Eversource sued over fatal 2021 house explosion

FOSSIL FUELS: Eversource faces a $450 million wrongful death lawsuit over a 2021 Massachusetts house explosion that killed a man; the utility calls it an ​“isolated” incident, while the man’s family says it was the result of gas line negligence. (WCVB)

ALSO:

• This week’s Philadelphia Gas Commission meeting saw ratepayers imploring members to take more climate action and reject a proposal to limit public input in the municipal gas utility’s budget. (WHYY)
• As she looks to secure Pennsylvania voters for the upcoming presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris is trying — and struggling — to dodge her formerly anti-fracking policy positions. (Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• New York is making another $200 million available for bus operators and school districts to purchase zero-emission school buses. (news release)
• A Massachusetts commuter rail line that runs through heavily polluted communities is slated to operate the state’s first battery-electric trains by 2028. (WHDH)

RENEWABLE ENERGY:

• A recent survey suggests that the majority of Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans support federal tax credits and financial incentives for decarbonization activities, like home energy efficiency and electric vehicles. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Connecticut-based utility Avangrid says it has now installed over 9 GW of wind and solar capacity. (news release)

WIND: Federal officials allow Vineyard Wind to resume construction as they undertake a ​“controlled cutting” of the remaining bits of the broken wind turbine blade that haven’t fallen off yet. (Nantucket Current, Utility Dive)

UTILITIES: Maine regulators reject a utility’s plan to report high energy demand to police to help track down illegal marijuana grow houses that have cropped up in the state, citing privacy concerns. (Maine Public Radio)

SOLAR:

• A Massachusetts developer could see its plans to put a 53-acre solar project on a former golf course rejected over a decades-old deed restriction requiring the land only be used for agricultural or open-air uses. (WVIA)
• Somersworth, New Hampshire, and a developer begin construction on a 2,577 kW solar array at a landfill Superfund site.
• Maryland utility regulators schedule a public hearing for later this month focused on a proposed 4 MW solar project on Westminster agricultural land. (Baltimore Sun)

BATTERIES: Newark, Delaware, is now the home of a new Chemours battery materials lab, which will use a process the company says saves money and energy to create lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries. (WHYY)

GRID: Although a formal proposal has yet to be filed, increasingly more residents, businesses and public officials are coming out in opposition against the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, with some questioning the need for the transmission line. (WBAL, Maryland Matters)

WORKFORCE: In New York, the Rochester Institute of Technology receives a five-year, $3 million federal grant to offer 20 fellowships aimed at expanding research on semiconductors, a necessary component for the clean energy transition. (Rochester Beacon, UT-Austin)