Maryland buildings may worsen air quality more than power plants

BUILDINGS: In Maryland, a new report drawn up by several nonprofits finds fossil fuel-fired appliances in homes and businesses may have a bigger impact on air quality than all of the state’s power plants. (Maryland Matters)

POLICY:

• Pennsylvania’s governor and his climate-focused working group haven’t come to a public consensus on whether the state will remain in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, leaving its future unclear. (Spotlight PA)
• As Maine prepares to vote on whether to form a public power authority with the assets of its investor-owned utilities, some question who would actually be in charge of operating a new system. (Portland Press Herald)
• Maine’s two investor-owned utilities have already spent over $29 million to beat down the public utility formation ballot initiative. (Portland Press Herald)

GRID: A Vermont utility asks state regulators to let it provide ratepayers with at-home batteries and to underground power lines to eliminate outages as it aims to improve grid reliability. (New York Times)

FOSSIL FUELS: A top drilling industry trade group expects economic activity around Pennsylvania’s natural gas production to continue at pace through 2050 but tight delivery options may curtail further growth. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• New Jersey regulators grant almost $13 million to expand electric vehicle charging availability at hundreds of locations across the state. (Daily Energy Insider)
• A Rhode Island-based electric seaglider company says it plans to operate a full flight crew on an operational prototype in 2024, inching it closer to the commercial market. (Boston Globe)
• In Maryland, the Annapolis Powerboat Show this past weekend showcased an electric hydrofoil boat that has primarily made its debut in Europe. (Baltimore Sun)

SOLAR:

• Developers say a 2.78 MWh solar farm at a former Superfund site in Old Bridge, New Jersey will begin operations in mid-November. (Patch)
• A Superfund site in Woburn, Massachusetts, is now home to a recently finished 4 MW solar farm. (news release)

COMMENTARY: A Rhode Island environmental reporter writes that the state’s fisheries and ocean-based tourism economy will suffer if southern New England’s coast continues to be among Earth’s fastest-warming marine waters. (ecoRI)