CLIMATE: Rhode Island’s governor signs an executive order that sets a goal of cutting public sector emissions 40% compared to 2014 levels by 2030, among other state government-focused goals. (PBN)
ALSO:
• A new report finds Chesapeake Bay states aren’t considering different factors, like climate change, strongly enough in their bay pollution reduction plans, leading to slower progress. (Virginia Mercury)
• Frederick County, Maryland, publishes a climate resiliency and emissions reduction plan that would cut the county’s emissions by 60% of 2010 levels by 2030. (Frederick News-Post)
• New analyses show Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the cities most at risk for chronic physical climate effects, while the state as a whole is among those most at risk for acute threats like hurricanes and flooding. (Delaware Online)
• Scientists warn the Northeast may be more susceptible to damaging wildfires amid climate change, not long after New Jersey saw its first wildfire call on March 7, earlier than the usual spring start of the wildfire season. (New York Magazine)
BUILDINGS:
• Vermont’s senate overrides the governor’s clean heat standard veto, sending it to the state House for that chamber’s likely override. (Associated Press, VT Digger)
• Construction is nearly done on Connecticut’s first state-owned, net-zero building: a college facility powered by solar and geothermal energy. (New Haven Register)
• A new Brunswick, Maine, apartment building will have advanced heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers, with solar panels being considered. (Times Record)
CLEAN ENERGY: An environmental advocacy group’s new report finds that almost a fifth of Pennsylvania’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from just 12 power plants and industrial sites. (WHYY)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Several New Jersey lawmakers pledge to fight New York’s congestion pricing plan over the financial toll on commuters and the potential for more pollution in New Jersey. (Politico)
• Fare-free bus service in Vermont would continue through the end of 2023 under a bill advanced by lawmakers in both the state House and Senate. (VT Digger)
UTILITIES: New Hampshire considers a bipartisan omnibus amendment that combines five different energy bills focused on utility costs, changes to the energy siting process and a repeal of an energy efficiency and sustainable energy board. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
SOLAR: Some residents of a northern New York town are organizing against a proposed 140 MW solar array, citing farmland preservation and wildlife displacement concerns. (WWNY)
OIL & GAS: A study commissioned by opponents of transiting liquefied natural gas via truck and rail from northeast Pennsylvania to Gibbstown, New Jersey, finds that doing so would produce emissions equal to 2 million cars for 25 years. (New Jersey Monitor)
GRID:
• A Vermont utility is capped at installing 1,000 Tesla Powerwall batteries at residences per year, but wants the state to remove that limit to clear its waitlist and improve resiliency. (WCAX)
• A northern New York family fears a planned transmission line will cut through their property and preempt plans to build a family home. (WWNY)
COMMENTARY: Maine’s consumer advocate writes that the state legislature shouldn’t end this session without addressing solar net energy billing, which he says will add hundreds of dollars on ratepayers’ annual utility bill. (Portland Press Herald)
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