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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Editor’s note: Pennsylvania’s winter moratorium on utility shutoffs ended last week. An item in a previous digest incorrectly stated the moratorium’s purpose.
CLIMATE: Pennsylvania’s Republican state senators fail to secure enough votes for a measure to prevent the governor from enrolling the state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, but a top GOP lawmaker promises to take the matter to court. (Associated Press, Penn Live Patriot-News)
ALSO:
• Massachusetts has the right climate crisis mitigation goals in place but lags in implementation, observers say. (WBUR)
• Southern Maine saw snowfall totals significantly lower than average this winter amid warmer conditions, making larger numbers of ticks more likely this summer. (Portland Press Herald)
EFFICIENCY: The owners of a Massachusetts apartment complex spent two years retrofitting the multi-family building, and now hope to replicate their success elsewhere. (Energy News Network)
GRID: ISO New England proposes ending its minimum offer price rule — a much-maligned policy that some said handcuffed states’ emissions reduction efforts — in 2025, with some exemptions. (Utility Dive)
GAS:
• Pennsylvania regulators exclude a biogas pilot project from Philadelphia Gas Works’ procurement proposal because the resulting fuel would be five times more expensive than the gas already used. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Pennsylvania is among five states considering legislation to pre-empt gas bans, with two bills currently awaiting deliberation in the state House. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• The company that wanted to build a contentious $60 million liquefied natural gas plant in south Philadelphia initially proposed in 2016 is no longer pursuing the project. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• At an event in New York City, a National Grid executive explains how the utility’s gas distribution network will be crucial even as decarbonization efforts are underway throughout its service territory. (S&P Global)
SOLAR:
• New Jersey was once one of the best places to do business in the solar industry; now, the state has lost its luster amid interconnection and supply chain delays, according to a report from a national solar trade group. (NJ Spotlight)
• A window and door manufacturer installs almost 1 MW of rooftop solar panels on its production facility in New York City’s Queens borough. (news release)
CLEAN ENERGY: In a Pittsburgh neighborhood, a federal pilot program will help fund renewable energy projects on uninhabitable public land on top of old coal mines. (WESA)
FINANCE: The New York Power Authority will issue its first 100% green bond to fund transmission projects to deliver cleaner energy to the state’s southern reaches. (The Bond Buyer)
AFFORDABILITY: Many Philadelphians are up in arms over the cost of their residential gas bills, which may further rise in the coming weeks. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• New York City is inching toward notable progress in vehicle electrification as other large American cities make larger investments. (New York Times)
• A Pennsylvania utility will offer rebates to commercial and industrial entities to install charging infrastructure, with incentives ramping up for businesses in environmental justice communities. (PV Magazine)
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