Pennsylvania unveils climate action plan

POLICY: Pennsylvania’s governor reveals a climate action plan that would see the state operate a carbon pricing program and make utilities buy half of their power from mostly carbon-free resources by 2035. (Associated Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• Maine legislators hold back a bill to halt expansion of natural gas infrastructure in favor of studies that contemplate the role of gas in the state’s energy future. (Energy News Network)
• Testing suggests fracking waste runoff from a Pennsylvania landfill is contaminating the soil in a community where plants are dying and unexplained illnesses are occuring. (Public Source)
• A Massachusetts startup aims to replace the hydraulic aspect of fracking with electric shocks that open up new pathways for fuels to flow. (Boston Globe)
• The Pennsylvania Game Commission has seen a financial windfall from oil and gas leases over the past two years, but falling natural gas prices mean less revenue for the agency. (Go Erie)
• Early evidence suggests an unregistered gas well was the cause of a fatal house explosion near Pittsburgh this week. (CBS News)

OFFSHORE WIND: Barnstable, Massachusetts, officials says it’s ​“inexcusable” that they don’t have a seat on the state’s clean energy siting and infrastructure panel despite its offshore wind projects. (Cape Cod Times)

FINANCE: Climate activists say Maine’s public workers retirement system isn’t doing enough to divest from fossil fuel investments despite a state law mandating divestitment by 2026. (Portland Press Herald)

SOLAR:

• One of the Pennsylvania lawmakers sponsoring a bill to support solar projects at state schools highlights the benefits of the legislation during a school tour. (Altoona Mirror)
• New York City considers a local bill that would require public buildings to install 100 MW of solar panels by the end of 2025. (Utility Dive)
• The State University of New York Niagara is seeking a developer for an up-to-6 MW solar farm. (Niagara Gazette)

GEOTHERMAL:

• A New York developer will install a geothermal HVAC system at an affordable public housing complex in southeast Washington, D.C., the city’s first large-scale community geothermal heat pump system. (Commercial Observer)
• New York City almost doubles the amount of staff it has on hand to enforce its building emissions law after advocates’ criticism. (City Limits)

WORKFORCE: A new report from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center finds the state’s clean energy workforce has grown to 48,176 jobs, an 80% increase over 2010. (news release)