EFFICIENCY: A new report says Connecticut lawmakers’ decision to divert $127 million in energy efficiency funds could result in a statewide economic loss of as much as $889 million over two years. (Hartford Courant)
ALSO: A partnership with a local college is helping small Maryland towns reduce their energy use. (Bay Journal)
TRANSMISSION: New Hampshire regulators next week will revisit their decision to reject the Northern Pass transmission project. (State House News Service)
NUCLEAR:
• Utilities and energy companies have spent millions lobbying on either side of a New Jersey nuclear subsidy bill. (NJ.com)
• The sale of the Vermont Yankee plant will likely not be finalized for several more months. (VT Digger)
PIPELINES:
• A Pennsylvania lawmaker says construction should be halted on the Mariner East 2 pipeline after sinkholes forced the shutdown of Mariner East 1. (Daily Local News)
• Maryland advocates say approval of a gas pipeline beneath the Potomac River should be withheld until environmental reviews are completed. (The Journal)
• A bill in Connecticut would limit a state agency’s authority to solicit new bids for natural gas infrastructure. (Hartford Business Journal)
• Pipeline developers are concerned about “more sophisticated” and “vocal” protests against their projects. (E&E News)
OFFSHORE DRILLING: A Maryland lawmaker introduces a bill that would hold the federal government accountable for spills from offshore drilling. (Ocean City Today)
SOLAR:
• A Massachusetts site is an example of how utilities can repurpose former coal plants as solar facilities. (Utility Dive)
• A large solar project at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania nears completion. (Daily Item)
WIND:
• Union and civic leaders see New London, Connecticut as a potential hub for offshore wind development. (The Day)
• A scuttled New Jersey offshore wind project may be back on the table under new political leadership. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
GRID: A FERC commissioner says ambitious clean energy plans like New York’s “aren’t synchronizing with system reliability.” (Houston Chronicle)
TECHNOLOGY: MIT researchers say long-elusive nuclear fusion technology could be operational in 15 years. (The Guardian)
COMMENTARY:
• A group of solar companies says Massachusetts should be “leading the charge, not taking steps backward” on solar policy. (Wicked Local)
• A Providence Journal editorial says offshore drilling “is a nonstarter.”
• How more aggressive energy efficiency programs could benefit New York. (Natural Resources Defense Council)