MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Fri, Oct 24, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Google backs US gas power plant with carbon capture for Midwest data centers; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures settles lower on storage data; NERC president warns of ‘five-alarm fire’ for grid reliability; ProEnergy repurposes jet engines to power data centers amid gas turbine shortages; Pearson and CEWD partner to power future energy workforce; Surprised by leftwing radical rhetoric? Look closer at the climate movement; Climate out, affordability in; AI’s insatiable need for power is driving an unexpected boom in oil-fracking company stocks; Why Big Oil is asking EPA not to cut its polluter reporting program; INTERNATIONAL: Oil futures take flight on Russia sanctions; Next month in Brazil expect the climate cops to party, plot; China threat calls for ideologically free energy policy; Global total of renewable rejections hits 1,104.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS
Google backs US gas power plant with carbon capture for Midwest data centers
Reuters/Laila Kearney
Google has entered its first corporate agreement to purchase electricity from a U.S. gas-fired power plant utilizing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to fuel its Midwest data centers. This deal, with Low Carbon Infrastructure for the 400-megawatt Broadwing project in Decatur, Illinois, addresses the massive electricity demand from Big Tech’s expansion of generative AI. Expected to be operational in the early 2030s, the gas-fired plant will capture and permanently store about 90% of its CO2 emissions underground at an existing industrial site. Google views CCS as a crucial component for achieving around-the-clock clean energy, complementing its existing investments in advanced nuclear, geothermal, and hydropower. Both Google and Low Carbon Infrastructure plan to pursue additional CCS facilities in the U.S. [MDN: It wasn’t all that long ago that Google (and Microsoft, and Amazon, and Apple) wouldn’t touch power from gas-fired power plants, unless the gas was hydrogen. That’s changing. They’re finally beginning to face reality and drop the liberal foo foo stuff.]
NATIONAL
U.S. natural gas futures settles lower on storage data
Wall Street Journal
U.S. natural gas extends its retreat as last week’s storage build came in above expectations. “It appears that upside momentum might have run out over the past 24 hours, and today’s bearish storage data is helping to keep downward pressure on pricing,” Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. Natural gas in underground storage rose by 87 Bcf last week to 3,808 Bcf, extending the surplus over the five-year average to 164 Bcf from 154 Bcf the week before. An 81 Bcf injection was expected, according to a WSJ survey of analysts. “Only two weeks remain in the traditional injection season, but it would not be out of the question for storage to continue to grow through mid-November if weather cooperates,” Huenefeld adds. Nymex natural gas settled down 3.1% at $3.344/mmBtu. [MDN: At least we’re still well above the $3 mark, for a change.]
NERC president warns of ‘five-alarm fire’ for grid reliability
Utility Dive/Ethan Howland
A recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conference addressed the growing challenge of ensuring grid reliability amid the massive growth of data centers, which are estimated to use up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028. Though reliability is currently high, experts warn risks are mounting due to extreme weather, resource adequacy issues, and an “escalating toxic soup” of security risks. FERC leaders emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the construction and permitting of new energy infrastructure, including transmission and generation, to meet rising demand, as current reserve margins are deemed “not safe.” While this buildout is costly, solutions like integrated system planning, improved data analysis tools, and long-term contracts for large data center loads were proposed to improve efficiency and help mitigate cost burdens on ratepayers. [MDN: Jim Robb, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) said at the meeting: “We’re seeing … an increasing number of small scale events and near misses that continue to reinforce what we can’t call anything but a five-alarm fire when it comes to reliability.” In other words, more powergen is urgently needed, and the only thing that can provide it is natural gas.]
ProEnergy repurposes jet engines to power data centers amid gas turbine shortages
Data Center Dynamics/Zachary Skidmore
US energy solutions provider ProEnergy is repurposing retired jet engines to create gas turbines for data center power. These PE6000 turbines, made from retrofitting old General Electric CF6-80C2 jet cores, can supply 48MW each. The company has sold 21 turbines for two projects, totaling over 1GW, providing bridging power for five to seven years until permanent grid connection is secured. This solution addresses the limited gas turbine market and long wait times for new grid power, offering a 2027 delivery compared to backlogs stretching past 2029 for traditional turbines. After initial use, the units can transition to backup power or supplement the grid, extending their useful life. [MDN: How cool is that?! Use old jet engines as turbines because manufacturers of turbines can’t make them fast enough. Brilliant! Only happens in capaitalistic, free enterprise countries like the US of A. We love capitalism (and despise socialism)!]
