ALSO:
• Episcopal bishops in Massachusetts issue a Declaration of Climate Emergency as they say “churches have not yet responded with adequate seriousness” to the crisis. (Episcopal News Service)
• A new poll finds that 73% of Pennsylvanians worry that their children and grandchildren will be negatively impacted by climate change, with 65% saying they’d pay more on their utility bills for clean energy. (Beaver County Times)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!*** 

EFFICIENCY: A Vermont city delays requiring weatherization of rental properties citing concerns that it would create a bottleneck for an agency helping property owners to comply. (Energy News Network)

EQUITY: A new report finds that Black and Latino Pennsylvanians are more likely to deal with unaffordable energy bills and subsequently fall behind on payment than are white households. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• New Jersey regulators approve $13 million to begin construction of an offshore wind hub while also approving a unit of the state’s largest utility buying a 25% stake in the first project planned along its coast. (NJ Spotlight)
• The Speaker of the Massachusetts House promises to make the state a regional hub for the offshore wind industry while also pledging money to support job training and a bond issue to support infrastructure. (CommonWealth Magazine)

OIL & GAS:
• The state Supreme Court in Pennsylvania rules the state’s attorney general cannot use consumer protection law on behalf of landowners who claim they got a raw deal from gas drillers when they signed leases for the property. (Pennlive)
• Pennsylvania Democratic state senators win the right to intervene in a federal lawsuit their Republican colleagues filed to challenge a ban on fracking imposed by the regional Delaware River Basin Commission. (Courier Times)
• A New Jersey town council rejects a resolution opposing a proposed gas compressor station, citing factual flaws in its text. (NorthJersey.com)

SOLAR:
• Community solar legislation is introduced in Pennsylvania as supporters say 200 shovel-ready projects are ready to break ground if the law is enacted. (Solar Power World)
• In Warren, Massachusetts, construction has begun on a 10 MW community solar project, which will include an unspecified amount of energy storage per the state’s solar program. (pv magazine)

TRANSPORTATION: The Transportation Climate Initiative has been endorsed by three New England governors, but its fate in the legislatures of Connecticut and Rhode Island is uncertain. (Eagle-Tribune)

COMMENTARY:
• A Democratic Maine state representative says electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts routed through a Maine transmission line is “greenwashed power” that does nothing to reduce carbon emissions. (CentralMaine.com)
• An environmental organization says converting a power plant along New York’s Hudson river to natural gas only entrenches fracked gas at the same time the state bans the practice. (Times Herald-Record)

Massachusetts Gov. Baker to sign sweeping climate bill is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: Opponents of a proposed liquified natural gas export terminal in New Jersey say they are encouraged by federal regulators ruling they have jurisdiction over a similar proposed facility in Puerto Rico. (Daily Review)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!*** 

HEATING: A majority of voters in Burlington, Vermont want the city council to regulate thermal energy systems in homes and businesses, but the state legislature and governor need to approve the measure. (Energy News Network)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• Maine officials ask lobstermen to voluntarily move their traps and buoys away from the route of a proposed undersea cable for a floating wind turbine to avoid further conflicts with a survey vessel. (Portland Press Herald)
• The state’s Marine Patrol will remove the gear if the fishermen don’t. (Maine Public)

SOLAR: Advocates say Rhode Island needs to find a balance between large-scale solar development and preserving forests as trees are valuable in the climate change fight for carbon sequestration. (ecoRI)

DIVESTMENT: Climate activists have renewed calls for New Jersey to fully divest its state pension fund of any fossil fuel investments. (NJ Spotlight)

UTILITIES:
• The electric utility in Washington, D.C. is the first in the Mid-Atlantic region to use a renewable energy supply contract as part of the process to procure electricity for retail customers who do not choose their own supplier. (Utility Dive)
• In New York, as ratepayer arrearages total over $1 billion, lawmakers are trying to extend a utility shut-off moratorium. (Newsday)

HYDROPOWER: Maine Gov. Janet Mills insists that owners of four dams along the Kennebec River comply with proposed standards for fish passage that the owner says would force their removal. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Connecticut bill that would allow electric vehicle manufacturers to bypass the traditional franchised dealership model and sell their automobiles straight to customers has been voted out of committee. (CT Post)
• Con Edison orders its first-of-its-kind all-electric heavy duty bucket truck that will be delivered next year. (news release)

