TRANSMISSION: Access roads are being plowed and construction of a transmission line to import Canadian hydropower is expected to start next week. (Portland Press Herald)

ALSO: A town planning board in Maine approves a converter station considered a key part of the project. (Sun Journal)

POLITICS: The incoming head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is a New Jersey Democrat better known for healthcare issues and not aggressive on climate matters. (PV Magazine)

OFFSHORE WIND: PJM explores six scenarios to integrate 12 GW of offshore wind projects proposed along the mid-Atlantic. (RTO Insider, subscription required)

SOLAR: A Maryland county in the Washington, D.C suburbs will have its first community solar project this summer and three more are on the drawing board. (Capital Gazette)

NATURAL GAS: Republican Pennsylvania state senators sue a multi-state agency that regulates the Delaware River for imposing a de facto moratorium on natural gas development in sections of the Marcellus Shale region. (Reuters)

GRID: A stakeholder organization in New England releases a study that outlines “pathways” to develop a grid of the future that accommodates state clean energy goals and protects wholesale markets.  (RTO Insider, subscription required)

NUCLEAR: A New York law to tax storage of nuclear waste at closed power plants could be a national model for states trying to recover revenue from plants that shut down. (Bloomberg Tax)

HEATING: The federal stimulus bill passed last month includes a tax credit for homeowners who install modern wood heating systems promoted by New Hampshire representatives and the timber industry. (NHPR)

EFFICIENCY: National Grid provides a $750,000 energy efficiency grant to an upstart New York ice cream manufacturer that is undergoing a major expansion. (The Observer) 

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says federal officials are correct to fund an innovative coal generator proposed for outside Pittsburgh that promises vastly reduced emissions. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• A lobstermen’s group in Maine says floating offshore wind platforms are “foolhardy” and environmentally damaging. (PenBay Pilot)

Bill is a freelance journalist based outside Albany, New York. As a former New England correspondent for RTO Insider, he has written about energy for newspapers, magazines and other publications for more than 20 years. He has an extensive career in trade publications and newspapers, mostly focused on the utility sector, covering such issues as restructuring, renewable energy and consumer affairs. Bill covers Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire and also compiles the Northeast Energy News daily email digest.