Fast-tracking gas plants not the answer for PJM, advocates argue

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GRID

• A measure allowing generators to add new resources like batteries or wind to their existing facilities is a better way to increase power supply in the PJM region than a plan to fast-track approvals for gas-burning plants, experts and environmental advocates say. (Canary Media)

• A new forecast projects data centers will drive a nearly 17% increase in peak demand on the PJM grid by 2035, worrying environmental advocates who expect much of this growing demand to be met by fossil fuel-fired power plants. (Inside Climate News)

OFFSHORE WIND

President Trump’s executive orders halting offshore wind development could make it difficult or impossible for several northeastern states to reach their ambitious climate goals. (Washington Post)

CLEAN ENERGY

Maryland environmental advocates say a bill encouraging the construction of new gas-fired power plants is a ​“blatant setback,” but remain split on provisions promoting the development of more nuclear resources. (Inside Climate News)

FUNDING FREEZE

• In Pennsylvania, more than $2 billion in frozen federal funds were intended for energy and environment projects, including efforts to reduce industrial emissions, provide solar to low-income households, and plug abandoned oil and gas wells. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Small businesses and state agencies in New Hampshire struggle with uncertainty as promised funding for solar panels, clean diesel, climate planning, and more is held up by the Trump administration. (NHPR)

• More than $104 million slated to pay for fast EV chargers in New Jersey is on the line as the federal government says it needs to draft new guidelines and issue new approvals for a national charging initiative. (NJ.com)

POLITICS

Blaming climate change programs for rising energy prices, Republican legislators in Delaware propose bills to scale back renewable energy targets and take funding away from state efficiency programming. (Delaware Business Now)

GEOTHERMAL

A new organization aims to develop a geothermal drilling workforce with programs including a recent training for workers in the Boston area in advance of a networked geothermal project planned in the city. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES

• As Massachusetts residents grapple with soaring natural gas bills, a utility says the increases are driven by the need to upgrade gas lines and pay into state efficiency programs, but declines to say what portion of the fees are company profit. (WCVB)

• A utility holding company in Pennsylvania argues that utilities should again be allowed to own energy generation facilities as part of the solution to anticipated power shortages in the PJM grid region. (RTO Insider, subscription)

COMMENTARY

• A consortium of Massachusetts universities and medical centers that made a major renewable energy commitment in the fall should focus more on cleaning up their in-state power generation, one of the largest sources of air pollution in the Boston area, say a Harvard University professor and graduate students. (CommonWealth Beacon)

• If Maryland eliminates subsidies for waste incineration power generators, the state would need to rely on dirtier energy sources to meet its renewable energy goals and find a new way to manage more than 700,000 tons of waste each year, an engineering professor says. (Maryland Matters)