Rhode Island regulators discuss ban on new natural gas hookups

BUILDINGS: Rhode Island’s top utility regulator says a ban on new natural gas hookups may be necessary to meet the state’s climate goals: ​“If not tomorrow, then when?” (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Americans bought more heat pumps than gas furnaces last year, and programs in states like Maine and Massachusetts helped ignite sales. (Canary Media)

CLIMATE:
• As heat waves become longer and more frequent, New York lawmakers consider a bill to make employers provide heat relief options for truck drivers, landscapers, builders and other types of workers. (The City)
• Climate change is causing Maine’s late-winter ​“mud season” to arrive sooner and last longer. (Bangor Daily News)
• A sustainable jobs corps in New York City promotes and engages in energy efficiency, composting and urban gardening activities — and they’re hiring inexperienced people for $1,800 a month. (Gothamist)
• A Maine foundation grants almost $1.5 million to several projects across the state focused on climate change impacts in nearshore and marine ecosystems, including a salt marsh restoration and carbon sequestration effort. (Mainebiz)

HYDROGEN: Vermont joins numerous Northeast states in a bid to become a federally designated regional clean hydrogen hub. (WAMC)

GRID: As Massachusetts takes steps toward forming its own forward clean energy market to bolster its clean energy deployment, governance questions linger. (RTO Insider, subscription)

OFFSHORE WIND:
• Several New England states are opting for a joint bid for federal grid innovation funds to ensure offshore wind development helps maximize regional transmission assets, saves money and improves heating season reliability. (Wind Power Monthly)
• New Jersey officials expand a program providing paid research fellowships to university students for offshore wind industry careers. (NJ Biz)

OIL & GAS: An announcement that ten abandoned oil and gas wells in the Pittsburgh area had been plugged with federal funds highlights the enormity of the challenge of addressing tens of thousands of orphan wells around the country. (Bloomberg Law)

UTILITIES: Baltimore’s city council votes to issue subpoenas for data on the city’s conduit system revenue and costs as frustration grows over the mayor’s quietly arranged management agreement with the local utility. (Baltimore Sun)

TRANSPORTATION: In New York, officials in Long Island make progress on creating the Long Island Greenway, a proposed 175-mile bike path from Manhattan to Montauk. (East Hampton Star)

SOLAR: Washington, D.C. regulators issue a request for proposals that can demonstrate the benefits of advanced solar inverters. (news release)

MINING: A Maine university profiles a staff geologist whose works helped confirm the discovery of a major deposit of rare earth elements in Aroostook County’s Pennington Mountain. (news release)

NUCLEAR: U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is scheduled to join a celebration marking the opening of a new commercial fusion energy research center in Massachusetts today. (CommonWealth Magazine)