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EnergyPlatform.News(letter)

February 3, 2025

In this week’s edition of energy and environmental policy news across the states: A closer look at the life cycle, benefits and costs of solar panels; Pennsylvania carries the energy load for PJM states; Texas’ water supply worries; Colorado’s quiet economic reliance on oil and gas; and Florida’s struggle to control wild hogs.

Plus: Commentary from key voices on policies affecting energy and the environment.

EnergyPlatform.News [[link removed]] Closer look: The life cycle, benefits and costs of solar panels [[link removed]]

Recent advances in solar technology have driven down the cost of panels while increasing efficiency. These same innovations are also creating new environmental challenges that raise questions about the costs and benefits of expanding solar and underscore the tradeoffs that factor into every energy policy decision.

Why it matters [[link removed]]

Pennsylvania, PJM’s workhorse, carries the energy load in the East [[link removed]]

Pennsylvania continues to export more of its electricity than any other state in the nation, while Virginia now imports more energy than any other, federal data shows [[link removed]]. The dynamic highlights the flow of electricity across the grid in PJM, the regional transmission organization coordinating wholesale electricity across much of the Mid-Atlantic [[link removed]].

The only other states within PJM’s 13-state territory to generate more electricity than they consume: Illinois, West Virginia and Michigan.

Why it matters [[link removed]]

Texas’ thirst for economic growth raises water supply worries [[link removed]]

Texas must get serious about its future water needs, spending steadily and smartly to protect its massive economy from the high likelihood of a devastating drought, an influential state think tank argues in a recent study.

Learn more [[link removed]]

Colorado’s quiet economic reliance on oil and gas [[link removed]]

Colorado has steadily built a public reputation for embracing the renewable energy and battery, storage and grid modernization sectors, but oil and gas have quietly remained a powerful employer and critical economic engine.

More details [[link removed]]

Florida looks to rein in invasive wild hogs [[link removed]]

They’re called wild hogs, feral hogs and razorbacks – an invasive species that’s been a huge problem in Florida, all over the Southeast and beyond.

But while six states, led by Texas, are now using contraceptive-laden food to help control the wild hog population, Florida is still working to get on that list.

Why it matters [[link removed]]

Romito: If you like food, then you should like natural gas [[link removed]]

The relationship between natural gas and agricultural productivity is a vital yet often overlooked aspect of modern farming. In short, we are now producing far more with far less.

Over the past century, the U.S. has seen remarkable agricultural output growth, largely thanks to technological advancements and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, which rely heavily on natural gas.

Read more [[link removed]]

In case you missed it

How a rural co-op is trading coal for solar, battery storage [[link removed]]

California surrenders in its fight to mandate electric heavy trucks [[link removed]]

State energy data at a glance, and other data resource [[link removed]]

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