Power plant approved for ​“overburdened” NJ neighborhood

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POWER PLANTS

• Officials greenlight a new gas-fired power plant in a heavily industrial New Jersey neighborhood that is already home to three other generation facilities, despite tearful pleas from residents citing high incidence of childhood asthma and other public health risks. (Inside Climate News)

• A group of 12 advocacy organizations sue the Trump administration in an attempt to reverse an order giving nearly 70 coal-fired power plants, including some in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, an exemption from certain EPA regulations on the emissions of mercury and other pollutants. (E&E News)

• The EPA’s proposal to roll back rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants could affect air quality in Maine, as the state is downwind from many such facilities. (Maine Public)

SOLAR

• New Jersey lawmakers advance legislation to expand the state’s community solar capacity by 50%, with the goal of helping residents rein in high utility bills. (Gothamist)

• A 7.2-MW solar canopy installation recently completed at the Port of Newark in New Jersey will meet half of the facility’s annual power needs without obstructing daily operations. (NJBIZ)

• A proposed 5,000-panel solar array in a Baltimore suburb draws vocal opposition from local residents who fear the development would lower their property values and compromise the town’s rural character. (Baltimore Sun)

• A new community solar array in Delaware, funded in part by federal tax credits, will serve 750 local residents, lowering their electricity rates and boosting in-state power generation. (WHYY)

PUBLIC HEALTH

• When a malfunction at a Delaware refinery caused it to emit high levels of sulfur dioxide for more than two weeks, state officials said the gas never posed a public health risk, but environmental experts question whether air quality monitors can capture the whole picture for the affected area. (WHYY)

NATURAL GAS

• Maryland residents who want new gas service to their homes will now have to pay for the connection, as public utilities regulators decide the old system of free or reduced-price hookups is at odds with the state’s climate goals. (Baltimore Sun)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Pennsylvania EV drivers could end up paying more than $600 annually — double the average gas tax expenditure — if both the state and the federal government impose proposed fees on electric vehicles. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

DECARBONIZATION

• New York’s Tompkins County reduced its use of natural gas in county facilities by 32% from 2023 to 2024, though its overall energy spending still rose because of soaring energy prices. (Ithaca Voice)

WORKFORCE

• A Massachusetts technical high school receives a $1 million grant to launch a clean energy career training program. (Patch)

COMMENTARY

• Massachusetts must build more battery storage capacity if it is to meet its climate goals, despite opposition facing some proposed projects, says the head of a regional clean energy organization. (Telegram and Gazette)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Clean energy advocates and companies wrestle with the failure of an Illinois bill that would’ve incentivized energy storage and other power grid investments, Kari Lydersen reports.

• After years of delay, Ohio utility regulators are set to determine whether FirstEnergy will have to pay penalties exceeding half a billion dollars in response to the HB 6 power plant bailout scandal, Kathiann M. Kowalski reports.

• The EPA’s proposed rollback of power plant emissions rules threatens to have severe health and climate consequences, though a long legal road still lies ahead, Kathryn Krawczyk reports.