Vermont lawmakers pass 2035 renewable power bill

POLICY: Vermont lawmakers pass a bill making utilities purchase only renewably sourced power by 2035, though the governor is expected to veto the bill over cost concerns. (Seven Days)

ALSO: A top Connecticut Democrat says he intends to force a vote on two bills that Republican lawmakers want to block, including one that declares a climate crisis in the state. (CT Mirror)

FOSSIL FUELS:

• The identification and prioritization of which abandoned oil and gas wells to plug in Pennsylvania has taken on ​“new urgency” as the federal government directs hundreds of millions of dollars to plugging projects. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• ExxonMobil plans to close a New Jersey research facility by 2028 as it consolidates offices to its Houston headquarters. (My Central Jersey)
• Two engineers of an oil tanker plead guilty to charges related to dumped ​“oily waste” along the New Jersey coast and trying to cover it up. (NYDN)

SOLAR:

• Rhode Island lawmakers advance a bill to increase oversight of solar panel sales companies amid concern of deceptive sales tactics and a rise in consumer complaints. (Rhode Island Current)
• A Massachusetts town votes to instate a temporary moratorium on large solar and storage projects to give officials time to codify new rules and regulations around their development and operation. (Greenfield Recorder)

BUILDINGS: Pennsylvania lawmakers advance minimum appliance efficiency standards that would conserve enough energy to power more than 56,000 homes in a year. (WTAJ)

BIOENERGY: A trio of developers detail plans to bring a combined heat and power system to northern Maine that would be fueled by waste wood from the state’s forest industry and ​“enabled by super-critical carbon dioxide.” (Mainebiz)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Six newly installed electric vehicle fast chargers at a New York City wastewater facility help the city reach 2,000 municipal chargers. (news release)

TRANSIT: Although New York City is poised to kick off traffic congestion pricing next month, similar ideas in Boston are having a tough time getting off the ground. (Boston Globe)

WIND: The head of an anti-wind group files an open meetings law complaint against Nantucket over a wind development working group’s meeting that she says should’ve been public. (Nantucket Current)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: New York energy officials grant $175,000 to a Finger Lakes-area town to help it continue undertaking renewable energy and decarbonization projects. (Finger Lakes Times)

COMMENTARY:

• A Consumer Energy Alliance executive says pending Connecticut legislation focused on helping a nuclear facility stay open ​“could be good” for state residents, but has elements that need improvement. (CT Mirror)
• A proposal within Connecticut’s omnibus climate bill to set an electric heat pump installation target will help reduce reliance on home heating oil and lower consumer costs, a Sierra Club committee chair writes. (CT Mirror)
• A Pennsylvania editorial board argues that in cases where abandoned oil and gas wells are located on land no longer owned by the driller, the new owners should bear much of the cost of remediation, but the state should help pay too. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)