New research boosts state efforts to make polluters pay

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CLIMATE

• New research refining the process of calculating how much individual polluters have contributed to climate change-related damages could bolster laws, like those in Vermont and New York, that seek to make fossil fuel companies pay for the impacts of their emissions. (New York Times)

• Mastercard announces plans to replace the natural gas heating at its New York headquarters with a geothermal system as part of its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040. (ESG Dive)

TARIFFS

• Vermont joins a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s tariffs, saying the fees are hurting residents because of the state’s reliance on natural gas; Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and New York are also part of the lawsuit. (NBC5)

ACTIVISM

• Maine workers and labor unions ask Congress to protect federal clean energy tax credits, which they say have driven the creation of thousands of good jobs in the state. (Maine Morning Star)

• Climate advocates stage a protest asking Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker to condemn the city gas utility’s membership in a lobbying group that has urged the federal government to reconsider funding for clean energy projects. (WHYY)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Offshore wind opponents in Maryland hope to take advantage of the anti-wind momentum created by the halt of the Empire Wind project to push for cancellation of a planned development off the Maryland coast. (WBOC)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• The number of electric vehicles on the road in Vermont jumped 41% in the last year, thanks in part to a concerted effort to build charging stations throughout that state. (VermontBiz)

DATA CENTERS

• Major power generation companies ask federal regulators to order settlement talks between the generators and grid operator PJM to resolve questions about the rules for co-locating data centers at power plants, which the generators say are currently unclear and inconsistent. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR

• New York state issues final approval for three new solar projects totalling 150 MW in capacity. (news release)

• Pennsylvania unveils its 30th public solar project, a 342-KW array on a canopy shading a picnic area in a state park. (PennLive)

COMMENTARY

• New York should double the cap on its solar tax credit to $10,000 and make the credit refundable, allowing lower-income residents to claim the money even if they don’t have a tax liability, argues a state legislator who has proposed a bill to make the changes. (City & State)