Eversource’s geothermal pilot starts this week

GEOTHERMAL: Eversource will begin operating a unique, $14 million pilot project this week: the nation’s first utility-operated underground thermal energy network connecting buildings around Framingham, Massachusetts. (Canary Media)

BIOENERGY: A Rhode Island bioenergy facility that was supposed to be providing a Canadian refinery with renewable natural gas by last summer still hasn’t finished construction, leaving both its future and the refinery’s climate goals in jeopardy. (CBC)

POLICY: Pennsylvania’s House holds a hearing over a bill that would restructure the state board responsible for handling federal energy incentives to let it finance energy projects itself. (Penn Live Patriot-News)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• New Hampshire’s governor joins several of his Republican counterparts in Louisiana to call on President Biden to deregulate the oil and gas industry, claiming current policies are causing inflation. (WWLTV)
• The Pennsylvania Game Commission plans to invest $500 million from unaccounted gas revenues into the state’s hunting grounds. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

GRID:

• New England’s grid operator says it should have enough capacity this summer to handle normal peak conditions, but notes ​“a prolonged heat wave with high humidity could challenge the system.” (InDepthNH)
• A recently introduced bill would prorate the utility bills of New York City public housing residents experiencing lengthy outages. (Pix 11)

BUILDINGS: New Hampshire is among the roughly two dozen states fighting proposed federal regulations around new energy efficiency standards for stoves, cooktops and ovens. (Nebraska Examiner)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Vermont’s governor signs into law a new annual fee for electric vehicle owners to help plug the funding gap from lower gasoline taxes. (VT Digger)
• A Vermont electric plane startup completes its first full test flight of its vertical takeoff plane prototype, noting that the technology is common in small drones but not ​“a 7,000-pound aircraft with a 50-foot wingspan.” (WCAX)
• Installing a small fleet of lithium-ion batteries helped the developers of a Weymouth, Massachusetts, electric vehicle fast-charging station get around a lengthy equipment backlog, letting them finish the build in six months. (Boston Globe)

TECH: Some climate tech experts say Massachusetts has the right combination of innovation and accessible capital to cultivate a successful climate tech hub on a global scale. (ABC News)

SOLAR: A vertical farming company opens a large strawberry farming warehouse entirely powered by solar energy in New Jersey. (Food Bev Media)

COMMENTARY: The head of a New York climate justice coalition argues against implementing the Clean Fuel Standard, citing the failure of similar policies in California that he says hurt disadvantaged communities. (City Limits)