Natural gas bans fight rising tide of opposition

NATURAL GAS: Bans on new natural gas hookups are moving ahead in states including Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York, despite a national wave of resistance to legal prohibitions on the fuel. (E&E News)

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CLEAN ENERGY:

• Delaware releases its first state energy plan since 2009, which includes the goal of balancing clean energy and decarbonization with reliability and resiliency. (Delaware Public Media)
• Maine releases a report outlining a strategy for reaching 100% clean energy by 2040 by electrifying transportation and heating while decarbonizing the power supply. (Maine Morning Star)

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TRANSMISSION: The process of approving a much-contested 70-mile transmission line through three Maryland counties could take up to two years as opponents are likely to leave “no stone left unturned” in their attempts to stop the plan. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)

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OFFSHORE WIND:

• A Martha’s Vineyard official asks Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to provide an electricity rate subsidy to island residents in exchange for the “sacrifices” they are making in support of offshore wind. (MV Times)
• A newly renovated pier serving the offshore wind industry in Connecticut will need millions of dollars in repairs to address mistakes made in the original construction process. (CT Mirror)
• Massachusetts fishing advocates ask lawmakers to reconsider recent offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine, saying they threaten fishermen’s livelihoods, local culture, and the security of the seafood supply. (CNHI News)

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STORAGE: Some 30 planned battery farms are pending in Connecticut with the potential to add more than 4.3 GW of energy storage capacity to the grid. (Darien Times)

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BIOFUEL: Creating sustainable biofuel could be a possible use of kelp grown by Connecticut’s expanding seaweed farming industry, as growers look for more markets for the marine plants. (CT Mirror)

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SOLAR: Five new community solar projects come online in Maine, adding to the soaring number of such projects built since the state created a subsidy to boost their development. (Bangor Daily News, subscription)

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GEOTHERMAL: Plans to expand a networked geothermal system in Massachusetts and build a new project in Vermont are among five plans splitting $35 million in federal funding for geothermal projects. (Energy News Network)

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GRID:

• A Pennsylvania utility receives approval for a $1.4 billion, five-year grid modernization project. (news release)
• A North Carolina company faces $722 million in federal fines for a “manipulative scheme” in which it sold energy savings it didn’t create and couldn’t verify into capacity markets in the PJM and MISO territories. (Utility Dive)

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UTILITIES: National Grid agrees to a $1 million settlement for not following proper procedures in the lead-up to natural gas-fueled house explosion in New York last year. (WSYR)

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