OIL & GAS: New York’s governor announces that the state’s budget includes a ban on fossil fuel heating in most new buildings beginning in 2026, although gas furnaces in existing structures can be replaced. (Politico, NNY360)
ALSO:
• Vermont’s governor says he will veto the clean heat standard legislation just passed by state legislators, who have already scheduled a session to try to override his decision. (VT Digger, WCAX)
• Stamford, Connecticut, again considers restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers, but advocates say the new, watered-down version won’t make much of an impact. (CT Post)
• An environmental group drops its lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission’s less-strict ban on fracking wastewater disposal in the watershed after the agency clarified the measure. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE:
• New Hampshire’s state House votes against asking the governor and attorney general to join other New England states in suing the oil and gas industry over the cost of climate change. (E&E News, subscription)
• Significant temperature swings are changing the phenology of Maine’s plants, threatening the viability of some types. (Bangor Daily News)
• To combat food waste-related emissions, New York’s Ulster County kicks off a composting pilot program for local government employees. (Daily Freeman)
BUILDINGS:
• In heating oil-dependent Maine, some residents consider switching to heat pumps, but the devices are roughly as efficient as home oil tanks in single-digit temperatures, and installation challenges persist. (Maine Monitor)
• Although the devices work well in most conditions, Vermont residents using heat pumps in their homes need back-up systems when temperatures drop to zero, HVAC installers and homeowners say. (WCAX)
TRANSIT: Boston’s transit agency could see tens of millions of dollars worth of flood damage every year by the end of this decade due to rising sea levels and more intense storms, according to a new study. (Boston Globe)
OFFSHORE WIND: New Jersey environmental regulators issue a federal consistency determination for Ocean Wind 1, pushing the state’s first offshore wind farm forward. (NJ Biz)
HYDROGEN: Q Hydrogen’s chief executive officer discusses the company’s plan to commercialize a new hydrogen power generation method in New Hampshire’s North Country. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
GRID:
• In Maine, heavy rains have left about 60,000 homes without power as of this morning. (WMTW, PowerOutage.US)
• Two developers highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with New York ratcheting up its amount of grid-scale battery energy storage projects. (Energy Storage News)
• New York City officials warn that improper lithium-ion battery disposal from e-bikes and electronics has likely led to a series of garbage truck fires in the past year. (Gothamist)
AFFORDABILITY:
• In New York, National Grid is seeking a roughly 17% rate hike for its residential gas customers starting in April 2024. (amNY)
• Pennsylvania utility regulators tell Philadelphia Gas Works that it needs to justify the 1,000% rate hike it has proposed for the city’s steam loop operator. (WHYY)
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