PA Environment Digest Blog: Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

-- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution [It’s Not A Suggestion]

Senate Voting Schedule

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 20, 21, 22

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

March. 23, 24, 25

April 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

March 16-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2223 (Fiedler-D- Philadelphia) advanced transmission technologies, House Bill 2225 (Davidson) virtual power plants [Draft Bill]. Room G-50 Irvis Building. Noon to 2:30 p.m. Click Here to watch online.

March 18-- CANCELED. Rescheduled for April 30. DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov. (formal notice)

March 23-- House Energy Committee informational meeting on the PA Energy Development Authority. Room G-50 Irvis Building. 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

March 24-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2076 (Venkat-D-Allegheny) establishing a regulatory framework for geothermal energy for residential, commercial and industrial uses. Room B-31 Main Capital. 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

April 16-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting. Penn State, State College. 10:00. Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov.

-- DEP Invests $15.2 Million In Federal Fund To Support 15 Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Projects In 11 Counties; Next Grant Round Opens April 1 [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves Water Withdrawal Requests, Including An Increase For The Amazon Data Center In Luzerne County [PaEN]

-- PUC To Host March 19 Meeting Of PA Sustainable Energy Board [PaEN]

-- PUC Releases Management Efficiency Investigation Report On PECO Energy Company; Highlights Series Concerns With Customer Service Performance

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Conservation Works For Farms, But Congress Must Keep It Going In Federal Farm Bill Funding - By William Thiele, Butler County Dairy Farmer

-- KDKA: Rising Fuel, Fertilizer Prices Add To Tariffs And A Growing List Of Hardships For PA Farmers

-- Society Of Women Environmental Professionals Of Greater Philadelphia Accepting Applications For Grants To Groups, Programs Encouraging Girls & Women In Sciences, Engineering Or Environmental Fields [PaEN]

-- TribLive Editorial: Laurels To Fox Chapel Senior Kabeer Chopra For Organizing A Volunteer Recycling Network In Allegheny County

-- WHYY: No New Philly Anti-Dumping Initiatives In Mayor’s Budget Proposal

-- March 14 - Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- Post-Gazette - Mary Ann Thomas: After 3-Year Preservation Project, Tours Begin March 14 At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

-- Mountain Watershed Assn. To Hold March 23 & 24 Public Input Meetings On Youghiogheny River Conservation Plan (Part 2) In Allegheny, Westmoreland Counties [PaEN]

-- AP: Snow Geese Take Off For The Arctic In Mesmerizing Sunrise Display At Middle Creek Wildlife Area In Pennsylvania

-- PA Natural Heritage Program: New Fungus, Mushroom, Lichen Species Lists [PaEN]

-- Help Wanted: Allegheny County Dept. of Sustainability - Deputy Director For Outreach, Education

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Observer-Reporter: Group Protests A.I. Data Centers Outside Private Meeting In Washington County

-- Residents Protest Outside Invite-Only Meeting Between Washington County Commissioners, Developers, A.I. Data Center Reps [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Luzerne County Officials Still Revising Proposed A.I. Data Center Zoning Ordinance Covering 19 Municipalities

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader Guess Essay: PA Never Had A Plan To Prepare For A.I. Data Centers, We Need A Temporary Statewide Moratorium - By Bill Jones, Republican Candidate For PA House District 117

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: 20% Of Your Electric Bill Could Go To Electric Utility Profits

-- Scranton Times: PPL Utilities Profit Is Tops For Utilities In Northeast US

-- PA Capital-Star: Utility Profits Rise As Household Bills Soar, New Analysis Finds

-- Spotlight PA: Pennsylvania’s A.I. Data Center Boom, By The Numbers: 53 Data Center Proposals; State Could Lose $2 Billion In Tax Money; 800% Increase In PJM Power Costs

-- Utility Dive: PJM Now Using Ambient-Adjusted Transmission Line Ratings To Allow Fuller Use Of Line Capacity

-- Wall Street Journal: The Electric Grid Needs Huge Upgrades To Meet A.I. Data Center Demand, No One Knows Who Will Pay For Them

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- March 13: PA Average Gasoline Price Up 56 Cents/Gallon To $3.67 Since Feb. 27 [Still $3.79 at Sheetz In Harrisburg]

-- March 13: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.63 Ohio- $3.42 PA- $3.67

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98 Ohio- $2.79 PA- $3.11

-- TribLive: US DOE Secretary - $6 A Gallon Gasoline Not Ruled Out

-- Bloomberg: $5 Heating Oil Arrives In US In Latest Fuel Pain Point Resulting From President’s War On Iran

-- Financial Times: Iran War Causing Largest Disruption In History To Oil Supplies, Says IEA [PDF of Article]

-- Bloomberg: Brent Crude Oil Trades Above $100 As Iran Vows To Keep Hormuz Closed; US Issues 2nd Waiver To Allow Russia To Sell Oil

-- The Hill: The President - ‘When Oil Prices Go Up, We [Oil Companies] Make A Lot Of Money’