Indiana, PA Converting Coal Power Plant to Massive New Gas Plant
We have some exciting news to share. What was Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired power plant, the Homer City Generating Station, located in Center Township, Indiana County, PA, shut down operations in July 2023. In its heyday, the massive plant produced 1,888 megawatts of electricity (nearly 2 GW). Demolition of the old plant and construction of a new gas-fired power plant are about to begin. According to a former county commissioner who now works for the project, the new gas-fired plant will produce “at least double” the energy it produced with coal. That would make it as big (possibly bigger) than the current largest gas-fired power plant in the country! The West County Energy Center in Palm Beach County, Florida, produces 3,777 MW of electricity and is the country’s largest gas-fired plant. Homer City may well exceed it. Read More “Indiana, PA Converting Coal Power Plant to Massive New Gas Plant”
Every budget season in Pennsylvania, it’s the same old dog-and-pony show by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “We don’t have enough money to pay our staff,” and “We aren’t making as much money from (insanely high) shale permit fees anymore, so we need more taxpayer money to make up the difference.” Etc. Yet a few months later, after the budget is adopted, the DEP somehow finds money lying around to donate to various leftwing causes. Case in point: The DEP announced yesterday it is donating $600,000 to 12 leftist organizations to spread more wokeness across the Commonwealth under the banner of “environmental justice” (EJ). 
Wow! Trump winning the election has clearly emboldened some CEOs in the oil and gas sector. Anti-fossil fuel zealots long ago figured out if they could stop new pipelines from getting built, they could block the growth of new shale drilling. The antis have been devastatingly effective in places like the northeast U.S. in places like New York, New England, and even in the three active Marcellus/Utica states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The problem, in a nutshell, is that states have a role in approving permits for new interstate pipelines under the Clean Water Act. One CEO wants to see that changed. 
The U.S. Supreme Court is gearing up to hear arguments for and against a proposed railway that would connect Utah’s oil-rich Uinta Basin to Colorado. Other than this is a railroad story (and you know we’re suckers for a good railroad story), how does it connect to the Marcellus/Utica? The case could fundamentally change how the federal government conducts environmental reviews. This case revolves around what should and should not be part of a so-called environmental review. A Circuit Court of Appeals wanted more nonsense included in such a review. The conservative Supreme Court is now going to review their work with a potential eye on overruling them. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Manchin skips mention of climate law in farewell to Senate; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Columbia County coal plant retirement delayed for a second time; NATIONAL: Why has the USA natural gas price been dropping lately?; U.S. crude production at record high; Electrifying everything means higher energy costs for consumers; Study on impact of LNG exports expected by the end of the year; INTERNATIONAL: Equinor, Shell announce UK combination; Saudi Arabia is losing its iron grip on global oil markets.