Pearson and CEWD partner to power future energy workforce
Pearson
Pearson’s Connections Academy and the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) have partnered to create career-connected learning opportunities for students interested in the high-demand U.S. energy sector. The partnership aims to address the projected need for millions of new energy workers over the next decade, driven by factors like AI and data center expansion. A key component is the Energy Industry Fundamentals 2.0 (EIF 2.0) curriculum, a 120-hour virtual course that offers high school credit, foundational knowledge about energy careers, and an industry-recognized credential upon completion, giving students a competitive advantage for internships and jobs. This collaboration reflects a vision to equip students with skills relevant to the future of the energy workforce, spanning fossil fuels, renewables, engineering, and skilled trades. [MDN: Even education training giant Pearson is getting into the training game for fossil fuels. Can you feel the winds of change blowing? Those winds aren’t coming from windmills!]
Surprised by leftwing radical rhetoric? Look closer at the climate movement
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)/Chris Johnson
The article argues that the celebration of Charlie Kirk’s murder stems from a dangerous, long-standing anti-human streak within the left, especially its radical environmental wing. This ideology views human beings as the problem, believing that fewer people and less activity would improve the world—a perspective seen in the support of demographic decline and the casual dismissal of human life. The author highlights University of Pennsylvania Professor Michael Mann’s callous remarks mocking Kirk’s death as a prime example of this radicalism. The piece concludes by urging conservatives to stop ignoring the climate debate and to actively challenge the left’s “anti-human” narratives with free-market solutions and a more hopeful worldview, asserting that people are not the problem. [MDN: Excellent insights. These kinds of insights have been made for years. It reminds us of the Michael Crichton book titled “State of Fear,” published in 2004. The plot was about eco-terrorists who plot mass murder to publicize the danger of global warming. If you want a good read, get a copy. Although it’s fiction from 20 years ago, you’ll immediately recognize what’s happening today in its prophetic pages.]
Climate out, affordability in
Master Resource/Robert Bradley Jr.
The article argues that affordability has replaced climate as the primary focus in Democratic energy and climate discussions following their 2024 defeat, according to a Politico column. Author Robert Bradley Jr. highlights that the public is more concerned with reliability and cost than climate change, leading to “severe pushback” against climate advocates. The original messaging, which implied that embracing clean power would be expensive but necessary, has failed to gain traction now that promises of cheaper renewables are met with public skepticism. Bradley suggests that the “climate complex is in a messaging crisis” and advocates for free-market energy policies to replace what he calls “crony capitalism.” [MDN: We agree 100%. No more public money for unreliable renewables. Equally, no more public money for fossil fuel companies. We must end ALL crony capitalism, period.]
AI’s insatiable need for power is driving an unexpected boom in oil-fracking company stocks
Fortune/Jordan Blum
Despite weak oil prices, falling revenues, and shrinking profits in the traditional oil sector, major oilfield service companies are pivoting to power generation for data centers, capitalizing on the massive demand driven by the AI boom. Liberty Energy, for instance, saw its stock jump 30% after announcing plans to increase its data center power capacity to over 1 gigawatt by 2027. Similarly, Halliburton’s stock rose 15% following its partnership with VoltaGrid for global power delivery. Other players like Baker Hughes and SLB are also investing in this new market, primarily using on-site natural gas generator sets. This emerging power opportunity is considered a “bright spot” in a currently sluggish industry, which saw Liberty’s net income fall 42% year-on-year, though long-term success depends on providing 24/7 power reliability. [MDN: AI data centers are the new “it” thing in the O&G space. Company stock prices are rising when they enter the AI market.]
Why Big Oil is asking EPA not to cut its polluter reporting program
EnergyNow.com
The EPA proposes to halt the decade-old Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, claiming it will save oil and gas companies up to $256 million annually and let them fund more tangible environmental efforts. However, many in the industry, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), warn that axing the program would immediately jeopardize their ability to claim highly valuable tax credits for carbon capture and clean hydrogen. The reporting data is the nation’s main record of industrial emissions, relied upon by states, investors, and advocates. Losing it could also harm future LNG exports to Europe and Asia, which increasingly demand verified low-carbon energy. Critics emphasize that eliminating the federal program would create regulatory uncertainty and costly, fragmented state-level reporting. [MDN: This is why we so often detest the API. They want taxpayer money to support their cockamamie carbon capture and hydrogen programs. NO! Stick to your knitting and make oil and gas, and forget about government-funded unreliable renewables and these other hairbrained programs. Jeesh.]
