Charging challenges limit Philadelphia EV adoption

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Philadelphians are increasingly buying electric vehicles, but many apartment dwellers and street parkers find it hard to install home charging and use limited chargers in the city. (Billy Penn)

• Limited public charging stations in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland County and surrounding areas deter electric vehicle owners from using their EVs for longer trips. (Cumberlink)
• California-based electric vehicle charging company EVPassport will establish its headquarters in Boston. (Boston Globe)

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SOLAR: Eversource says 11,600 of its Connecticut customers, most of them residential, installed solar panels in 2023 — up 60% from 2022’s total installations. (Hartford Courant)

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CLIMATE:

• A judge allows Connecticut’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil to proceed, as the state’s attorney general accuses the company of “decades of deception and harm to our climate.” (CT Insider)
• The U.S. Commerce Department announces $69 million for coastal climate resilience projects in Maine. (Portland Press Herald)
• Philadelphia-area groups will soon be able to apply for a piece of U.S. EPA funding for climate and environmental justice projects. (WHYY)
• Vermont farmers say climate change has upended decades of planting and harvesting norms, with increasingly intense storms, uncertainty around last frosts, and other challenges making it hard to adapt. (New York Times)

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CLEAN ENERGY: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announces Maine will get $4.3 million from the Rural Energy for America Program to help farmers install clean energy and make efficient building improvements. (News Center Maine)

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CARBON CAPTURE: Gas industry groups celebrate a new Pennsylvania law paving the way for a carbon capture and storage industry, though some environmental groups say it will prolong the gas industry’s life, and that carbon capture wells can be dangerous. (StateImpact)

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BUILDINGS:

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announces $10 million for large-scale thermal projects that will reduce heating, cooling, and water heating emissions. (Saratogian)
• A Maine heating and cooling company will open a store to sell heat pumps in Aroostook County. (Bangor Daily News)

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OIL & GAS:Pennsylvania advocates celebrate a court’s ruling earlier this month that will let them challenge permits issued for a gas pipeline expansion slated to cross Monroe and Luzerne counties. (Lehigh Valley News)

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GRID: A Maryland transmission project meant to shore up power reliability in the face of growing power demand becomes a point of contention in the state’s U.S. Senate race. (Baltimore Banner, WBAL)

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STORAGE:

• New York proposes updates to fire safety standards for battery-storage projects. (Renewable Energy World)
• A Long Island town extends its moratorium on battery energy storage development as it continues to work on safety codes. (Newsday)

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NUCLEAR: Women in the nuclear power industry gather at a Pittsburgh conference. (WTAE)

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COMMENTARY: Two New York state lawmakers call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to employ the state’s public power authority to build out 15 GW of new clean energy projects by 2030. (City & State)

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