Massachusetts wants to streamline community choice aggregation

UTILITIES: Massachusetts officials propose policy solutions to address a bureaucratic backlog that municipal leaders and clean energy advocates say is bogging down community choice aggregation — one of the state’s top drivers of clean electricity purchases. (Energy News Network)

GRID:

• The top official at New England’s grid operator tells Congress members they need to more effectively regulate the natural gas industry to increase grid reliability. (CommonWealth Magazine)
• Delmarva Power & Light seeks public comment on its plan to rebuild a 7.6-mile stretch of a 138 kV transmission line between Dorchester and Wicomico counties. (news release)

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TRANSIT:

• Federal officials grant Maryland $20.4 million to improve Baltimore-area rail system reliability and upgrade three locomotives at the Port of Baltimore with battery-electric models. (news release)
• A new report details the extremely high emissions stemming from billionaires’ private jet travel at Massachusetts’ Hanscom Airfield, which is considering an expansion to accommodate even more trips. (Boston Globe)
• A central Maine anti-poverty organization didn’t have enough resources to serve predetermined transit routes, so it transitioned to an on-demand microtransit model that has proved popular. (Kennebec Journal)

COAL: Young people of color are fighting a coal terminal that blows coal dust around their south Baltimore neighborhood, building on the success of earlier peers who stopped a waste incinerator from being constructed. (NPR)

HYDROPOWER: A Pennsylvania city council will soon vote on whether to contract with a New England hydroelectric firm to build a facility to generate around 4,800 mWh annually. (Lehigh Valley Live)

FLOODS:

• In New England’s most urbanized watershed, a Massachusetts town that faces frequent flooding during rain storms builds a series of ponds to mimic nature and soak up excess stormwater. (WBUR)
• As Vermont’s cold winter approaches, many residents are still struggling to recover and rebuild from this summer’s floods. (E&E News)
• An urban design and climate expert discusses how New York City’s landscape infrastructure needs to enter a new era of climate adaptation and resilience to prevent harm during flood events. (Gothamist)

BUILDINGS:

• A developer enters the next building phase of what will become a 900-unit neighborhood of net-zero, single-family homes in South Burlington, Vermont, that share a microgrid and have no fossil fuel equipment. (Seven Days)
• Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont join several other states to sue the U.S. EPA over claims of outdated wood stove regulations and lax oversight. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• A Vermont housing nonprofit begins constructing its first duplex, utilizing panelized construction for greater energy efficiency. (Valley News)
• The University of Vermont has converted its environmental and natural resources center into the college’s first net-zero building. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Maryland’s Howard County becomes the county with the third-most electric vehicle registrations in the state as more drivers make the switch. (Baltimore Sun)

FOSSIL FUELS: A group of landscapers sues Montclair, New Jersey, to stop a gas-powered leaf blower ban set to take effect in two weeks. (NorthJersey.com)

CLIMATE: A new study suggests that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will make Pennsylvania’s poison ivy leaves bigger and more toxic. (WESA)