POLICY: Pennsylvania’s governor reveals a climate action plan that would see the state operate a carbon pricing program and make utilities buy half of their power from mostly carbon-free resources by 2035. (Associated Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

FOSSIL FUELS: 

  • Maine legislators hold back a bill to halt expansion of natural gas infrastructure in favor of studies that contemplate the role of gas in the state’s energy future. (Energy News Network)
  • Testing suggests fracking waste runoff from a Pennsylvania landfill is contaminating the soil in a community where plants are dying and unexplained illnesses are occuring. (Public Source)
  • A Massachusetts startup aims to replace the hydraulic aspect of fracking with electric shocks that open up new pathways for fuels to flow. (Boston Globe)
  • The Pennsylvania Game Commission has seen a financial windfall from oil and gas leases over the past two years, but falling natural gas prices mean less revenue for the agency. (Go Erie)
  • Early evidence suggests an unregistered gas well was the cause of a fatal house explosion near Pittsburgh this week. (CBS News)

OFFSHORE WIND: Barnstable, Massachusetts, officials says it’s “inexcusable” that they don’t have a seat on the state’s clean energy siting and infrastructure panel despite its offshore wind projects. (Cape Cod Times)

FINANCE: Climate activists say Maine’s public workers retirement system isn’t doing enough to divest from fossil fuel investments despite a state law mandating divestitment by 2026. (Portland Press Herald)

SOLAR: 

  • One of the Pennsylvania lawmakers sponsoring a bill to support solar projects at state schools highlights the benefits of the legislation during a school tour. (Altoona Mirror)
  • New York City considers a local bill that would require public buildings to install 100 MW of solar panels by the end of 2025. (Utility Dive)
  • The State University of New York Niagara is seeking a developer for an up-to-6 MW solar farm. (Niagara Gazette)

GEOTHERMAL:

  • A New York developer will install a geothermal HVAC system at an affordable public housing complex in southeast Washington, D.C., the city’s first large-scale community geothermal heat pump system. (Commercial Observer)
  • New York City almost doubles the amount of staff it has on hand to enforce its building emissions law after advocates’ criticism. (City Limits)

WORKFORCE: A new report from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center finds the state’s clean energy workforce has grown to 48,176 jobs, an 80% increase over 2010. (news release)

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Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.