PA EQB Votes to Delay Consideration of Marcellus-Banning Setbacks
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) was scheduled to consider accepting a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State. Instead of voting to accept the petition, EQB commissioners voted 16 to 3 to table the petition for a future meeting. No doubt this matter will cycle around again, but we can all breathe a sigh of relief for now. Read More “PA EQB Votes to Delay Consideration of Marcellus-Banning Setbacks”
History is being made. Last week, MDN brought you the exciting news that THE largest gas-fired power plant in the country, along with a MASSIVE data center complex, will be built at a former coal-fired power plant site in Indiana County, PA (see 
Yesterday, President Trump signed four more executive orders (EOs) dealing with energy issues. Three of the four EOs targeted reviving the declining coal industry, which Trump calls “beautiful, clean coal.” We’ll briefly cover the coal EOs below. However, it was the noncoal EO that caught our attention. Trump signed the Protecting American Energy from State Overreach EO, which removes unlawful and burdensome state-level impediments to domestic energy production. Trump tasked Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge state laws that may be “unconstitutional, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable” to go after states like New York, which is mentioned explicitly in the EO. 
In February, MDN told you that the Democrat leadership in the Maryland state legislature was pushing a bill that would rechristen gas-fired power as “green” and make it easier to build new gas-fired power plants in the state (see 
Electricity demand in the United States will increase 2% annually and 50% by 2050, according to a new study conducted by PA Consulting and released by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). That is massive! For the past 20 years, the U.S.’s electricity generation and use have remained virtually unchanged. This new study shows a year-by-year increase in electricity demand for the next 25 years. The study indicates unreliable solar and wind are not up to the task of providing the increase. Instead, NEMA advocates for an all-of-the-above approach to energy production, including natural gas, small modular reactors, and geothermal. 
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: PA lawmaker touts carbon capture bill; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Shell expands Gulf of America leadership position with Dover development; CF Industries announces joint venture with Japan on low-carbon ammonia plant; Chevron to lay off 600 workers in California as it prepares corporate move to Houston; Time for NJ to rethink participation in RGGI carbon tax; In Democrat New Mexico, anti-O&G legislation doesn’t pass; NATIONAL: WTI falls below $60 amid trade war escalation; Trump says EU will have to buy energy from US; U.S. production of all types of coal has declined over the past two decades; Why a plane-size machine could foil a race to build gas power plants; US oil, gas producers expected to tighten capital budgets amid tariff actions; INTERNATIONAL: OilXCoin gets regulatory approval for security token backed by O&G; Brent crashes to 4 year low; Mexico explores boosting fracking to cut reliance on U.S. natural gas.