TRANSPORTATION: In Pennsylvania, Republican lawmakers risk losing $500 million in highway funding if they continue to block proposed regulations on oil and gas pollution. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
SOLAR:
• A new report suggests Maine’s commercial solar industry could spend $540 million in-state and create thousands of jobs within five years, but the state’s public advocate says the analysis fails to acknowledge ratepayer impacts. (Portland Press Herald)
• A developer announces plans to invest $100 million into an array of community solar projects in Delaware. (Delaware Business Times)
• Massachusetts’ latest climate law doubles the residential net metering cap to 25 kW. (news release)
GRID:
• A 3 MW battery storage system in Burrillville, Rhode Island, is the first utility-scale facility of its kind in the state. (Providence Business News)
• Maine’s highest court will likely soon release decisions that could let construction of the Central Maine Power transmission line resume, but lawyers involved in the proceedings say other legal challenges will likely continue. (Bangor Daily News)
EFFICIENCY:
• Efficiency Maine-registered contractors are on pace to insulate twice as many houses this year as last, with state incentives and oil prices driving demand. (Energy News Network)
• New York regulators authorize Con Edison to transfer $518 million from its collected and unspent funds account into the Clean Heat program that promotes home heating electrification. (Daily Energy Insider)
HYDROPOWER: A Vermont company seeks private and municipal properties to test out micro-hydropower turbines, which the company says are relatively low-impact. (Bennington Banner)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A potential ban on e-bikes and their batteries in New York City public housing worries delivery workers, who fear they will have to choose between their work and their housing. (Gothamist)
• A new Vermont incentive program provides residents over 16 with up to $400 to purchase a new e-bike. (WCAX)
• State officials and consumers are driving demand for electric vehicles in Maine, despite there still being some issues with planning long-distance charging needs. (Times Record)
CLIMATE:
• In Maine, extreme heat is intensifying algal blooms in the Casco Bay and may be killing soft-shell clams. (Portland Press Herald)
• Drought conditions are changing Maine dairy farmers’ hay harvests, making it harder to feed their cows. (News Center Maine)
AFFORDABILITY:
• Connecticut’s utility regulator mulls financial penalties for Avangrid, which is accused of breaking COVID-related bill collection rules by a public ratepayer advocate. (CT Post)
• Delaware’s public advocate is granted a petition for the state utility regulator to consider lowering Tidewater Utilities’ rates. (WMDT)
FINANCE: After a multi-year hiatus, a Connecticut competition returns to evaluate early-stage companies’ clean and green energy technologies. (Hartford Business Journal)
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