Trump abandons whale protection measures

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.

WIND

• The Trump administration, which has often repeated baseless claims that wind turbines kill whales, is abandoning research and monitoring projects intended to protect these marine mammals. (Canary Media)

• Maine issues a draft request for proposals for onshore wind developments in the far north of the state. (Bangor Daily News)

EMISSIONS

• Six Democratic state senators in Pennsylvania join Republicans in voting to end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state pact that aims to reduce emissions for electricity generation; the repeal now heads to the House. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Democrat and Republican members of Congress from Maine to Florida oppose the Trump administration’s plans to open up offshore drilling: ​“The risk is far greater than the benefit.” (E&E News)

• The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirms a lower court ruling allowing work to begin on a widely opposed and repeatedly challenged wood-burning power plant first proposed in 2008. (The Shoestring)

SOLAR

• Massachusetts state senators consider automated permitting and other ways to speed solar installations in the state to maximize adoption before the expiration of federal tax credits. (WWLP)

AFFORDABILITY

• The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission announces it will investigate PPL’s proposed electric rate hike, suspending the increase for up to seven months. (Morning Call)

• Massachusetts’ energy and environment secretary says Canadian imports, energy efficiency, and renewable energy all have a role to play in containing rising power costs. (CommonWealth Beacon)

DATA CENTERS

• Pennsylvania legislators consider legislation that would require regulators to draft rules protecting consumers from increased costs as new data centers strain the grid. (WHYY)

• A New Jersey lawmaker proposes a measure that would impose a surcharge on data centers that use large amounts of electricity during times of peak demand. (WHYY)

• A Maryland state senator forms a coalition of state lawmakers to push grid operator PJM to make sure consumers aren’t left footing the bill for the growth of data centers in the region. (Baltimore Sun)

EFFICIENCY

• Maryland’s ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program is not on track to meet its targets for serving low-income households, a new report finds. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS

• Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse threatens to oppose bipartisan permitting reform legislation if the Trump administration continues to tank clean energy development. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY

• Though states have threatened to leave PJM, it is unlikely federal regulators would allow such a move or that generators would be interested in going along with such a plan, says a former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Utility Dive)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Chart: Solar is driving renewable energy to new heights around the globe — Dan McCarthy

• Why one Ohio couple is suing their city over rooftop solar fees — Kathiann M. Kowalski

• North Carolina mulls how to manage power demand from data centers — Elizabeth Ouzts