OIL & GAS: Environmental and consumer protection groups sue the gas utility of Washington, D.C., saying its claims that natural gas-powered homes are more environmentally friendly than electric amount to greenwashing. (Washington City Paper)
CLIMATE:
• Connecticut’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen in recent years, but not by enough to meet the stepping stones set along the way to an 80% reduction by 2050 from 2001 levels. (CT Mirror)
• Numerous climate-focused New Jersey bills advanced this week, including legislation to offer tax credits for rooftop solar retrofits at warehouses and make new state buildings able to install distributed energy resources. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Maine legislators mull a $3.7 million proposal to add four leadership positions and 50 workers to the state’s climate corps. (Sun Journal)
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GRID:
• Federal regulators decide New Hampshire’s Seabrook nuclear plant must upgrade a circuit breaker to enable electricity to flow from a planned Québec-Maine transmission line and may only charge the power line developer for breaker replacement costs. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Even though New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a deal last week to bring a battery company to Ulster, the company’s president says it’s still negotiating the terms of the deal. (Daily Freeman)
• ISO New England says it should be able to meet power demand this weekend as it faces a forecasted cold snap. (Boston.com)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A proposed bill in Maine would create an electric commercial vehicle rebate program for medium-and-heavy-duty models, garnering praise from environmentalists but concern from industrialists. (Portland Press Herald)
• The Maine legislature considers whether to add electric bicycles to the list of electric vehicles eligible for rebates from the quasi-state efficiency organization. (Maine Public Radio)
• Massachusetts is quietly installing more-reliable vehicle chargers along its highways after dealing with broken equipment for over a year. (Boston Globe)
WIND: After a year and a half of study, a New York utility regulator’s analysis finds negative environmental effects, transmission difficulties and other potential challenges would make building wind turbines on the Great Lakes unfeasible. (NNY360)
BIOMASS: In New York, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wants to prevent Fort Drum’s biomass plant from closing at the end of March over its exclusion from renewable energy incentives. (WWNY)
SOLAR:
• A Maine town overwhelmingly votes in favor of a solar development ordinance that ends a moratorium on construction but limits where such facilities can be located. (Advertiser Democrat)
• A New York county planning board reviews plans for a 5 MW community solar project and considers a zoning variance for the plot of land marked as residential. (Post Star)
GEOTHERMAL: A construction firm and a green energy company pair up to install geothermal energy tech in future projects including a mixed-use housing development and a life sciences building. (news release)
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TRANSIT: Seven transit agencies in the Greater Portland area agree to make the region’s collective transit options faster and better-connected, but not in the near future. (Bangor Daily News)
UTILITIES: New York legislators advance a bill that would end the utility practice of estimated billing. (Daily Freeman)
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