INTERNATIONAL
Oil futures take flight on Russia sanctions
Bloomberg/J. Wittels, R.W. Neo, M. Gindis
New US sanctions targeting Russia’s largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, caused oil prices to surge, with West Texas Intermediate jumping 5.6% to settle near $62 a barrel. The radical new policy aims to cut off Russia’s war revenue, departing from the previous G7 price cap strategy. The sanctions immediately threatened global supply, as key buyer India indicated it would likely cease purchasing Russian crude. Analysts called the move an unprecedented escalation that risks major disruptions to Russian exports. While global supply is currently plentiful, the prospect of India sourcing oil elsewhere is expected to increase demand for non-Russian crude, reduce the market surplus, and lead to higher oil prices, despite the possibility of China absorbing more Russian volume. The pressure on Moscow has significantly increased. [MDN: Uh huh. And what did we say earlier this week? Just wait for the turnaround back into the $60s for WTI. It didn’t even take a full week! WTI for December delivery surged 5.6% to settle at $61.79 a barrel in New York. Brent for December jumped 5.4% to settle at $65.99 a barrel. Back in the $60s.]
Next month in Brazil expect the climate cops to party, plot
Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)/Craig Rucker
COP30 will run from November 10-21 in Belem, Brazil, gathering 70,000 attendees to accelerate climate action, limit global warming to 1.5°C, and advance a “just transition” involving massive finance transfers—demanded to be up to $1.3 trillion annually—from wealthy nations to poor countries. The article frames the UN conference as a self-serving ritual, highlighting the hypocrisy that host Brazil is simultaneously expanding offshore oil and gas exploration and cleared thousands of acres of Amazon rainforest to construct a highway and accommodations for the event, using fossil-fuel equipment. It contrasts the economic self-harm of climate-focused nations like Britain with the pro-growth policies and cheap energy in US states, arguing that the push for “net zero” results in industrial destruction and financial strain. [MDN: These meetings are attended by arrogant hypocrites that seek to grab U.S. taxpayer money. That’s the sum total of what happens. Take a hike!]
China threat calls for ideologically free energy policy
CO2 Coalition/Vijay Jayaraj
The article argues that climate-centric energy policies have created a dangerous fragility in supply chains, most evident after the 2022 energy crisis. Aggressive fossil fuel phaseouts in Europe led to costly reliance on imports, undermining the “net zero” agenda and causing energy-intensive industries to relocate. The author argues this subordinates real-world utility to ideology and wishful thinking. In contrast, countries like India and Indonesia, which maintained diversified, fossil-based power grids and prioritized pragmatism, fared significantly better. The article concludes that energy independence is foundational to national sovereignty, urging governments to repeal regulations stifling domestic fossil fuel and nuclear production, and allow energy sources to compete on cost and reliability. [MDN: To rely on China for rare earths to make windmills and solar panels is about as stupid as it gets. Why would we, or any country, cede its national security and even its sovereignty to a thug dictatorship like China? It makes no sense. Wake up!]
Global total of renewable rejections hits 1,104
Robert Bryce Substack
The article highlights the growing global backlash against large-scale renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, and battery facilities. This opposition is tracked in the consolidated Renewable Rejection Database, which now tallies 1,104 rejections or restrictions worldwide since 2003. Recent examples include a wind turbine cancellation in Belgium due to 882 resident objections concerning noise, shadow flicker, and heritage concerns, as well as vetoed wind and solar projects in Ireland over community opposition, scale, and environmental issues. The author asserts that this resistance is fundamentally rooted in the simple desire of residents everywhere to protect their neighborhoods from being blighted by industrial alt-energy zones, countering the narrative that opposition is fomented by the hydrocarbon sector. [MDN: Unreliable renewable projects are not failing because of fossil fuel supporters. They’re failing because the people who live near them don’t want the MANY negatives they bring!]