UTILITIES: A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers has revived an effort to take over the infrastructure of the state’s two investor-owned utilities in order to form one owned by the public. (Maine Public)

ALSO: Crypto miners want to bring their electricity-hungry operations to New York’s Finger Lakes area; one company has filed to buy a local power plant while another wants to negotiate with local officials. (Finger Lakes 1)

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NATURAL GAS: Supporters of a 55 MW natural gas peaker plant in Massachusetts say the region needs the firm capacity to support further renewables growth, though opponents note it will increase pollution in an area that is already home to a power plant. (Energy News Network)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A proposed policy change in New Jersey would make commercial fleet operators begin a transition to zero-emission trucks, a proposal cheered by environmentalists but considered premature by a state trade group. (NJ Spotlight)
• New York’s Long Island Rail Road plans to study the feasibility of introducing the continent’s first battery-operated commuter trains in order to avoid further electrifying tracks while still removing diesel trains. (Newsday)

CLIMATE:
• Maryland legislators recently failed to pass major climate legislation, but one of the bill’s sponsors hopes for an even bigger effort next year. (Maryland Matters)
• New York environmentalists disagree on how natural gas and nuclear power plants should factor into the energy transition. (North Country Public Radio)

FINANCING:
• Connecticut’s two U.S. senators are resurrecting an earlier bill to form a national green bank that would allow the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue billions in “green” bonds. (New Haven Register)
• The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank has provided $1.7 million in financing for several small-scale solar projects and related energy efficiency measures. (news release)

SOLAR:
• The first New York historical site to go off the grid, a cottage of Reconstruction-era president Ulysses Grant, is now powered entirely by dozens of solar panels and batteries. (Post-Star)
• Community solar projects in New York face numerous hurdles, but a state trade group report finds that the most cumbersome obstacle is a requirement that such projects be located in the same utility territory of the subscriber. (news release)
• A farming family in Northfield, Massachusetts, has faced residential opposition to their proposed 10 MW solar array, revealing land use concerns that potentially undermine clean energy goals. (E&E, subscription)
• A Maine town’s planning board approves a 5 MW solar array after developers modified the project to minimize visual impact on neighboring properties.  (Sun Journal)

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.