ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New Jersey will spend $70 million of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds on new electric trucks and buses, plus related equipment, to improve air quality in highly polluted communities. (NJ Spotlight)
ALSO:
• As states compete for microchip and electric vehicle factories, Pennsylvania’s governor says his state needs to “get in the game.”(Associated Press)
• First Lady Jill Biden will visit electric plane company Beta Technologies in South Burlington, Vermont, this week to highlight electric vehicle career opportunities. (VT Digger)
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OIL & GAS:
• A New York legislator files legislation to disallow buildings from using grade 4 fuel oil starting in mid-2026, pointing to the air pollution, public health and climate benefits of a ban. (Mid Hudson News)
• A woman recounts her attempt to survive the Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion that killed seven coworkers in March, a blast federal officials say is characteristic of natural gas. (Associated Press)
• In New York, some gas appliance sellers say customers are buying up gas stoves and fireplace inserts as lawmakers consider electric heating legislation. (Times Union)
UTILITIES:
• Maine’s secretary of state approves the language of a ballot measure intended to make it harder to form a consumer-owned state utility. (Portland Press Herald)
• Regulators decide Rhode Island Energy can spend $127 million and $163 million on upgrades to its electrical system and gas infrastructure, respectively. (Providence Business News)
EQUITY: A New York City neighborhood that suffers from air pollution adjacent to an airport is among those questioning why it wasn’t included in the state’s recently released disadvantaged communities funding priority list. (Gothamist)
CLIMATE:
• Roughly 60% of primarily coastal Maine counties understand human activities cause global warming, but less than 44% of Mainers in any county think climate change will personally impact them, according to a recent analysis. (Maine Monitor)
• New York’s mayor has finished forming a team of climate experts to adapt the city, but advocates say the city still needs to take action on public transit, composting and building emissions to make lasting change. (Inside Climate News)
GRID:
• At a meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last week, an ISO New England executive said the grid operator isn’t responsible for a “holdup” in the region’s clean energy transition. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
• Scientists and climate advocates say the full implementation of New York’s decarbonization plan shouldn’t leave residents struggling to stay warm and have power in the winter, but explain the complexities and risks of the transition. (Buffalo News)
• Eversource begins building a 115 kV transmission line along a former rail line between Sudbury and Hudson, Massachusetts. (MetroWest Daily News)
SOLAR: Maine electricity bills will rise this summer once an incentive package for community solar project development comes into effect in July. (Bangor Daily News)
CLEAN ENERGY: Business and energy leaders convene for a panel in Buffalo, New York, to discuss the development opportunities stemming from the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. (Buffalo Business First)
NUCLEAR: The company decommissioning the Pilgrim nuclear plant agrees to an independent environmental study of its plan to discharge radioactive water into the Cape Cod Bay — but doesn’t want to pay for it. (WBUR)
COMMENTARY: A former Massachusetts transportation secretary calls for further investments in public transit, pointing to a new report highlighting how electric vehicles don’t resolve health concerns from particulate matter. (CommonWealth Magazine)
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