Pennsylvania takes on PJM’s data center challenge

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.

DATA CENTERS

• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s executive order promises to reward data center developers who build their own power sources — a step grid operator PJM Interconnection had proposed its member states undertake. (Canary Media)

SOLAR

• Maryland announces a 20-year deal to purchase 250 GWh of solar power annually from a project planned for a reclaimed coal mine in the western part of the state. (news release, E&E News)

• The Connecticut Siting Council has pushed off a decision over a 50-MW solar project after the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other stakeholders raise environmental and traffic concerns. (Hartford Business)

• A bill in the Pennsylvania legislature would allow for the development of community solar projects in the state. (TribLive)

BATTERIES

• U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits Lincoln, Maine, to promote Form Energy’s planned battery storage facility on a shuttered paper mill. (News Center Maine)

STORAGE

• The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities looks to procure another 150 MW of energy storage as it seeks to meet the state’s goal of 2 GW by 2030. (news release)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Convenience store chain Wawa is installing its own brand of EV chargers at eight Pennsylvania locations, adding to Tesla and other chargers at its stores. (Delaware Business Now)

OVERSIGHT

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) names former state Public Service Commission chair Audrey Zibelman to lead the board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. (E&E News)