Big pipeline spending in towns with gas bans

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

NATURAL GAS

• In the 10 Massachusetts municipalities that have banned fossil fuel use in new construction, major utilities have nonetheless spent some $100 million replacing and repairing gas pipelines in recent years. (CommonWealth Beacon)

NUCLEAR

• Local leaders in Vernon, Vermont, say they are being left out of conversations about how energy company PowerTransitions plans to redevelop the former site of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. (VTDigger)

POLLUTION

• In the Bronx, power plants and highways frequented by diesel trucks contribute to some of the worst air quality in New York City and high levels of childhood asthma despite ongoing efforts to improve the situation. (Inside Climate News)

• Pipeline company Sunoco LP is moving too slowly to clean up 6,500 gallons of spilled jet fuel that has seeped into well water in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, say residents impacted by the contamination. (WHYY)

STORAGE

• Residents of two central Massachusetts towns oppose plans for battery storage projects that are seeking state approvals, saying the planners are trampling on local authority. (Gardner News/ Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

TRANSMISSION

• The new transmission line carrying hydropower from Quebec into New York remains out of service after tripping offline on July 4, its second outage since it began service in June. (RTO Insider)

BUILDINGS

• A new, 75,000-square-foot public library under construction in Connecticut will use solar panels, battery storage, and geothermal heating and cooling to become the first net-zero library in the state. (Connecticut Public)

• A proposed apartment development in Maine could be home to the state’s first microgrid, combining a two-acre solar array and one megawatt of battery storage. (Maine Public)

TRANSPORTATION

• The Trump administration touts the launch of the Freedom Fuel Network as the private company opens 25 gas stations selling fuel for well below market averages in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (The Hill)

ELECTRIFICATION

• Vermont officials offer $5.9 million to private businesses and public organizations to replace older diesel-powered vehicles and equipment with new electric models. (Burlington Free Press)

• New York City announces a pilot program that will replace diesel generators on 10 food carts at a popular park in Queens with rechargeable electric batteries. (news release)

• Newark, Delaware, is considering new regulations that would require residential and commercial buildings to be built with the wiring and circuits needed to accommodate Level 2 EV chargers. (Newark Post)

DATA CENTERS

• Prince George’s County in Maryland passes a two-year moratorium on data center development. (Inside Climate News)