What happened to Vermont’s clean heat standard?

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.

CLEAN HEAT

• Politics, complex program design, and misinformation combined to defeat an effort to push Vermonters to transition away from using fossil fuels for home heating. (Canary Media)

POWER PLANTS

• A data center developer plans to buy and restart a former Maryland coal plant, though it is unclear what fuel the revived facility would use; the market monitor for grid operator PJM objects to the plan over concerns the resource would be removed from the regional market. (E&E News, Utility Dive)

• National Grid Ventures, an arm of the utility company, investigates possibilities for repowering a fleet of retired gas-fired power plants on Long Island. (E&E News)

AFFORDABILITY

• New York’s landmark climate law has become the center of debate as Gov. Kathy Hochul and others argue that implementing the decarbonization mandates would only drive energy prices higher. (New York Times)

• Massachusetts residents find soaring energy bills more worrisome than health care costs, housing, or grocery prices, a new survey finds. (MassLive)

SOLAR

• Connecticut officials approve a widely opposed plan to expand a solar installation in a town that already hosts some 25% of the state’s solar capacity; town leaders say they will challenge the decision. (NBC Connecticut)

• New Jersey utility regulators expand the state’s community solar program by 3 GW and select 24 MW of solar projects under its latest competitive solicitation, including one expected to be the country’s largest floating solar project. (Solar Power World)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• Maryland officials will lower a controversial inspection fee for public EV chargers after hearing concerns that the $150-per-port charge would damage the industry. (Maryland Matters)

GRID

• A New York state lawmaker introduces legislation that would require the state’s major utilities to create virtual power plants to enhance grid flexibility. (New York Focus)

TRANSMISSION

• Maryland state legislators consider a bill that aims to ensure landowners are compensated fairly if their property is taken by eminent domain for the construction of a very controversial transmission line planned for the state. (Baltimore Sun)

• A Maryland utility pauses plans for new transmission infrastructure in Baltimore after the state Senate president asks why the estimated cost has more than quintupled. (Baltimore Sun)