OIL & GAS: For the second time in a month, an unknown amount of coal tar oil was released into the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, from a National Grid site undergoing redevelopment; officials say workers “disturbed” contaminated soil under a temporary hard cap. (Boston Globe)

ALSO:
• U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont visit a North Haven manufacturer that received millions in federal grants to develop methane emission-reduction technology for the coal, oil and gas sectors. (New Haven Register)
• Massachusetts gas utilities will hold two webinars in mid-December to hear public feedback on the future of natural gas. (State House News Service)

UTILITIES:
• An independent consultant finds Central Maine Power executives have been “overemphasizing” resource cuts to meet investor interests, which“sacrificed effectiveness in providing service.” (Portland Press Herald)
• Leaders of 15 New Mexican organizations announce support of the proposed merger between Connecticut-based Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power, and PNM Resources. (Albuquerque Journal)
• PPL Corporation publishes its first climate assessment report since 2017, which includes strategies to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and stepping stone targets. (Pennsylvania Business Report)
• Dozens of New York City Housing Authority residents say they haven’t had heat and hot water for weeks; an agency spokesperson said the system is working and is in the legal temperature range. (CBS New York)
• Delaware Electric Cooperative will disperse $4 million in profits to its over 64,000 members in December. (news release)

TRANSPORTATION:
• North of Boston, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority’s advisory board decides to stop collecting fares on its regular buses for two years starting in March 2022. (State House News Service)
• New York City now has 89 solar-powered electric vehicle charging systems, which can each charge six vehicles at once. (news release)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: An energy developer looking to develop a waste-to-energy facility near a creek in the central Catskills is told by state conservation officials to file an environmental impact study. (Times Union)

SOLAR:
• A member of Maine’s utility regulator cautions that breakneck community solar expansion could drive further electricity bill spikes that would hurt lower-income customers the most. (Maine Public Radio)
• A northern New York development agency decides to examine the feasibility of converting a defunct paper mill into a solar project. (NNY360)
• A Rhode Island discount goods retailer plans to install 2.5 MW of solar panels across its 10 stores. (Providence Business News)
• The University of Maine at Presque Isle has a $1.2 million solar array in the works, which will power the campus and deliver an estimated annual energy savings of $42,000. (Bangor Daily News)

EFFICIENCY: A clean energy nonprofit’s executive director discusses the state utility regulator’s unpopular energy efficiency funding decision in a podcast episode. (NH Business Review)

CLIMATE: Two members of the Maine Climate Council discuss the first year of the state’s climate action plan and what needs to still happen in the short- and long-term. (Maine Public Radio)

COMMENTARY: New Hampshire’s consumer advocate bemoans the state utility commission’s recent energy efficiency funding decision, saying it will provide a net loss to all utility customers (InDepth NH)

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.