Work is underway to build Maine power line

TRANSMISSION: Access roads are being plowed and construction of a transmission line to import Canadian hydropower is expected to start next week. (Portland Press Herald)

ALSO: A town planning board in Maine approves a converter station considered a key part of the project. (Sun Journal)

POLITICS: The incoming head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is a New Jersey Democrat better known for healthcare issues and not aggressive on climate matters. (PV Magazine)

OFFSHORE WIND: PJM explores six scenarios to integrate 12 GW of offshore wind projects proposed along the mid-Atlantic. (RTO Insider, subscription required)

SOLAR: A Maryland county in the Washington, D.C suburbs will have its first community solar project this summer and three more are on the drawing board. (Capital Gazette)

NATURAL GAS: Republican Pennsylvania state senators sue a multi-state agency that regulates the Delaware River for imposing a de facto moratorium on natural gas development in sections of the Marcellus Shale region. (Reuters)

GRID: A stakeholder organization in New England releases a study that outlines ​“pathways” to develop a grid of the future that accommodates state clean energy goals and protects wholesale markets. (RTO Insider, subscription required)

NUCLEAR: A New York law to tax storage of nuclear waste at closed power plants could be a national model for states trying to recover revenue from plants that shut down. (Bloomberg Tax)

HEATING: The federal stimulus bill passed last month includes a tax credit for homeowners who install modern wood heating systems promoted by New Hampshire representatives and the timber industry. (NHPR)

EFFICIENCY: National Grid provides a $750,000 energy efficiency grant to an upstart New York ice cream manufacturer that is undergoing a major expansion. (The Observer)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says federal officials are correct to fund an innovative coal generator proposed for outside Pittsburgh that promises vastly reduced emissions. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• A lobstermen’s group in Maine says floating offshore wind platforms are ​“foolhardy” and environmentally damaging. (PenBay Pilot)