MD county officials disagree over launching climate lawsuit

CLIMATE: In Maryland, Baltimore County officials disagree as to whether they should follow the city of Baltimore in suing fossil fuel companies over climate change. (Baltimore Sun)

OFFSHORE WIND: Commonwealth Wind says it will move forward with its submitted power purchase agreement after Massachusetts regulators’ decide not to suspend the contract. (Reuters)

GEOTHERMAL: Dandelion Energy appears to have quietly exited the Vermont market, roughly a year and a half after kicking off its geothermal heat installation business in the state. (Electrek)

SOLAR:
• A Boston developer gets the go-ahead to begin construction on a 152 MW solar farm in Maine’s Kennebec County. (PV Magazine)
• New York regulators work to identify tools they could use to force utilities to tackle community solar billing issues. (River Reporter)

BIOGAS: UGI Corp. and Cayuga RNG announce plans for a biogas facility at an upstate New York dairy farm scheduled for an early 2024 completion. (UPI)

MINING: In northern Maine, geologists discover a large deposit of rare minerals needed for electric and hybrid vehicles, among other consumer technologies. (Maine Public Radio)

BUILDINGS:
• Climate activists want Massachusetts’ governor-elect to support updated building codes encouraging net-zero developments, which she fought as attorney general. (Boston Herald)
• Outdated insulation may leave Philadelphians living in older homes with higher heating bills this winter. (Fox29)
• In New York City, a developer says it plans to only use renewable energy to power the city’s first all-electric residential tower. (news release)

COAL: The steel frame of a former coal plant in Burlington, Vermont, is the visual centerpiece of a multi-use waterfront area under development. (VTDigger)

AFFORDABILITY:
• Maine regulators authorize Versant Power to increase its standard-offer power supply rate by 41%, raising the typical home’s monthly bill by almost $24. (Portland Press Herald)
• Pennsylvania regulators warn that electric utilities’ standard offer prices are rising across the state starting in December, with some shooting up 34%. (CBS Pittsburgh)

NUCLEAR: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory receives over $12 million from federal energy officials to push forward nuclear fusion pilot projects. (news release)