GAS:
• Massachusetts advocates ask why gas utilities are literally writing the first draft of the state’s decarbonization strategy when that industry has the most to lose in the process. (Boston Globe)
•  A Baltimore-area resident dies after improperly disconnecting a gas range before lighting a candle, causing an explosion that destroyed his home. (CBS Baltimore)

WIND:
• A steel fabricator in a rural Maryland county secures a $70 million contract with Ørsted to manufacture wind turbine foundations for at least three of the developer’s offshore projects in New Jersey and Maryland. (Baltimore Sun)
• Federal energy officials allocate nearly $11 million to research how East Coast offshore wind projects will impact the region’s fisheries and ecosystems. (WHYY)
• In New York, transmission developer Anbaric pitches a “powerlink” project to add transmission capacity and move offshore wind energy to downstate counties further inland. (news release)

UTILITIES:
• David Flanagan, a long-time Central Maine Power executive credited with turning around the utility’s image in the 1990s, died of pancreatic cancer complications this week at age 74. (Portland Press-Herald)
• In Springfield, Massachusetts, a city councilor uses a committee hearing on a gas reliability project to chastise Eversource over its long-standing failure to pay its tax bill. (MassLive)
• Eversource files documents with a Massachusetts regulator challenging the approach used to value its assets and set its local tax bills. (MassLive)
• Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker plans to file legislation to regain state control over the selection of clean energy suppliers to the state, roughly five years after he signed the bill giving utilities that power. (Commonwealth Magazine)

SOLAR: A Maine city approves a $5.2 million, 2.5 MW solar array on a parcel of land connected to an existing solar farm. (Sun Journal)

CLEAN ENERGY: Clean energy businesses in Maine face qualified labor shortages, creating long backlogs  of clients seeking to take advantage of government decarbonization programs. (Mainebiz)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Dozens of elected officials in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut have signed a letter imploring their legislatures to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative. (ecoRI)
• Officials in a Vermont city are intrigued by a solar designer’s pitch to bring a solar-powered car charging station and outdoor dining space to a long-empty lot — but question how realistic the proposal is. (Rutland Herald)
• New electric charging stations open for business in Falmouth, Maine, and in the southeast Queens section of New York City. (WMTW, QNS)

EFFICIENCY: A southern Maine city plans to double the energy efficiency incentives offered by a quasi-state agency using American Rescue Plan Act funds. (Sun Journal)

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Bridget Reed Morawski

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.