UTILITIES: Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has filed for an emergency stay seeking to block the proposed sale of the state’s largest gas and electric distribution utility pending an appeal over the buyer’s climate commitments. (Energy News Network)

OFFSHORE WIND: Bidding continues in the federal offshore wind leasing auction for parcels in New York and New Jersey waters, with bids already totaling $3.35 billion, or more than double earlier expectations. (Reuters, Philadelphia Inquirer)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Increased combustion of plastics in waste-to-energy plants could be releasing powerful greenhouse gases, but scientists say there isn’t enough information to determine the scope of the problem. (Energy News Network/Maine Monitor)

TRANSPORTATION:
• The head of New York City’s transport workers union calls for fare-free public buses, and local leaders weigh in on the likelihood of that ever happening. (Streetsblog)
• A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority leader emphasizes the need for continued public engagement while pitching a new public bus station with workforce housing and retail facets. (Providence Business News)

CLIMATE:
• Warmer winters mean New Jersey’s wildfire season is starting earlier and lasting longer than in the past; even though the season usually starts in late March, officials have already recorded 88 fires this year. (NorthJersey.com)
• With climate change causing warmer, less predictable temperatures, New Hampshire maple syrup producers worry the industry will shift northward to Canada. (WMUR)
• A western Boston suburb announces a climate action plan that hinges on residents making “substantial” lifestyle changes, including home and vehicle electrification. (GBH)

EFFICIENCY:
• Massachusetts incentivizes heat pump installations but, while the youngest generation of HVAC contractors are learning how to do the work, long-time contractors aren’t keen to make the switch. (WCAI)
• Gov. Chris Sununu signs a law returning New Hampshire’s energy efficiency program funding levels to what they were before the state utility regulator made an unpopular decision to defund the program. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
• Commercial real estate developers push back on the affordability of proposed climate policy changes that would overhaul building efficiency standards. (Capital News Service)

GRID: New Jersey regulators give Jersey Central Power & Light permission to install smart meters in 1.1 million customers’  homes and businesses. (NJ Spotlight)

GAS: Pennsylvania had the strongest production growth out of the top five gas producing states in the U.S. in 2021, according to a state report. (WESA)

SOLAR:
• A new report finds New Jersey installed 3.8 GW of new solar capacity last year but that existing interconnection queue issues could hinder continued strong growth. (PV Magazine)
• A planned 2.2 MW solar array should help a southern New Hampshire town reach its emissions reduction goal two years early. (news release)

 

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.