Northeast Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition was compiled by Bridget Reed Morawski.
UTILITIES: Baltimore Gas & Electric is sued by seven Black former employees who allege over a decade of consistently racist treatment and that they faced workplace retaliation for filing complaints. (Baltimore Sun)
TRANSIT: New trains being built to increase Northeast ridership capacity on Amtrak’s speedy Acela line won’t be delivered until fall 2023 — more than two years later than planned. (Washington Post)
WIND: Two years after Maine’s goal of 3 GW of wind power by 2020 should have been met, the state has only installed about a third as much capacity. (Maine Public)
GAS:
• A health organization releases a white paper highlighting how Pennsylvania officials have failed to protect state residents from the health impacts of fracking. (Environmental Health News)
• Some business groups push back on pending Massachusetts legislation that would allow 10 communities to ban new gas hook-ups, warning of higher housing costs. (Boston Globe)
SOLAR:
• Maine legislators consider bills addressing solar incentives that the state’s public advocate says attempt to balance the cost burden between the solar industry and ratepayers. (Portland Press Herald)
• As out-of-state solar companies set up shop in Maine, local advocates want to see more community-owned and -operated solar cooperatives established. (Portland Press Herald)
• New Jersey utility regulators pitch new rules to help the state reach its massive solar production goals while dictating what types of land can host arrays. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Vermont utility’s planned demand response pilot intends to offer lower rates to 500 low-to-moderate-income customers who shift their energy consumption to daytime hours when solar power is generated. (Burlington Free Press)
GRID:
• The permitting process for New York’s Champlain Hudson transmission line may foreshadow if other major decarbonization projects can clear regulatory hurdles. (HuffPost)
• Many battery storage projects are added to the interconnection queue as New York seeks to install 6 GW of storage by 2030, but that pace may slow as prices for metals and other materials rise. (Utility Dive)
CLIMATE:
• Despite its Republican governor’s opposition, Maryland now has the country’s strongest emissions reduction law, exceeding targets even in liberal-leaning California. (S&P Global)
• In November, New York voters will decide whether to approve a $4.2 billion bond act that would help fund offshore wind projects, electric school buses and other projects intended to curb climate change. (NY1)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A northern New York city installs six electric vehicle charging stations for public use, using state subsidies to cover much of the cost. (NNY360)
CLEAN ENERGY: A nonprofit grants the University of Buffalo around $50,000 to develop equipment to improve the reaction times of energy materials found in photovoltaic cells and certain batteries. (Buffalo News)
COMMENTARY:
• A national environmental nonprofit calls plans to use trains and trucks to move liquified gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to a New Jersey terminal an unprecedented, dangerous move. (NRDC)
• A solar company spokesperson explains how renewing the federal solar tax credit could help mid-Atlantic states reach their solar goals while reducing residential utility bills. (Philadelphia Inquirer, subscription)
More from the Energy News Network: Midwest | Southeast | Northeast | West