Megawatts for Maryland

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.

CLEAN ENERGY

• The Maryland Energy Administration opens up a $200 million grant program to benefit solar, wind, and battery storage projects that have already taken some steps toward development. (WYPR)

GRID

• Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and other states with spare grid capacity in the winter could potentially lower residential power rates by bringing more heat pumps online, according to a new RMI analysis. (Canary Media)

CLIMATE

• New York’s attorney general will appeal two federal court rulings that struck down the state’s climate superfund law, which would force fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change-related damages. (Times Union)

SOLAR

• The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources announces a $9.3 million project that will see two solar carports, a battery storage system, and EV chargers installed at the state’s Capitol. (Rhode Island Current)
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads more than 100 Congress members in demanding that the Trump administration restore $7 billion in withheld Solar for All funding. (news release)
• Bethesda, Maryland, community solar company Neighborhood Sun Benefit Corp. acquires a similar company based in New York. (Baltimore Banner)

UTILITIES

• Pennsylvania utility regulators partially reject FirstEnergy Pennsylvania’s proposed change to the commonwealth’s competitive electricity marketplace, even though consumer advocates supported the new rule and said it could save customers money. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• Baltimore Gas and Electric customers push back against the utility’s proposed $156 million rate increase during a hearing with the Maryland Public Service Commission. (CBS News)

POLITICS

• Debates between candidates in Maine’s U.S. Senate race have repeatedly focused on the cost of heating homes with oil versus electric heat pumps. (Inside Climate News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials recommend that South Portland ramp up air monitoring at a petroleum terminal after a state study finds high benzene levels in the area. (WMTW)

DATA CENTERS

• While Pennsylvania’s House passed a bill that would bar data centers from obtaining public utility status, it’s unlikely to become law before the legislature concludes its session. (WITF)
• Ahead of New Hampshire’s next legislative session, lawmakers have preliminarily filed for state assistance in shaping at least two bills that would place a moratorium on data center construction. (New Hampshire Bulletin)