BUILDINGS: Maryland’s governor issues an executive order instructing state agencies to “lead by example” and cut energy use by 20% compared to 2018 levels in state-owned buildings. (Maryland Matters)

ALSO: Despite sea level rise and coastal squeeze concerns, purchasing beachfront homes in Maine remains a popular — and pricey — prospect. (Maine Public Radio)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• A New Jersey official testifies that climate change is leading to whale deaths along the shoreline because warming waters are leading their prey closer to shore and into ship routes; offshore wind development isn’t to blame, he says. (WHYY)
• Maine legislators consider bills to commission several gigawatts of floating offshore wind power and create new labor and environmental standards, but the Passamaquoddy tribe is against the plan due to cultural and environmental resource impacts. (Portland Press Herald, Maine Public Radio)

CLIMATE:
• The weight of New York City’s iconic skyscrapers are causing the city to sink, a problem that will be exacerbated by rising sea levels and floods. (The Guardian)
• Environmental advocates say Connecticut’s latest legislative session has been a flop as only one climate bill has the potential to pass, which would create a state-specific decarbonization roadmap. (CT Mirror)

TRANSIT:
• Solar panels and batteries will be installed at a Montgomery County, Maryland, bus depot to power an electrolyzer that will provide hydrogen for 13 new fuel-cell buses. (Canary Media)
• As it contends with forecast budget shortfalls, Washington, D.C.’s city council creates a $0.25 rideshare dispatch fee on gas vehicles to help fund late night bus service and pauses a transit-oriented redesign of a major thoroughfare. (NBC 4)
• Riders of the Bangor, Maine, transit agency cheer the return of Saturday buses after a year of suspended service. (Bangor Daily News)

SOLAR:
• A 94 MW solar farm proposed by an EDF Renewables subsidiary for western New York receives a siting permit from a state energy board. (news release)
• New Paltz, New York, leaders want to provide default community solar service for households eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
• Boston-area homeowners share why installing solar on their properties was worth the cost and time. (Boston Globe)
• Students work on their final project of a solar technology course at a New York City high school: building solar-powered go-karts. (PIX 11)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Several car manufacturers don’t have AM radios in their electric vehicles due to interference, but several New Jersey lawmakers want to require the technology in vehicles for public safety. (NorthJersey.com)
• Rhode Island officials host an event dispelling concerns about the electric vehicle transition as the state takes comments on its proposal to make manufacturers sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. (Rhode Island Current)

GRID: The Vermont Electric Power Company outlines how it’s preparing for a next-gen electrical grid and intermittent, more dispersed resources. (WCAX)

AFFORDABILITY: A new bill in Rhode Island would disallow utilities from retroactively billing customers — even if the ratepayer was undercharged — after numerous small businesses received thousands of dollars in delayed, surprise charges. (WPRI)

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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.