Maine transmission opponents seek court interventions

TRANSMISSION: Former Maine legislators go to court to stop the use of public lands for a power line from Canada, while an opposition group seeks to keep its funders’ identities private. (Maine Public, WGME)

FINANCIAL:
• A federal court rules Connecticut can transfer money to the state’s general fund that was originally collected from utility ratepayers for efficiency and clean energy programs. (Bloomberg, subscription required)
• A New York county enacts a residential energy tax, expected to cost average homeowners $6 a month, to offset a $100 million budget deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (Syracuse.com)

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EMISSIONS: Pennsylvania business leaders tell legislators the economy will suffer if the state joins a regional emissions trading compact, despite numerous reports showing the opposite. (Pennsylvania Business Report, Energy News Network archive)

NATURAL GAS: An attorney representing Pennsylvania gas leaseholders says landowners royalties have dropped due to low prices and weakened demand. (Observer-Reporter)

OFFSHORE WIND: A virtual symposium with European offshore wind experts discusses the biological impacts American sites will observe as the technology gains a greater foothold in the Northeast. (The Sun)

PIPELINES: Columbia Gas is fined $53 million and ordered to be sold for its fatal gas explosion in Massachusetts in 2018. (Masslive.com)

STORAGE: Stakeholders endorse eight storage projects submitted by Maryland utilities in response to a state-supported pilot program. (Utility Dive)

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CLIMATE: Two Massachusetts cities become the first in the state to pass resolutions calling on insurance companies to stop investing in or providing coverage for fossil fuel interests. (news release)

COMMENTARY:
• A faith leader says carbon pricing would be an effective way to address the disproportionate health impacts in environmental justice communities. (City Limits)
• An environmental advocate says opponents of New Jersey’s clean energy plans hide their agenda of protecting fossil fuel interests while purportedly supporting consumers. (NJ.com)