NATURAL GAS: Massachusetts lawmakers consider legislation that would require proposals to expand natural gas service to consider climate impacts and whether there are “less costly or less polluting alternatives.” (Boston Herald)

ALSO: Residents of a Pennsylvania community are seeking answers as chemicals used in fracking are suspected in a spike of cancer cases. (The Guardian)

SOLAR: 

WIND: 

BUILDINGS: Rhode Island lawmakers weigh competing bills to measure emissions from buildings, which advocates say will be critical to reducing the sector’s climate impact. (Rhode Island Current)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

TRANSPORTATION: 

GRID: Developers of New England’s first utility-scale standalone energy storage facility say they have secured financing for construction. (Renewable Energy World)

UTILITIES: Maryland regulators reject a multi-year rate increase proposed by an Exelon subsidiary, saying that front-loading capital expenses “undermines regulatory review, and shifts risks to customers.” (Utility Dive)

COMMENTARY: The executive director of the Maine Port Authority defends the state’s decision to site an offshore wind staging facility at Sears Island, highlighting weaknesses of a competing site nearby. (Bangor Daily News)

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Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.