CLIMATE: An emissions-tracking nonprofit predicts Vermont is not on a path to achieve its 2030 emissions reduction mandate, saying the state’s transportation and thermal sectors aren’t decarbonizing fast enough. (VT Digger)
ALSO:
• The Gulf of Maine Research Institute receives $650,000 in federal funds to help waterfront communities plan for climate resiliency and sea level rise. (Portland Press Herald)
• A Maine town council unanimously votes to take steps to join a climate mitigation initiative that will provide the town with grants for climate mitigation, clean energy adoption and carbon emission reduction. (Morning Sentinel)
FOSSIL FUELS:
• An interstate commission may release its decision today regarding whether New Jersey’s first liquefied natural gas export terminal should have its expired construction permit extended by three years. (NJ Spotlight)
• The National Park Service is studying the accumulation of a fossil fuel burning-related pollutant in dragonfly larvae at Acadia National Park. (Maine Public Radio)
• A New York City public housing building has not had cooking gas for almost a week after utility workers identified numerous gas leaks and shut off service to the building. (Staten Island Advance)
BIOMASS: In Maine’s Piscataquis County, a company seeks an air permit for a former biomass power plant it intends to turn into a biochar manufacturing line. (Piscataquis Observer)
SOLAR:
• Over a dozen governmental entities in a Pennsylvania county are jointly seeking bids for long-term contracts to provide 32 million kWh of solar power. (WPSU)
• A Maine horse and dog training and boarding facility plans to use federal rural energy funds to install a small rooftop solar system. (Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier)
TRANSPORTATION:
• A nonprofit’s report says federal infrastructure funds may end up going to highway expansion projects — such as the $1.3 billion M-83 expansion in Maryland — despite federal encouragement to use the funds for public transit. (Grist)
• Boston’s mayor says that her city’s partial subway shutdown hasn’t been popular but has presented an opportunity to test a less-car-dependent future. (Boston Herald)
UTILITIES: Public power advocacy is gaining momentum across the Northeast and the country as a whole, with cost cutting and accountability at the top of activists’ minds. (USA Today)
EFFICIENCY: Two New York homeowners say they were able to bring down their annual heating costs from around $4,000 to just over $200 through energy efficiency projects and a solar installation. (The Saratogian, subscription)
BIOFUELS: A Maine biofuel recycling company acquires a fermentory that makes products like ciders and kombuchas, explaining that the companies use the same types of resources to serve many of the same customers. (Portland Press Herald)
LABOR: An Atlantic City, New Jersey, utility launches a utility career training program, aiming to train around 100 potential workers annually. (The Press of Atlantic City)
AFFORDABILITY: New Jersey utility commissioners authorize several gas utilities to increase rates by up to 24% per month, blaming geopolitical events. (NJ Spotlight)
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