Plus, Danskammer gas plant loses permit appeal in NY
CLIMATE: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signs into law over $8 billion in state spending bills, including $225 million for climate initiatives. (VT Digger)
ALSO:
• In New Hampshire, some observers say climate skepticism led to the state legislature’s failure to enact numerous climate mitigation policies. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
• Climate anxiety led an artist to develop an audio installation in 13 community gardens in New York City’s Brooklyn borough, asking gardeners questions about how climate change impacts their turf. (Gothamist)
GRID: New York’s grid operator warns that reliability margins are shrinking and that, to reach the state’s decarbonization goal, a tenth of generation serving the grid will need to come from currently non-commercially viable technologies. (Utility Dive)
GAS:
• A New York judge dismisses an appeal for a permit for the proposed Danskammer gas-fired power plant, noting state environmental officials had the authority and rationale to deny it. (Times Union)
• A Pennsylvania utility will conduct an infrastructure survey in the half-mile radius around a Pottstown home explosion. (Reading Eagle)
• New Jersey utility regulators approve a $200 million plan to upgrade around 250 miles of South Jersey Gas’ distribution infrastructure. (Press of Atlantic City)
• A Pennsylvania gas utility self-reports a 35% reduction in its direct emissions, three and a half years ahead of its deadline to realize 55% curtailment. (Pennsylvania Business Report)
• New Jersey environmental officials publish new methane and refrigerant emissions reporting rules, which also will make public gas distribution utilities provide details of their leak detection systems. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• A Pennsylvania county council hears from dozens of supporters of a proposed ban on new fracking endeavors at parks. (WESA)
SOLAR:
• To accelerate the solar development process, a New Jersey legislative committee votes in favor of a bill to divvy up new projects’ interconnection costs among developers, utilities and ratepayers. (NJ Spotlight)
• Maryland officials distribute $1.5 million to four entities to develop on-site solar projects at low-income households. (news release)
• A Vermont high school begins powering its greenhouse with a small off-grid solar array. (news release)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Commissioners of a western Pennsylvania county kick off a pilot program to test electric vehicle charging interest, starting with a dual charger at a park boathouse. (Trib Live)
• New York publishes a new website for residents to learn about the federal government’s electric vehicle infrastructure funding program, sign up for alerts and take a charging infrastructure survey. (The Citizen)
OFFSHORE WIND: A New Jersey university and Ørsted partner to train six students to become protected species observers at offshore wind facilities, helping avoid harm to marine life. (NJ.com)
UTILITIES: Retail energy companies would be disallowed from operating in Massachusetts under a new energy omnibus bill before the state legislature. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY: Commissioners in Union County, New York, authorize a commercial property assessed clean energy program to enable property owners to more easily finance renewable energy projects and efficiency upgrades. (Daily Item)
AFFORDABILITY: PPL’s top executive says the utility can juggle maintaining affordable rates, delivering returns to investors and hitting environmental benchmarks at the same time. (WFMZ)
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