The atmosphere inside Washington & Jefferson College’s Burnett Center was electric on Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy Ecosystem Conference.

The ever-evolving energy industry was the focus of a five-hour event at Yost Auditorium, presented by the college’s Center for Energy Policy & Management. There were 10 live speakers, plus a state employee who spoke via video because of the state budget impasse.

This was the fourth year in a row that CEPM organized an in-person conference on emerging energy topics.

There were topics galore Tuesday, ranging from political shifts, to rapidly rising energy demands to accommodate expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, and to the state striving to position itself to be a net exporter that can benefit economically.

Energy demands are a major concern, especially in this region and much of the nation’s northeast, where PJM Interconnection, the transmission grid for 13 states and the District of Columbia, is increasingly threatened with being stressed.

“There are concerns about power outages by 2030 if energy production lags,” said Gary Steinbauer, environmental attorney for Babst/Calland.

“We need backup sources to stay online and run 24/7 without interruption,” said Kevin Sunday, a consultant for energy, technology, infrastructure, and manufacturing policy with McNees Government Relations.

“Things have changed a lot,” Corey Young, director of CEPM, said while opening the program Tuesday morning. He was referring partly to shifts in federal policy and at the state level. Pennsylvania and the nation are in the midst of budget impasses.

Young introduced Adam Walters, senior energy adviser for the state Department of Community and Economic Development, as the opening speaker. Walters said on tape that DCED has listed five priority sectors based on its Economic Development Strategy for the state, and that energy is prominent among them. The others are agriculture, life sciences, manufacturing, and robotics and technology.

“Pennsylvania has abundant energy resources,” Walters said, as he posted a graphic declaring the state to be the second-largest energy exporter of natural gas in the nation, second in nuclear power-generation and having the third-largest power generation fleet.