PIPELINES: Natural gas pipeline constraints are forcing difficult decisions as a Massachusetts mayor and the city’s municipal utility are on opposite sides of a proposed expansion. (Energy News Network)
ALSO: A Pennsylvania county judge drops trespass charges against seven protestors who were arrested during a pipeline protest two years ago. (WITF)
***SPONSORED LINK: Attend Infocast’s Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Summit in Philadelphia, July 17-19 and connect with policy-makers & regulators, utilities, IPPs, developers, investors, financiers, and industry stakeholders to examine PJM market challenges, navigate the landscape, and take advantage of renewable energy opportunities. Register today!***
OIL & GAS:
• Pennsylvania employment officials begin offering assistance to workers laid off by the closure of a Philadelphia refinery due to last month’s explosion. (CBS Philly)
• A Harvard study says 50,000 people in six states, including Pennsylvania and New York, live within a block of a gas storage facility. (Bloomberg)
JOBS: Renewable energy job growth slowed last year in Rhode Island, but a state report says offshore wind will provide a major boost in 2019. (ecoRI)
STORAGE: New York and utilities on Long Island are offering incentives to install home battery storage systems. (Newsday)
HYDROPOWER: Small hydropower plants are producing locally based clean energy to communities in New York’s Hudson Valley. (Poughkeepsie Journal)
DIVESTMENT: The Maryland state treasurer says early discussions have begun on whether the state should start divestment of fossil fuels in its pension funds. (Maryland Matters)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join SECC’s CEO Patty Durand, Direct Energy’s VP Jim Steffes and EPRI’s VP Mark McGranaghan at the Smart Home Energy Management Systems Conference, July 17-18 in Boston. A two-day event centered on finding solutions to stay competitive within the fast-changing HEMS supply chains & customers’ demand.***
COMMENTARY:
• A union official says an eastern Pennsylvania county’s opposition to the Mariner East gas pipeline would force reliance on more dangerous highway and rail shipment. (Daily Times)
• An environmentalist says even if the Philadelphia refinery damaged by an explosion stays closed, the state and residents will be dealing with its toxic legacy for years to come. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• An editorial board says a Maryland tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was exhausted in a week shows the program should be expanded. (Baltimore Sun)
• The director of a solar company in New Hampshire says the state is falling behind its neighbors due to Gov. Chris Sununu’s reluctance to embrace clean energy. (NH Business Review)
• A business magazine says Delaware, once an early leader in offshore wind, can only watch its neighbors as development of the resource moves ahead. (Delaware Business Now)