COMMENTARY:
• A former chair of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission says it’s time to finish the job of restructuring the electricity markets started 25 years ago and allow the state’s utilities to concentrate on modernizing the grid. (Pennlive)
• Environmental activists say the New England grid must reform the forward capacity auctions that prioritize short-term procurement of energy from dirty fossil fuel plants and slow the transition to clean energy. (Portland Press Herald)
• An editorial board says that although Pennsylvania ought to conduct its own studies, there is “sufficient evidence on the public health costs of hydrofracking” for the governor to enact reform. (York Dispatch)

Gas driller fined $1.9 million for Pennsylvania wetlands violations is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO:
• New York City plans to push $6 billion in pension fund investments toward public companies and projects fighting climate change, triple a 2018 goal. (amNewYork)
• The most recent auction of carbon allowances in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative set a record price of $7.60 per ton. (Energy Information Administration)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!*** 

OFFSHORE WIND: Maine officials say they found no violations by lobstermen who are in a dispute with an offshore wind survey vessel over a survey of an undersea transmission cable route that led to the suspension of the survey. (Maine Public)

PIPELINES: A federal appeals court overrules New York environmental officials and clears the way for a pipeline to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to Ontario. (Buffalo News)

OIL & GAS: The Appalachian shale gas market is not likely to remain profitable, according to a new report, an author of which argues that policymakers need to make a transition plan for the local economy and environment. (Gizmodo)

GRID:
• A new study says capacity market rules adopted by grid operator PJM could cost New Jersey ratepayers an additional $300 million annually in electricity costs as federal regulators also hold a conference to discuss the rule’s future. (NJ Spotlight)
• Officials with ISO New England, New York Independent System Operator and PJM Interconnection said they are in favor of getting rid of MOPR if something else replaces it. (S&P Global Platts)

COMMENTARY:
• The director of an academic offshore wind initiative says surveys show the public is behind the energy source and that a vocal minority misrepresents its supposed impacts to discredit it. (NJ Spotlight)
• An editorial board asks Maine lobstermen to turn down the heat in a dispute with developers of a proposed floating wind turbine, saying there is room in the ocean for both fishing and energy production. (CentralMaine.com)
• The Sierra Club says while the recently created Vermont Climate Council has broad representation in its charter to create a clean energy future, it is still important for the general public to participate in its deliberations. (VT Digger)
• A clean energy advocate says the recent approval of a Long Island offshore wind transmission connection is an important milestone in an arduous process to tap into the abundant energy source. (Long Island Press)

Climate bill passes Rhode Island House is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO:
• An $8 million federal loan will help fund three solar projects totalling 6 MW in rural Maine. (Associated Press)
• A 4.95 MW solar array serving the Rhode Island Airport Commission goes into service, while construction is completed on a nearby 5.7 MW project. (news release)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!*** 

OFFSHORE WIND:
• Three lobster boats reportedly circled a surveying vessel conducting work for the future Maine Aqua Ventus offshore wind turbine, forcing it to abandon its work. (Portland Press-Herald)
• Survey work begins for the proposed Atlantic Shores offshore project in New Jersey for a project that could supply up to 2,300 MW. (WorkBoat)
• Connecticut environmental officials will hold a virtual public hearing today on a plan to turn a state pier into a staging area for offshore wind farm construction. (The Day)
• Somerset, Mass., residents are unhappy that a brownfield developer that came to town with plans to support Vineyard Wind manufacturing has rented out space to a scrap metal business for the time being. (Commonwealth Magazine)

CLIMATE: Massachusetts lawmakers who support a sweeping climate bill awaiting Gov. Charlie Baker’s signature say the budget proposed for the state energy department is inadequate to begin implementing the law. (Eagle-Tribune)

NUCLEAR: A community group is formed to create a more transparent process in decommissioning the closed Three Mile Island nuclear plant. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Connecticut lawmakers begin their drive to allow Teslas to be sold directly to consumers, a move that has been blocked by the state’s auto dealers. (Hartford Courant)
• Proposed legislation in New Jersey would establish a three-year pilot program to find ways to help schools finance the high initial cost of electric buses. (NJ Advance Media)

