State climate laws stand up to Trump attacks

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

CLIMATE

• The Trump administration’s efforts to stop state-level climate policies like New York’s congestion pricing or Vermont’s climate superfund law will have a hard time succeeding thanks to a decades-long legacy of state and local climate action. (Grist)

SOLAR

• In Concord, New Hampshire, plans are underway for the development of a 6.7 MW solar array, which will sell most of its power to the city. (Concord Monitor)

• New York announces plans to build the world’s largest solar array on top of a wastewater recovery facility, including 10 MW of solar panels and 10 MW of battery storage. (news release)

TRANSMISSION

• A coalition of nine northeastern states introduces a strategic action plan for cooperation in the development of new transmission infrastructure across three different grid planning regions. (RTO Insider, Mass.gov)

STORAGE

• Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins joins forces with labor unions to attempt to protect federal funding for a storage project that would be the world’s largest multi-day battery development. (Bangor Daily News)

• Developers have withdrawn plans for a battery storage project in western Massachusetts following concerted opposition by local residents and officials worried about potential aquifer contamination. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

ELECTRIFICATION

• In Massachusetts, Eversource submits a proposal for a discounted winter rate for customers with heat pumps in an effort to make operating the equipment more affordable and urge greater adoption. (news release)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Though Connecticut has no coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration’s plans to bolster such facilities sparks concerns in the state, where pollution from other states’ burning of coal has long caused poor air quality. (CT Mirror)

• A group of northeastern utilities ask federal regulators to improve gas pipeline reliability by taking steps such as requiring annual reliability reports and requiring pipeline owners to reconsider closing pipelines that might still provide value as redundant facilities. (Utility Dive)

EFFICIENCY

• Maine will be able to move forward with the programs in its newly-approved three-year energy efficiency plan despite federal funding uncertainty, as it will use money from utility surcharges and the regional greenhouse gas credit market. (Maine Public)

DATA CENTERS

• A planned data center in Pennsylvania intends to generate most of its own power using existing, on-site natural gas wells. (TribLive)

COMMENTARY

• New England should accelerate its efforts to transition to clean energy to improve health outcomes for residents, a public health professor says. (Boston Globe)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• Republican lawmakers in several states have all sponsored bills to boost community solar, with supporters saying the policies are in line with free market and property rights principles, Alison F. Takemura reports.