Pennsylvania driller declares itself safe; advocates have questions

OIL & GAS: As a natural gas company declares its drilling operations ​“pose no public health risk” in a self-monitoring partnership with a Pennsylvania agency, advocates say the company’s report is full of omissions and that the state’s process ​“boggles the mind.” (Inside Climate News)

CLIMATE: Scientists delay a geoengineering project that would measure the impact of dumping sodium hydroxide into the ocean, two days after a federal agency warns of impacts on marine species. (Boston Herald)

GRID:

• A cryptocurrency firm sues New York regulators over its order to close its Finger Lakes peaker plant, which the company is using primarily to operate data centers. (Water Front)
• Vermont utilities celebrate the completion of a 3 MW battery storage facility on the northern edge of the state. (VT Digger)
• Plans for a solar project on a New York landfill are scrapped after a state agency determines upgrades to a nearby substation would be cost-prohibitive. (Ithaca Voice)
• New York regulators order utilities to ​“develop a framework for proactively planning” for grid upgrades needed to support electrification. (news release)

UTILITIES:

• A Maine paper products factory says a new fixed charge on its monthly bill related to a state solar program will force it to close. (Bangor Daily News)
• Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel seeks to reopen rate cases for Eversource and United Illuminating amid customer outrage over charges related to nuclear power and electric vehicle chargers. (Hartford Courant, subscription)
• A New York congressman calls for an investigation after a report finds disparities in the delivery charges that customers pay for natural gas. (WABC)

EQUITY: A pilot program in New York will cap electricity costs at no more than 6% of household income for 1,000 participants. (Staten Island Advance, subscription)

WIND: During a visit to Cape Cod, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey meets with protesters opposing transmission connections for offshore wind farms; opponents of a similar project in New Jersey are hosting a public meeting tonight. (WCAI, Shore News Network)

SMART METERS: A small group of opponents pushes for legislation allowing Pennsylvanians to opt out of smart meter installations, citing health concerns that experts say have no basis in science. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

BUILDINGS: Developers last week broke ground on New Hampshire’s first net-zero housing project aimed at middle-class buyers. (NHPR)

COMMENTARY: An editorial board says a Maryland beach town’s opposition to offshore wind is motivated by politics, not facts. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)