CLIMATE: Advocates say Massachusetts will not reach its climate goals unless people start driving less, and that current plans overemphasize electric vehicles. (Energy News Network)
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)
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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)