Small Vermont town unites against solar farm

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.

SOLAR

• A small Vermont town that already hosts 20 wind turbines is fighting a plan to build a 5-MW solar farm in a vacant hayfield, raising questions about how to balance the desire for clean energy with concerns about community character. (Canary Media)

NATURAL GAS

• The Trump administration again delays the closure of the natural gas- and oil-fired Eddystone power plant in Pennsylvania. (Reuters)

• Environmental groups file a lawsuit against a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision regarding the planned Constitution Pipeline, an all-but-abandoned project revived by the Trump administration’s support for fossil fuels. (E&E News)

• A key state senator in Massachusetts proposes phasing out a program that encourages natural gas companies to replace leak-prone pipes, saying the incentive is now costing consumers too much. (New Bedford Light)

EMISSIONS

• A New Jersey utility regulator defends the state’s participation in a cap-and-trade program meant to lower emissions from power generation, even as opponents argue the initiative is likely to increase costs for consumers in coming months. (E&E News)

ELECTRICITY

• All of New York state’s community choice aggregation programs — which negotiate power prices for entire towns, ideally at lower cost than the utilities — have ceased operation since the state ordered an evaluation of the rules governing such offerings. (Ithaca Voice)

• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore launches the process of creating ​“Megawatts for Maryland,” a clean-energy auction program aimed at lowering prices and boosting renewable energy generation. (CoastTV)

• A federal appeals court issues an injunction against a Maryland law that restricts electricity suppliers’ use of terms like ​“green” or ​“clean” energy unless the power meets certain requirements. (Maryland Daily Record)

GRID

• New England’s power plants burned oil to generate roughly 700 MW of power on Wednesday morning as record high temperatures strained the region’s grid. (Bloomberg)

• Grid operator PJM Interconnection will hold a backstop reliability auction intended to address rising demand from data centers in September, rather than waiting until the previously planned date in March. (Utility Dive)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Two Massachusetts port cities that were counting on the expected offshore wind boom for an economic boost are now struggling to change course as the wind industry struggles. (CommonWealth Beacon)

NUCLEAR

• Maine Maritime Academy introduces a major in nuclear engineering amid a resurgence of interest in nuclear power. (Penobscot Bay Press)

AFFORDABILITY

• The soaring cost of gasoline in Connecticut has some pushing for an overhaul of the state’s gas tax system. (CT Mirror)

METALS

• Boston Metals raises $75 million as it looks to decarbonize production of some critical metals, and will bring its Brazilian plant back online in September after an accident shut the facility down in January. (MIT Technology Review)