Pennsylvania’s waste coal problem

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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• Pennsylvania generates more energy from waste coal — a low-grade coal that needs to be burned in specialized plants and produces more greenhouse gas than conventional coal — than from solar arrays. (Inside Climate News)

• Brookfield, Connecticut is again challenging plans to build two additional gas-fired compressors along the natural gas pipeline that runs through town. (Hartford Courant)

• The Trump-hyped Freedom Fuel gas station network, which sells fuel at prices lower than market averages, owes $4 million to a supplier it never paid, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month. (NBC Philadelphia)

STORAGE

• Massachusetts-based battery recycling startup Nth Cycle receives a $100 million federal grant it will use to help fund construction of a refining facility in South Carolina. (Boston Globe)

DATA CENTERS

• A developer suspends plans for a massive data center in Delaware after the state legislature passes new, more restrictive rules governing such facilities. (Spotlight Delaware)

• At a hearing held by the Maine Data Center Advisory Council, commenters worry about the impact data centers would have on the state’s energy prices, water supplies, and forest ecosystems. (Maine Public)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Maryland awards $28.5 million to projects electrifying school bus fleets, expanding access to EV charging, and supporting medium- and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles. (news release)

TRANSMISSION

• A newly selected plan to build a 1.2-GW transmission line from northern Maine is under fire from some Republican lawmakers who say the plan will cost consumers too much for limited benefits. (Bangor Daily News)

UTILITIES

• Maryland regulators approve an electric rate increase by utility Pepco that is less than half of what the utility requested. (WTOP)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Massachusetts awards $700,000 to projects that will expand and improve the tree canopy in seven cities, reducing the urban heat island effect and reducing the need for residents to run air conditioners. (WWLP)