Route for Maryland transmission line unveiled

TRANSMISSION: Energy company PSEG unveils the proposed route for a controversial 70-mile transmission line in Maryland that has drawn opposition from landowners, farmers, and environmental advocates. (Maryland Matters)

ALSO: New England states plan to seek proposals to increase north-to-south transmission capacity to avoid an overload from offshore wind coming online by 2035. (RTO Insider, subscription)

NATURAL GAS:

• Production of renewable natural gas is growing in Maine, but opponents argue the fuel is not as environmentally friendly as supporters claim. (Maine Public)
• Restaurants, home builders, and unions are challenging a Maryland county’s ban on the use of gas appliances in new construction. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)

CONSUMER PROTECTION: Lawmakers and advocates are confident a Maryland consumer protection law regulating energy retailers will survive legal challenges by power supply companies. (Inside Climate News)

OFFSHORE WIND: A joint venture between National Grid and a German utility proposes a 2.8-GW wind farm off Long Island, the largest offshore wind project ever proposed to New York regulators. (Maritime Executive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Maryland regulators tell utilities to pause a program using ratepayer funds to install electric vehicle chargers at government buildings, citing concerns about low usage and maintenance problems. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)
• A community college in western Massachusetts holds an event to promote careers in the electric vehicle industry and hosts test drives. (MassLive, subscription)

POLITICS:

• Presidential candidates’ efforts to seem supportive of fracking are infuriating residents of a Pennsylvania community where the extraction process has contaminated water. (The Guardian)
• In New York, advocates worry that neither presidential candidate is likely to crack down on cryptocurrency mining operations that keep their private fossil fuel-fired power plants running constantly. (City and State New York)
• Pennsylvania groups are among those asking both presidential candidates to commit to continued funding to help revitalize the economies of former coal communities. (Allegheny Front)

GRID:

• A New York electric cooperative receives $27 million in federal funding to improve grid resilience in several counties. (news release)
• A small Vermont electric department is using hungry goats as a fossil-fuel-free way to manage vegetation around transmission lines. (news release)