New York abandons ambitious climate targets

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.

CLIMATE

• New York’s Democrat-controlled state legislature passes a budget bill that rolls back some of the country’s most ambitious climate mandates and changes the way emissions are calculated to make it seem as if the state has made more progress. (Canary Media)

• A bill pending the New Jersey state legislature would require fossil fuel companies to pay an estimated $50 billion to help cover the costs of infrastructure improvements tied to climate change. (NJ.com)

DATA CENTERS

• New Jersey and Pennsylvania release plans to push data centers to pay for the construction of new power generation in attempts to keep the facilities from raising residential electricity rates. (WHYY, Inside Climate News)

• A developer withdraws an application to build a data center at a New Hampshire business park after a ​“whirlwind” of protest: ​“This community does not want this.” (New Hampshire Bulletin)

• Residents of a coastal town in northern Maine oppose a proposal for a tidal-powered underwater data center, expressing concerns about high energy demand and possible damage to wetlands. (Maine Monitor)

GEOTHERMAL

• As geothermal networks gain momentum nationwide, Massachusetts is establishing guidelines for how the new utility service should work, hopefully creating a model for other states to replicate. (Canary Media)

OFFSHORE WIND

• A Republican appropriations bill in the U.S. House calls for hefty inspection fees for offshore wind turbines, a proposal one expert says is ​“another direct effort to constrain the offshore wind industry.” (E&E News)

AFFORDABILITY

• New York’s newly passed budget bill also includes a plan to give about 8 million households rebates of $100 to $200 later this year to help offset high utility bills. (News 10)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Exxon Mobil shareholders approve a plan to move the company’s legal headquarters from New Jersey to Texas, where a law passed last year heightens legal protections for corporations. (Reuters)

• Massachusetts environmental regulators consider whether to tighten the cap on emissions of climate-warming methane from natural gas pipeline leaks. (CommonWealth Beacon)

NUCLEAR

• New Jersey state lawmakers advance a bill that would direct regulators to start soliciting bids for new nuclear power plants. (New Jersey Monitor)

TRANSPORTATION

• A controversial plan to expand hangar space at a Massachusetts air field — which advocates say would increase flights and therefore emissions — continues to face setbacks. (CommonWealth Beacon)

NEW FROM CANARY

• The tax credit cliff has hit EV sales hard — Dan McCarthy

• As geothermal networks grow, so does the call for a new utility model — Sarah Shemkus

• Charge your car at Menards? Its Illinois stores are adding EV ports. — Kari Lydersen