Pennsylvania EV charger funds at risk

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

FEDERAL FUNDING

• Pennsylvania has forged ahead with plans to install high-speed EV chargers along highways, though its plans to deploy 91 charging stations are at risk from federal attempts to pull back committed funding. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• New Hampshire farmers face uncertainty as promised federal funds for solar installations and conservation practices are paused by the Trump administration. (Concord Monitor)

• The Inflation Reduction Act has brought more than $1.33 billion in spending to Pennsylvania and created some 4,700 jobs, but a new report finds annual household energy costs could go up by $60 if its tax credits and funding are repealed. (Public News Service)

• Pennsylvania has plugged 300 abandoned gas and oil wells to avert possible methane leaks, but some $400 million in promised federal funding for future work remains up in the air. (Spotlight PA)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Maryland legislators consider a bill to require the clean-up of coal ash dump sites, which can leach heavy metal into the groundwater, as the Trump administration considers rolling back Biden-era cleanup rules. (Maryland Matters)

• New York lawmakers reintroduce a bill that would require retailers selling gas stoves to display signs warning that the appliances can cause or worsen respiratory illness. (Gothamist)

UTILITIES

• A newly filed and swiftly moving bill in the Connecticut legislature would prohibit companies like Eversource and United IIlluminating from owning both gas and electric utilities and limit the profits they can make. (CT Mirror)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• A New York lawmaker proposes giving school districts more time before they are prohibited from buying diesel buses and allowing them to phase in deployment of buses after a feasibility analysis. (E&E News)

HYDRO

• A planned Pennsylvania hydroelectric facility that would flood 580 acres is being challenged in court by opponents who say the project would damage the ​“natural and historic Susquehanna River landscape.” (Bay Journal)

LITHIUM

• In Maine, where a significant lithium deposit was discovered several years ago, Democratic legislators want to add stricter environmental and health rules for mining the metal, while Republican lawmakers push for exemptions to existing regulations. (Maine Morning Star)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• A year-old Duke Energy program hasn’t helped as many poor North Carolina customers pay their bills as expected, but clean energy advocates say it still has big potential, Elizabeth Ouzts reports.

• Jeff St. John details new smart grid technology from Span: An easy-to-install electric panel that can help utilities better manage EVs, solar panels, and other distributed energy resources.