TRANSMISSION: Anti-transmission corridor advertising spending in Maine ramps up after a state judge ruled against a part of the project’s permit last week. (Bangor Daily News)

BIOENERGY: A digester at a Vermont dairy farm that produces renewable natural gas from manure and food wastes will begin supplying gas to a local utility by mid-spring. (Burlington Free Press)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: The sale of a waste-to-energy plant that serves 115 Maine towns is now expected to close by the end of June. (Bangor Daily News)

COMMENTARY:
• A venture capitalist says Maryland can become a leader in clean technology innovation as it already is home to startups that improve building energy efficiency. (Baltimore Sun)
• The sponsor of legislation in Maine to prevent Hydro-Quebec’s financing of a campaign to defeat anti-transmission referenda says the purpose of the bill is to counter “foreign meddling” in a state election. (Portland Press Herald)
• A new liquefied natural gas export terminal in New Jersey is a backward step for the state, argues a hospital official in Camden, N.J., who pointed to the long-term health and environmental impacts of natural gas. (Common Dreams)

Solar to provide half of Pennsylvania’s state buildings’ needs is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.

ALSO: A “green amendment” protecting New York residents’ right to a clean environment will be placed before voters on the fall ballot. (Albany Times Union)

***SPONSORED LINK: 2021 IPF Registration is now open! This year, IPF will be both in-person and virtual. IPF Together will be held August 24-26 in Richmond, VA (space is limited due to COVID guidelines). IPF Virtual will be taking place April 22, May 13, and June 17. Learn more and register today!*** 

OFFSHORE WIND:
• Documents suggest federal officials were poised to approve the Vineyard Wind offshore project in June 2019 before the Trump administration called for additional review, raising questions of political interference. (E&E News, subscription required)
• Reburying the cable that connects the Block Island wind farm in Rhode Island could require a power outage of up to two weeks for island residents. (Providence Business News)
• The New Hampshire Senate advances a bill that would require the state’s utilities to procure offshore wind if a state-sponsored solicitation is implemented. (NHPR)
• A protest by 80 Maine lobstermen traced the 23-mile route of an undersea cable that would connect a proposed floating wind turbine to land. (Portland Press Herald)

EFFICIENCY: A Vermont city is poised to enact a law requiring weatherization of apartment buildings. (Energy News Network)

NUCLEAR:
• A New Jersey appeals court rules state regulators properly awarded zero-emission credits to the state’s nuclear fleet, creating the annual subsidy of up to $300 million. (NJ.com)
• The Vermont House passes a bill to update membership on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant’s decommissioning commission and to provide funds to hire consultants if needed. (Bennington Banner)

NATURAL GAS:
• Federal regulators’ review of a Massachusetts compressor station has industry analysts concerned that it could set a precedent for projects under review or to be proposed. (WBUR)
• Environmentalists see a test case of New Jersey’s environmental justice law brewing against plans to install a 34-MW natural gas facility at an existing sewage plant in Newark. (NJ.com)

WASTE TO ENERGY: Activists circulate petitions aiming to prevent a contract renewal for a waste-to-energy plant that poses a health risk for a predominantly Black city of Chester, Pennsylvnaia. (Daily Times, PBS)

TRANSMISSION: A proposed power line in western Maine would have about 70 places where communities could tie in for rural broadband access. (Sun Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Connecticut regulators lambaste Eversource for its preparedness and response to Tropical Storm Isaias last summer and suggest the company could be fined. (Hartford Courant)
• Rhode Island regulators extend the moratorium on utility shutoffs until the end of the school year on June 25. (Providence Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A pilot program to track electric vehicle charging habits and reward drivers for off-peak charging has been approved in Wallingford, Connecticut. (The Record-Journal)

SOLAR: A solar developer has lost a challenge in a Pennsylvania township to site a 25 MW array in a conservation and agriculture zoning district. (Lehigh Valley Live, subscription)

COMMENTARY: A former investment banker says Connecticut will fail to meet its electric vehicle targets as long as the state’s auto dealers successfully prevent direct sales by manufacturers to consumers. (CT Mirror)

Advocates say Massachusetts climate plan relies too much on electric cars is an article from Energy News Network, a nonprofit news service covering the clean energy transition. If you would like to support us please make a donation.