No images? Click here
EnergyPlatform.News(letter)
February 10, 2025
In this week’s edition of energy and environmental policy news across the states: Concerns grow over energy supply and demand in Colorado; U.S. LNG export growth faces tariff challenges; Florida’s defense of consumer choice to use plastic bags; a revised Mountain Valley Pipeline extension; microgrids gain traction in evolving energy policy; and the curious case of an out-of-state nonprofit’s energy misinformation campaign.
Plus: Commentary on the future of nuclear power and energy security.
Rising demand for electricity from electric vehicles, building electrification efforts, heat pump installment, and data center consumption, combined with the impending loss of generation capacity resulting from coal plant closures, is putting affordable, reliable energy at risk in Colorado.
Two new liquified natural gas export terminals opened on the Gulf Coast in December, and three more are under construction, paving the way for a potential surge in LNG exports – unless a trade war with China unfolds.
Since 2008, as part of a broader state trend of preempting local regulations, Florida has prohibited plastic bag bans at the local level.
And last year, proposed SB 1126 could have changed the language of this ban to be more restrictive, “expressly preempting” the regulation of “auxiliary containers,” or any reusable or single-use bag, cup, bottle or packaging, to the state. This year could present another opportunity.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC joint venture has applied with federal regulators to amend its plans for a natural gas transmission pipeline extension from Virginia to North Carolina and is aiming to start construction next year.
Texas has become a hot spot for microgrids, driven at least partly by concerns of power losses in bad weather, according to researchers with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
More businesses, including retailers like Buc-ee’s, are adding microgrids for backup power and to avoid downtime, much as they might have used a generator in the past.
A little-known, Seattle-based nonprofit is circulating misleading information to homes across Virginia, using direct mailers to tell recipients that wind and solar energy are cheaper and more reliable than natural gas.
As South Carolina lawmakers convene this month for the first regular session of the 126th South Carolina General Assembly, the state’s energy future takes center stage. Meeting the demands of residential and industrial growth will be a key legislative priority, and the discussion around energy policy presents a crucial opportunity for bold, forward-thinking leadership.
We’re adding news and commentary from
more states each week.
Support EnergyPlatform.News
by contributing to our nonprofit news operation.
Advertising inquiries:
[email protected]
News tips and ideas:
[email protected]
Guest column submissions:
[email protected]
