CLEAN ENERGY: The former mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts now leads a regional clean energy group, where he aims to expand its focus beyond business advocacy to include equity and environmental justice issues. (Energy News Network)
CLIMATE: Boston’s mayor announces a ‘Green New Deal’ for the city’s public schools, aiming to retrofit every school building in the city in the next decade. (Mass Live)
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TRANSMISSION:
• A Japanese company buying oil and gas-fired power plants on Massachusetts’ coast looks to sell their unused transmission capacity to offshore wind farms. (CommonWealth)
• PJM Interconnection unveils its plan to handle the retirement of fossil fuel plants, the expansion of offshore wind and other clean energy, and vehicle and building electrification. (Utility Dive)
POLITICS:
• Candidates for governor in Pennsylvania avoid voicing outright support for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, putting the state’s participation in question. (Inside Climate News)
• New York state lawmakers hear from policymakers and power generation experts as they consider legislation that would require electrification of new buildings. (CNHI News Service)
TRANSPORTATION:
• New York’s attorney general sues three New York City bus companies for illegally idling in communities of color and creating unsafe air quality conditions. (Gothamist)
• A New Jersey legislative committee advances a bill that would create a $15 million program to buy electric school buses. (NJ Spotlight News)
• Delaware will extend its electric and hybrid vehicle rebate program through the rest of the year. (news release)
• United Illuminating announces a partnership to build out a managed electric vehicle charging program in Connecticut. (KULR)
SOLAR:
• Plans are underway to turn a former southwestern Pennsylvania coal mine into a 10 MW solar farm using new federal contaminated site redevelopment funds. (CNN)
• In Baltimore, sportswear company Under Armour plans to incorporate solar canopies and arrays to completely power its new headquarters. (Daily Record)
EQUITY: Several New Jersey officials go on a listening tour to understand environmental injustice issues in communities across the state. (Asbury Park Press)
NUCLEAR: The company decommissioning Massachusetts’ Plymouth nuclear plant agrees it won’t release radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay unless tests confirm marine life won’t be harmed. (Associated Press)
EFFICIENCY: A fire station being built in New Paltz, New York, is highlighted as an example of efficient construction as it utilizes insulated concrete and avoids fossil fuels for everything but its backup generator. (Daily Freeman)
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