BIOMASS: Massachusetts rescinds a 2012 air quality permit for a planned 35 MW biomass power plant in Springfield, prompting celebration from opponents who said it would have been a public health and environmental threat. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

SOLAR:
• New England solar generation growth is threatened by interconnection costs for large solar projects that have skyrocketed in recent years coupled with an under-invested grid. (Energy News Network)
• An upstate New York business development association seeks a $500,000 federal grant for a planned solar panel manufacturing facility in Jefferson County. (NNY360)

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CLIMATE:
• Maryland’s environment secretary backs the state House’s version of a climate bill that detractors say is less aggressive than the original Senate bill. (Maryland Matters)
• Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King join a list of legislators who want to bolster regional greenhouse gas reduction programs and help build up similar new efforts. (Associated Press)

TRANSPORTATION:
• State agencies in Maine have until Dec. 30 to craft a “clean transportation roadmap” to recommend how the state can meet its electric vehicle adoption goal, following an executive order by Maine Gov. Janet Mills. (Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel)
• A new report calls for Massachusetts and the country as a whole to accelerate public vehicle fleet electrification and other public transit measures in order to safely return to the immense emission declines first seen in the early days of the pandemic. (MassLive.com)

UTILITIES: Burying utility lines is cost-prohibitive in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which can’t bury every utility pole anyway, according to a city-hired contractor. (Cape Gazette)

AGRICULTURE: A Maryland college student expands a regenerative agriculture project to mitigate climate change and help feed people in need of fresh produce. (Energy News Network)

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NATURAL GAS: Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey refiles legislation to block the construction of compressor stations that are used to export natural gas. (Patriot Ledger)

COMMENTARIES:
• New Jersey faces a looming crisis from unpaid utility bills that will require flexible, creative solutions, argues a utility assistance program leader. (ROI NJ)
• Policymakers must focus on environmental justice and community resilience as they look to economically rebuild from the pandemic and bolster their environmental goals, says a Massachusetts environmental advocate. (Newsweek)
• A New Hampshire consumer advocate and columnist says a state bill up for a vote this week would threaten ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs. (InDepth NH)

Bridget is a freelance reporter and newsletter writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. She compiles the Northeast Energy News digest. Bridget primarily writes about energy, conservation and the environment. Originally from Philadelphia, she graduated from Emerson College in 2015 with a degree in journalism and a minor in environmental studies. When she isn’t working on a story, she’s normally on a northern Maine lake or traveling abroad to practice her Spanish language skills.