Eversource reveals plan for clean-energy grid overhaul

GRID: Eversource on Friday released a draft of its plans to upgrade Massachusetts’ electrical grid, which the utility says will help accommodate more than 2 GW of solar power. (MassLive)

ALSO: Numerous obstacles remain for plans to build an underwater transmission network to connect offshore wind farms in the Northeast. (E&E News)

WIND:
• All nine members of the Rhode Island Fisherman’s Advisory Board resigned in protest on Friday, saying the state’s Coastal Resource Management Council, which it advises, ​“has made deference to offshore wind developers its top priority.” (EcoRI)
• Advocates say a recent poll showing declining support for offshore wind in New Jersey shows that ​“lies and misinformation are having a significant effect”; meanwhile, a candidate for state legislature amplifies the false narrative that wind farm surveying is to blame for recent whale deaths. (Gothamist, Politico)

SOLAR: An 80 MW solar farm is proposed on the site of a former airport near Erie, Pennsylvania. (Erie Times-News)

OIL & GAS:
• Advocates celebrate a Department of Transportation decision to suspend a Trump-era rule that would have allowed rail shipment of liquified natural gas through Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• A gas pipeline project in New Jersey could be jeopardized by a judge’s ruling last week to invalidate the project’s exemption from environmental rules. (NorthJersey.com)

TRANSPORTATION:
• A $100 annual fee for electric vehicle registration to offset lost gasoline tax revenue for roads took effect in New Hampshire on Friday. (Concord Monitor)
• Plans for bullet trains in the Northeast Corridor are stymied by old tracks that can’t handle high speeds. (E&E News)
• A pilot project in New York City offering discounted ebikes to delivery workers to get unsafe models off the street has only had three trade-ins since July. (New York Times)

HYDROPOWER: Officials representing three Maine town urge congressional leaders to intervene in ISO New England’s delay in interconnecting four hydroelectric dams. (Sun Journal)

UTILITIES:
• Central Maine Power ratepayers shared concerns about high bills and service problems with state regulators at a public hearing last week. (Advertiser Democrat)
• Nebraska’s public utilities provide talking points for both opponents and proponents of an effort to create a consumer-owned utility in Maine. (Bangor Daily News)

ELECTRIFICATION: Applications for Rhode Island’s heat pump rebate program begin today. (WPRI)

COMMENTARY:
• Connecticut lawmakers defend the integrity of the state’s regulatory board amid attacks it is being ​“punitive” in a rate proceeding that seeks to tie utility profitability to performance. (Hartford Courant)
• Environmental and labor activists write that ​“we must acknowledge our energy transformation is being powered by working people.” (PennLive)

CORRECTION: An item in Thursday’s edition incorrectly stated that Albion is in northern Maine. It is in the central part of the state.