Boston won’t join Massachusetts gas ban pilot

BUILDINGS: Boston’s mayor says the city won’t pursue joining Massachusetts’ pilot gas ban program, saying she has received ​“clear indications that Boston would not be chosen for the one available spot.” (Boston Globe)

ALSO: In New Jersey, Public Service Electric and Gas Company asks the state utility regulator to extend a clean energy and energy efficiency program for six months, with an estimated cost of $306 million. (news release)

CLIMATE:

• A Johns Hopkins University project is bringing together scientists, engineers and other universities to examine how climate change is affecting Baltimore and other cities. (Bay Journal)
• Pennsylvania advocates say the rights afforded to residents under an environmental rights amendment added to the state’s constitution in the 1970s aren’t well known, but officials should utilize them more. (E&E News, subscr4iption)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• Pennsylvania data shows dozens of premature deaths and hospitalizations, as well as thousands of childhood asthma attacks, likely would have been prevented if the state had joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 2022. (Environmental Health News)
• Maine’s ratepayer advocate proposes new legislation to ban new natural gas pipelines outside of current service areas, citing concern over future gas transition costs. (Bangor Daily News)

SOLAR:

• Numerous Maine residents and businesses say a solar developer has failed to give them back thousands of dollars for uncompleted or indefinitely delayed work. (Bangor Daily News)
• Amazon’s deal to offtake all the power from Maryland’s latest solar farm, a 170 MW facility on a former coal mine, underscores the reach of the corporation’s clean energy influence. (Bloomberg Law)

OFFSHORE WIND: Both New Jersey Democrats and Republicans take aim at Ørsted for wanting to claw back $300 million in deposits for its now-cancelled offshore wind projects in the state. (Asbury Park Press)

GRID: Some neighbors of New York City’s largest battery storage system say their safety and aesthetic concerns still haven’t been addressed. (SI Live)

CLIMATE: Rising sea levels around the Delmarva peninsula have doubled the amount of good farmland turned into unviable salt patches in recent years. (Bay Journal)

TRANSPORTATION:

• Rhode Island’s attorney general says the state’s plan to reduce transportation emissions and its focus on new projects that support cars won’t help meet climate goals. (Providence Journal)
• Advocates decry a plan by Rhode Island’s public transit agency to permanently cut 40 unfilled bus driver jobs to halve its projected budget shortfall. (Rhode Island Current)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Construction continues on northern New York’s largest electric vehicle charging station, but one nearby business owner says more signs are needed to direct drivers. (WCAX)