Eversource’s geothermal pilot starts this week

GEOTHERMAL: Eversource will begin operating a unique, $14 million pilot project this week: the nation’s first utility-operated underground thermal energy network connecting buildings around Framingham, Massachusetts. (Canary Media)

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BIOENERGY: A Rhode Island bioenergy facility that was supposed to be providing a Canadian refinery with renewable natural gas by last summer still hasn’t finished construction, leaving both its future and the refinery’s climate goals in jeopardy. (CBC)

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POLICY: Pennsylvania’s House holds a hearing over a bill that would restructure the state board responsible for handling federal energy incentives to let it finance energy projects itself. (Penn Live Patriot-News)

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FOSSIL FUELS:

• New Hampshire’s governor joins several of his Republican counterparts in Louisiana to call on President Biden to deregulate the oil and gas industry, claiming current policies are causing inflation. (WWLTV)
• The Pennsylvania Game Commission plans to invest $500 million from unaccounted gas revenues into the state’s hunting grounds. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

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GRID:

• New England’s grid operator says it should have enough capacity this summer to handle normal peak conditions, but notes “a prolonged heat wave with high humidity could challenge the system.” (InDepthNH)
• A recently introduced bill would prorate the utility bills of New York City public housing residents experiencing lengthy outages. (Pix 11)

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BUILDINGS: New Hampshire is among the roughly two dozen states fighting proposed federal regulations around new energy efficiency standards for stoves, cooktops and ovens. (Nebraska Examiner)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Vermont’s governor signs into law a new annual fee for electric vehicle owners to help plug the funding gap from lower gasoline taxes. (VT Digger)
• A Vermont electric plane startup completes its first full test flight of its vertical takeoff plane prototype, noting that the technology is common in small drones but not “a 7,000-pound aircraft with a 50-foot wingspan.” (WCAX)
• Installing a small fleet of lithium-ion batteries helped the developers of a Weymouth, Massachusetts, electric vehicle fast-charging station get around a lengthy equipment backlog, letting them finish the build in six months. (Boston Globe)

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TECH: Some climate tech experts say Massachusetts has the right combination of innovation and accessible capital to cultivate a successful climate tech hub on a global scale. (ABC News)

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SOLAR: A vertical farming company opens a large strawberry farming warehouse entirely powered by solar energy in New Jersey. (Food Bev Media)

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COMMENTARY: The head of a New York climate justice coalition argues against implementing the Clean Fuel Standard, citing the failure of similar policies in California that he says hurt disadvantaged communities. (City Limits)

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