Northeast Energy News is one of five regional services published by the Energy News Network. Today’s edition was compiled by Bridget Reed Morawski.

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CLIMATE: Massachusetts lawmakers announce a major climate bill they say will help the state reach its emissions reduction goal; the bill includes cross-sector electrification incentives and enabling some municipalities to set gas bans on new construction. (MassLive, Boston Globe)

ALSO:
• A federal appeals court gives Baltimore a win in its climate lawsuit against major fossil fuel producers and sellers by sending the case back to state court. (Reuters)
• New York labor and climate advocates publicly show their disagreement as to how the state should decarbonize at a public hearing of the state climate council. (Democrat & Chronicle)
• Connecticut climate activists are pushing for numerous major climate bills in this year’s legislative session, including one that would instate a 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 goal. (Hartford Courant)

UTILITIES:
• A Massachusetts appeals court decision means Eversource may have to pay roughly $42 million in unpaid property taxes to the city of Springfield. (MassLive)
• As Maine weighs instating a report card system for the state’s utilities, consumer advocates implore regulators to be strict in their criteria and assessments. (Portland Press Herald)

BIOMASS: New Hampshire legislators consider removing a cap currently protecting ratepayers from paying the full cost of a biomass plant’s overpriced energy to protect jobs at the facility. (New Hampshire Bulletin)

SOLAR:
• A solar developer begins pitching a 110 MW array in northern New York to local residents but has yet to formally file an application with the state’s renewable energy siting board. (NNY360)
• A town board in New York’s Hudson Valley approves a 2.67 MW solar array to be sited on a nearly 200-year-old farm; the board also rules the town can join a community choice aggregation program in the area. (Yonkers Times)

GEOTHERMAL: New York’s proposed 2022-2023 budget would allow residents to receive tax credits of up to $5,000 for geothermal equipment installed on their domiciled property. (Buffalo News)

TRANSIT:
• NJ Transit gives the green light for workers to start replacing a failing swing bridge that often congests Amtrak’s Boston-to-Washington, D.C., corridor. (Boston Herald)
• A proposed gas tax holiday in New York would likely reduce the MTA’s budget by around $100 million. (The City)
• In Cambridge, Massachusetts, most city councilors say they support removing all minimum parking requirements from zoning rules. (Streetsblog Mass)

OFFSHORE WIND: A new report issued by Delaware officials finds that offshore wind power would cost under half as much as its current power sources once health and climate impacts are calculated. (news release)

EFFICIENCY: Almost $15 million in federal funds will go to help weatherize low-income and older Rhode Islanders’ homes. (Boston Globe)

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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.