Electrical Generation | Energy Services | FirstEnergy | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Statewide WV | West Virginia
FirstEnergy Announces 1,200-MW Gas-Fired Plant for Mon County, WV
Another new gas-fired power plant is on the way in West Virginia! FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison have selected a 35-acre site in Maidsville (Monongalia County), West Virginia, for a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant. Located adjacent to the existing Fort Martin Power Station, the facility is designed to provide reliable, affordable energy for approximately 500,000 homes. Pending approval from the WV Public Service Commission, construction could begin in 2027 with operations starting in 2031. Read More “FirstEnergy Announces 1,200-MW Gas-Fired Plant for Mon County, WV”
About six years ago, Dominion Energy announced the River Neck to Kingsburg project, a short 15-mile 16-inch natural gas transmission main line that would run in an existing right-of-way alongside another pipeline along Old River Road near Pamplico in Florence County, SC. It was supposed to be built and flowing in 2022. Dominion still hasn’t built a square inch, thanks to the lawfare launched by the anti-fossil fuelers of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Earlier this month, we told you that the South Carolina Supreme Court finally cleared the last legal roadblocks (see 
Anti-fossil fuelers are raising concerns (and stoking fear with county residents) about a potential Duke Energy natural gas power plant in Davidson County, NC, after the project appeared in the company’s long-range planning documents. We first told you about this project three weeks ago (see 
Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest U.S. energy holding companies, serving 8.7 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers across six states as of early 2026. While the company dabbles in unreliable renewables like solar and wind, its bread-and-butter, go-to source for new electric power generation is natural gas, which it gets from the Marcellus/Utica. We’ve reported on many of Duke’s announced new gas-fired power plant projects (
Antis somehow got to the board of commissioners in Montour County, PA. Yesterday, the commissioners voted unanimously to reject Talen Energy’s request to rezone empty agricultural land near Talen’s Montour Power Plant (converted from coal to run on Marcellus gas in 2023) for a proposed data center. This decision followed community concerns stoked by lying groups like Food & Water Watch regarding “potential environmental impacts” on the nearby Montour Preserve. 
We’ve recently begun actively tracking flow restrictions on pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. Current pipeline flow data for February 2026 show that the Marcellus/Utica (M-U) region is experiencing significant, albeit weather-driven, volatility. While the basin remains a production powerhouse, a combination of recent Arctic weather and localized maintenance has triggered several flow restrictions, including a restriction along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. 
In January, a coalition of so-called environmental groups lodged an ethics complaint against Ohio Senator Brian Chavez, alleging that he failed to disclose ownership in five natural gas LLCs while leading the Senate Energy Committee (see 
Two weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Marcellus picked up one rig, while the Ohio Utica lost a rig (see 
Pipeline giant Williams Companies is exploring a strategic return to natural gas production to create an integrated “one-stop shop” for AI hyperscalers and data center operators. By potentially acquiring upstream assets to complement its 33,000-mile pipeline network and new power-generation projects such as the Socrates facility in Ohio, Williams aims to offer a turnkey energy solution that bypasses traditional grid constraints. This move toward a “bundled” model reverses a decade of industry specialization, positioning the firm to capitalize on the massive power demands of artificial intelligence. Investors are watching for official confirmation during the company’s 2026 analyst day tomorrow. 
Residents in Brookfield, Connecticut, are leading a “bipartisan” campaign to block a $272 million expansion of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System, despite national efforts to boost fossil fuel infrastructure. The project would add two compressors to an existing station, primarily increasing gas flow to New York markets. Local officials and residents, including some Republicans, cite health and safety risks due to the facility’s proximity to homes and Whisconier Middle School. Although the project has tentative state support, opponents argue that environmental impacts and explosion risks outweigh regional energy benefits, particularly since Brookfield receives no direct supply increase from the expansion. 
In December, MDN reported that pipeline giant Williams, through its new subsidiary, Will-Power, plans to build a third gas-fired power plant to power a Meta (Facebook) data center complex in Bowling Green, OH (see 
Two pipeline kingpins are engaged in a deathmatch with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get their competing pipeline projects approved. One is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project (see 
Pipeline giant Williams is going on a PR offensive to pressure New York State to approve the 125-mile (99 miles in NY) Constitution Pipeline from the prolific gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, into and through New York State, to Schoharie County, where it would connect with two other interstate pipeline systems to flow molecules to New York City and New England. On its blog site, Williams recently published a post titled “Winter storms underscore why infrastructure is needed,” with the subtitle “Severe cold underscores need for Constitution Pipeline.”