OFFSHORE WIND: Maryland lawmakers advance a bill that increases the state’s offshore wind generation goal to 8.5 GW by 2031 to the governor’s desk, where he’s expected to sign it into law. (Maryland Matters)
GRID:
• A pro-consumer-owned-utility group celebrates a decision from Maine’s top court mandating Maine’s secretary of state reword and clarify a ballot referendum over creating a consumer-owned utility. (Maine Public Radio)
• Bitcoin miners, including in Pennsylvania, are mostly powered by fossil fuels, consuming substantially more power than area residents and reap huge financial rewards for shutting down when asked by grid operators. (New York Times)
• Federal regulators decide PJM Interconnection can allow market participants to stay in the market under certain conditions even if they fail to perform. (Utility Dive)
• A Chelsea, Massachusetts, nonprofit helps the city develop a microgrid with solar panels and battery storage systems to support emergency services and public buildings. (Yale Climate Connections)
OIL & GAS: Panelists at a New York energy conference say using natural gas as efficiently as possible will be critical in the coming years until the state fully decarbonizes. (RTO Insider, subscription)
HYDROELECTRIC: Activists work to kill renewed plans for a $2.1 billion, 858 MW hydroelectric dam in Pennsylvania’s York County to fulfill peak demand, which if built would likely put 36 households 30 feet underwater. (Bay Journal)
REGULATION: Pennsylvania’s utility commission has not had a full-time leader since its commissioner left in early January; now, its lead attorney has also retired. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
UTILITIES: Several U.S. representatives from New York City want the federal government to let the city’s public housing agency keep the millions in savings it has negotiated on its gas and power utility bills to bolster housing improvement projects. (Gothamist)
SOLAR: A Massachusetts family waits for answers from Tesla after one of the company’s solar panels ignited on their roof, causing a small amount of damage. (Berkshire Eagle)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New York City officials emphasize the need to use compatible chargers for micro-mobility devices powered by lithium-ion batteries after two siblings die in a house fire. (New York Times)
CLIMATE:
• With average wintertime temperatures rising, many places across the Northeast experienced one of their least snowy winters ever this past season. (Washington Post)
• The founder of a New Hampshire saw mill discusses the pros and cons of transitioning away from fuel-fired saws to electric models. (Concord Monitor)
CLEAN ENERGY: Attleboro, Massachusetts, receives a $15,000 grant for renewable energy studies, one of 24 grants amounting to just under $345,000. (Sun Chronicle)
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