Really big batteries in New England

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.

STORAGE

• A 250-MW battery in Massachusetts takes the record for New England’s largest, though accelerating storage development in the region means it is unlikely to hold the title for long. (Canary Media)

WIND

• A newly uncovered Interior Department document indicates the administration plans to tap the Judgment Fund — a pot of public money typically intended to help agencies cover legal settlements — to pay TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion to abandon two offshore wind leases. (Heatmap)

• The first of 84 planned turbines has been installed at Sunrise Wind, New York’s second offshore wind project. (OffshoreWind.biz)

• New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) avoids laying out plans for offshore wind development — once a cornerstone of the state’s clean energy policy — while discussing her goals for nuclear, solar, and storage. (Gothamist)

GRID

• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) repeats his threat to pull the state out of the PJM Interconnection if the grid operator does not implement reforms to rein in soaring prices. (Spotlight PA)

• Maryland utilities file a second round of virtual power plant plans totalling 440 MW after regulators rejected the first batch of proposals last fall. (Utility Dive)

NATURAL GAS

• A pair of New York land owners file a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on fracking, saying it unfairly prevents them from extracting resources from their property. (E&E News)

• New York delays implementing a law that would require new gas customers to pay for their own hookups, rather than passing the cost on to all ratepayers. (News 10)

DATA CENTERS

• Several bills pending in the Pennsylvania state legislature could undermine local communities’ ability to say no to data center developments, advocates say. (Inside Climate News)

• Nearly two-thirds of New Jersey voters support a temporary moratorium on data center development in the state. (E&E News)

SOLAR

• Maine is now the state with the highest per capita distributed solar capacity, with growth driven heavily by community solar development, according to a new report. (PV Magazine)

• Makers of small, plug-in solar systems are starting to sell their products in Maine ahead of the July 15 effective date for a new law allowing residents to install such panels. (PV Magazine)

• Officials in Pittsburgh approve plans for a solar farm that is expected to generate enough power to offset the electricity consumption of four of the city’s public schools. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

UTILITIES

• Federal regulators give New England utilities an extra year to return $1.5 billion in overcharges to customers, a month after ruling the utilities had been seeking too high a rate of return. (Boston Globe)