Massachusetts goes big on batteries

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

STORAGE

• Strong state policy has helped Massachusetts to build battery storage for more than a decade, though interconnection costs and community opposition pose threats to future development. (Canary Media)

POLITICS

• The Trump administration’s renewed attacks on offshore wind could siphon essential Democratic support away from the Senate’s energy permitting reform bill. (Canary Media)

DATA CENTERS

• Vineland, New Jersey, residents file a notice of intent to sue a 300-MW DataOne data center over its use of unpermitted natural gas generators — something state regulators already fined the company $1 million over. (WHYY)

AFFORDABILITY

• Some Vermonters push regulators to reject Green Mountain Power’s request to raise power prices, especially as more residents turn to electricity for heating and to power appliances. (Seven Days)
• New Jersey will redirect $500 million in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to help ease rising power bills. (RTO Insider)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Bangor, Maine’s bus storage facility will get a $10 million renovation that will lay the groundwork for electric charging infrastructure as the city transitions to hybrid and fully electric buses. (Bangor Daily News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• A Connecticut energy expert says the Trump administration’s release of heating oil from the Northeast’s reserve is too small to make a significant dent in prices. (CT Insider)
• The Sierra Club is fighting a natural gas pipeline replacement that’ll run to Cape Cod, saying its size could double the capacity of gas that can flow to the area. (CTPublic)
• Vermont officials approve $15.3 million in home heating oil assistance for income-qualified residents. (VTDigger)

NUCLEAR

• A Vermont utility regulator suggests that a small modular reactor may be a good use for the former Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which shut down its 600-MW reactor back in 2014. (Brattleboro Reformer)

SOLAR

• The New Jersey Senate passes a bipartisan bill that would make it easier for community solar arrays being built on undesirable land to include additional parcels to expand their capacity. (news release)
• Harpswell Community School in Maine is finalizing construction of a rooftop solar array that will generate power that’s sold back to Central Maine Power in exchange for power bill credits. (Portland Press Herald)

NEW FROM CANARY

• This group-buy campaign makes it easier to switch to induction cooking — Elizabeth Ouzts