BLM Ready to Auction Land in OH Wayne Nat’l Forest for Drilling

Last December, MDN brought you the fantastic news that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had opened a public scoping period to receive public input on 41 oil and gas parcels totaling 2,795 acres that may be included in a September 2026 lease sale in the Wayne National Forest (WNF) located in southeastern Ohio (see BLM Plans Ohio Wayne Nat’l Forest Lease Sale for September 2026). This is the first lease sale held in WNF since March 2017 (the first Trump administration). The comment period ended Jan. 15, 2026. But what’s this? The BLM is once again seeking public comments on the same list of properties up for lease/auction. This time, the public has until June 17, 2026, to comment. Read More “BLM Ready to Auction Land in OH Wayne Nat’l Forest for Drilling”

Yesterday, MDN brought you the big news that NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy will combine in an all-stock transaction, creating the world’s largest regulated electric utility business serving approximately 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina (see
AlphaGen (Alpha Generation LLC) is one of the largest independent power producers in the United States, majority-owned by ArcLight Capital Partners. It owns and operates a massive portfolio of critical power infrastructure—including natural gas-fired and floating power stations—to meet rising energy demand driven by grid electrification and data centers. Yesterday, AlphaGen and ArcLight announced they have acquired Brandywine Power, a 250 MW natural gas combined-cycle generating facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland, from Onward Energy Holdings. The plant is fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules.
We’re facing a full-blown crisis in building new AI data centers — at least in Pennsylvania (and in many other states). How do we know? Read this story published by the Wall Street Journal yesterday: 
U.S. industrial natural gas consumption is projected to reach record highs through 2027, driven by rising manufacturing activity, particularly in the chemicals subsector. According to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook, consumption hit a record 23.6 Bcf/d in 2025 and will grow by 1.2% in 2026 and 1.7% in 2027. Although low natural gas prices spurred significant mid-2010s expansions that raised demand, recent growth has been relatively flat. Moving forward, steady increases in the natural gas-weighted manufacturing index are expected to outpace ongoing industrial efficiency improvements, ensuring gradual but consistent demand growth, with distinct winter seasonal peaks.
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