Connecticut seeks to revive struggling EV rebate program

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Connecticut hopes to revive its electric vehicle rebate program that financed only a few hundred cars and spent only 30% of its budget last year. (CT Insider)

ALSO: General Motors will partner with a Massachusetts startup company to advance the automaker’s battery development in pursuit of higher electric vehicle driving range in a smaller package. (Reuters)

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CLIMATE:
• The Maryland Senate passes a climate bill with bipartisan support that seeks to reduce emissions by 60%. (Maryland Matters)
• A central Pennsylvania county seeks public involvement on how to address climate change. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• A new study finds a carbon tax would be the lowest-cost policy mechanism to achieve an 80% emissions reduction from the power sector by 2040. (Energy News Network)

SOLAR:
• Recent approval of the largest solar project in Connecticut revives old tensions between advocates and neighborhoods. (CT Insider)
• Developers of a New York 7.5 MW solar project rejected by a city council may triple its size to qualify for consideration by state siting officials instead. (Daily Gazette)

UTILITIES:
• Utility deregulation in Maryland has led to an atmosphere of exploitation with third-party suppliers targeting low-income customers and leaving them with higher bills. (Inside Climate News)
• Advocates walk out of settlement talks with a New York utility when they accuse it of trying to divert clean energy funds from a previous agreement. (CityLimits)

OFFSHORE WIND: Massachusetts will soon conduct its third solicitation for offshore wind contracts and will include a greater emphasis on environmental justice and equity. (WBUR)

HYDROPOWER: Maine officials will hold a virtual public hearing today to consider a plan to remove two hydropower dams from the Kennebec River to revive Atlantic Salmon breeding populations. (CentralMaine.com)

OIL & GAS: Democrats seek to block an effort by Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn the Delaware River Basin Commission’s fracking ban. (Bucks County Courier Times)

COMMENTARY:
• A former state energy planner in Maine proposes a state generation authority to help finance the hundreds of small distributed resources needed to replace aging and polluting power sources. (CentralMaine.com)
• A solar developer says a series of bills before Maryland legislators aim to keep momentum going for the energy resource in the state. (Maryland Matters)
• A columnist questions why Maryland officials seem to be scaling back a vehicle emissions testing system when the public just experienced the benefits of reduced pollution caused by less traffic during the pandemic. (Maryland Matters)