EFFICIENCY: Vermont’s governor vetoes legislation that would have created a clean heating standard, citing concerns with which state authority would have regulatory oversight. (Seven Days)
GAS:
• The completion of a controversial Pennsylvania pipeline opens the floodgates for an immense amount of liquified natural gas to be exported from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Some Pennsylvania oil and gas lobbyists argue that if drillers are mandated to set aside more funds for plugging wells, more wells will be abandoned and unremediated. (Capital & Main)
• While some New England states are seeing more ‘renewable natural gas’ developments, climate activists warn of high costs and unclear emissions benefits to using the fuel. (Eagle Tribune)
GRID:
• Opening arguments begin tomorrow in the trial that will help determine the fate of the much-debated New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line in Maine. (Portland Press Herald)
• New England power grid demand fell to its lowest level ever last weekend, attributable in part to more residential solar installations coming online. (Commonwealth Magazine)
• A Pennsylvania power utility finds that under typical weather conditions, there were 17% fewer electrical outages caused by trees in 2021 than in 2020 after the utility increased vegetation management. (TribLive)
CRYPTOMINING: As New York legislators consider a two-year moratorium on power-hungry cryptocurrency mining operations, industry executives say the move could reverberate across the country and harm the state’s economy. (CNBC)
OFFSHORE WIND: Some residents of Long Beach Island, New Jersey, worry about any potential tourism impact of local wind turbines installed over 10 miles from the shore. (Asbury Park Press)
CLIMATE:
• Despite Maine’s sweeping swathes of forestland, many of the state’s large forested property owners aren’t participating in carbon offset markets, which some observers call a “lost opportunity.” (Maine Monitor)
• As the climate crisis increases the number of hot days, a Connecticut zoo changes how it cares for its creatures with new misting stations and efficiency improvements. (New Haven Register)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Maine officials discuss installing electric vehicle chargers in disadvantaged communities, with some concerned that larger states’ massive equipment orders will put their state at the back of the queue. (Maine Public Radio)
• Connecticut lawmakers fail to pass a bill that would allow direct sales from electric vehicle manufacturers. (CT Post)
SOLAR:
• Some Maine solar developers say a federal investigation into imported solar panels is making it hard to complete projects. (Maine Public Radio)
• Union leaders in a western Pennsylvania township are frustrated that a local solar farm pitched as a job creator is advertising what they say are inappropriately low construction worker wages. (Tribune-Democrat)
TRANSPORTATION: A bill drafted by the Pennsylvania transportation department and state legislators could result in a shift away from a gasoline tax toward one based on mileage. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
UTILITIES: Maryland’s governor nominates a state environmental protection director with federal regulatory experience to the state utility commission, but she will need legislative confirmation next year. (Maryland Matters)
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