issues in underserved communities. (Maryland Matters)

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.