Pennsylvania ​“all in” on hydrogen hubs, governor declares

HYDROGEN: Pennsylvania’s governor says at a divisive public meeting that the state is ​“all in when it comes to the hydrogen hubs,” but environmentalists say the hard-to-reach location of the meeting shows a lack of interest in community engagement. (WHYY)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• Pennsylvania’s governor promotes the plugging of the 200th abandoned oil well since he took office, but there’s a long road ahead to plug the estimated 350,000 undocumented ones remaining across the state. (Butler Eagle)
• New York’s assembly advances a bill to ban drilling and fracking natural gas and oil with carbon dioxide, a process some fracking firms are had considered in the state. (Finger Lakes 1)

SOLAR: In New York, Niagara County’s environmental coordinator says the county’s solar panel recycling law is improving end-of-life panel management, but not all solar projects are complying. (Union-Sun & Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Some top Maine legislators want to strip power from a citizen board on vehicle emission standards and give it to themselves, but the NRDC says that would hurt clean car progress. (Portland Press Herald)
• A lack of public charging options continues to hinder electric vehicle adoption in New Jersey. (Asbury Park Press)
• An electric vehicle charging consultancy opens its new headquarters in Hanover, Maryland. (news release)

GRID: New Jersey lawmakers mull the potential impact of two bills, which would codify a gubernatorial order to have all electricity sales involve clean energy by 2035 and spend $300 million on grid upgrades. (RTO Insider, subscription)

POLICY:

• Several Maryland bills supporting the governor’s climate action plan are stuck in legislative committees, including solar installation incentives and a new fee on coal and natural gas transported by rail through the state. (WBAL)
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to launch a new climate change initiative aimed at connecting climate research to policymakers, but some students and observers worry the university will eventually turn to funding from fossil fuel firms. (Inside Climate News)
• North Yarmouth, Maine, begins forming its own climate action plan, following the steps of several neighboring towns in recent years. (The Forecaster)

STORMS: Massachusetts plans to appeal federal emergency management officials’ decision to not issue a major disaster declaration over the severe flooding that swept through the state in September. (Associated Press)

CLIMATE: The president of the New York Farm Bureau says his farmers support climate action but worry the push for electrification comes before electric farm equipment can handle the long hours required. (Spectrum News 1)

TRANSIT: Two Somerville, Massachusetts, council members plan to introduce a resolution to remove ​“unnecessary” parking spaces from new developments to help meet climate goals. (Boston Herald)