Heat pump demand hums along in Maine after record heating oil price spike

BUILDINGS: A year after the war in Ukraine drove record-high fossil fuel prices for winter heating in oil-dependent Maine, demand for efficient electric heat pumps remains steady, despite new challenges. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: New Hampshire utility regulators extend an energy efficiency program with minor changes for three years despite regulators’ disagreement on some points. (WMUR, NHPR)

POLICY:

• Massachusetts releases a new climate progress scorecard that shows the state is on track, but experts say more funds and policies are needed to meet 2030 and 2050 goals. (WBUR; RTO Insider, subscription)
• Three years into a four-year climate plan, Maine issues a progress report noting early achievement of a heat pump install goal and slow movement toward a vehicle electrification target. (Maine Public Radio)
• A new ranking deems Pennsylvania home of the seventh most emissions-generating entities of any state, a count that includes a Delta Airlines oil refinery. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

UTILITIES:

• Chesapeake Utilities finalizes a nearly $1 billion acquisition of a Florida gas utility. (Delaware Business Times)
• A push to convert Rochester Gas & Electric into a public utility underscores growing frustration across New York state with investor-owned utilities. (Democrat & Chronicle) 

OFFSHORE WIND: An unlikely collective from across the ideological spectrum has come together to stop the state of Maine from using undeveloped Sears Island for a large offshore wind port. (Bangor Daily News)

SOLAR:

• Rhode Island lawmakers consider requiring a state license for solar panel sales reps following an onslaught of complaints from constituents about deceptive or frustrating business practices. (WJAR)
• Residents of Moscow, Maine, vote to ban commercial solar projects, a new policy that local officials say is likely illegal. (Morning Sentinel)
• Utility officials in Norwich, Connecticut, consider adding a large solar array on a former landfill just north of a new sewer plant. (The Day)
• New Jersey farmers and solar developers show support for state utility regulators’ dual-use solar pilot framework but tell the state to take faster, more decisive action. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• Two Pennsylvania organizations create a guide for landowners who may want to lease their land to solar developers. (news release)

CLIMATE:

• The mid-Atlantic is experiencing its longest snow drought on record as it hasn’t seen at least an inch of snow in a single day over the past two years. (Washington Post)
• Annapolis, Maryland, is getting rid of some riverside parking in favor of an elevated park as it strives to fend off frequent flooding, taking lessons from European cities’ adaptation works. (Maryland Matters)
• A New Hampshire ​“climate cafe” helps parents meet to discuss concerns with raising their children amid climate change anxiety and related problems. (NHPR)