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LG&E and KU Announce New Hyperscale Data Center in Louisville, KY

Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) announced a contract to supply electricity to its first hyperscale data center customer yesterday. A joint venture between PowerHouse Data Centers and Poe Companies is developing a cutting-edge 400-megawatt (MW) data center campus in Louisville. The first 130 MW will be available in October 2026. While no mention was made in the announcement, we’re pretty sure Marcellus/Utica molecules will power this new data center via the electricity generated by LG&E and Kentucky Utilities (KU). Read More “LG&E and KU Announce New Hyperscale Data Center in Louisville, KY”

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Massive 3 GW Gas-Fired AI/Data Center Coming to Southwest Pa.

Location of proposed TECfusions Keystone Connect (click for larger version)

We have some exciting news to share. Datacenter builder/operator TECfusions, based in Tampa, Florida, has purchased 1,395 acres in Upper Burrell (Westmoreland County), PA, for a groundbreaking data center project called TECfusions Keystone Connect. The site is the old Alcoa R&D campus and surrounding real estate in New Kensington. The project will transform the shuttered office and industrial site into a state-of-the-art data center campus, with plans for 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity to be deployed over six years. Put another way, some 3,000 megawatts of electricity will be required to power it. MASSIVE! Read More “Massive 3 GW Gas-Fired AI/Data Center Coming to Southwest Pa.”

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Gov. Ned Lamont Fiddles While Connecticut’s Electric Rates Burn

Faced with the possibility of blackouts, Connecticut’s Democrat Governor, Ned Lamont, wants to keep his nuclear and gas-fired power plants. But Lamont isn’t interested in building more pipelines or new gas-fired plants. That’s a bridge too far for Lamont. He’s happy to allow the residents of Connecticut to continue paying some of (perhaps THE) highest electric rates in the country because, you know, global warming. Connecticut is heading over the renewables cliff into economic oblivion. Paying sky-high prices is A.O.K. for Lamont, but blackouts are not. Hence, his statements in last week’s State of the State speech were about keeping the nukes and gas the state already operates. Read More “Gov. Ned Lamont Fiddles While Connecticut’s Electric Rates Burn”

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Gas-Fired Power Back in Style, Driven by AI & Data Centers

If you’ve read MDN for any time, you’ve come across at least a few articles about gas-fired power. Nationwide, natural gas produces 43.1% of all electricity, the number one source of electric generation (see this EIA page). Nuclear is number two, producing 18.6% of all electricity. Coal is number three, producing 16.2%. Wind produces 10.2% and solar 3.9%, pointing out the futility of claims that “renewables” are about to dislodge fossil energy in electric generation any year now. With the rise of data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) that uses enormous amounts of electricity, building new gas-fired power plants and buying existing gas-fired plants is suddenly all the rage. Read More “Gas-Fired Power Back in Style, Driven by AI & Data Centers”

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5 PUCO Commissioners to Decide the Future of Data Centers in Ohio

Last fall, MDN began tracking the issue of who, ultimately, should pay to build out new electricity sources for data centers (and AI) that increasingly use huge amounts of power (see Big Tech and Big Utility Tangle in Ohio re Data Center Electricity and Big Tech Not Happy with OH Utility Counterproposal re Data Centers). A large utility company in central Ohio, AEP Ohio, is tangling with Big Tech companies, including Amazon, Google, and others, about the commitments those companies should make before it (AEP) will risk investing billions in bringing new power facilities (natgas, solar, wind, nukes, whatever) online. The battle lines are drawn. Each side made a proposal to the state Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Now, the five PUCO commissioners will sort through the proposals and pick a side. Read More “5 PUCO Commissioners to Decide the Future of Data Centers in Ohio”

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Pittsylvania (VA) County Planning Bd. Votes to Deny Data Center Plan

The Pittsylvania County Planning Commission voted on Jan. 7 to recommend against granting Virginia-based Balico permission to proceed with a $8.85 billion project to build a data center complex. Last October, Balico applied to rezone more than 2,200 acres for a proposed campus that would include its own massive on-site gas-fired power plant complex using Marcellus/Utica molecules from the Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Massive Data Center with 3,500 MW Gas-Fired Plant Proposed for Va.). The project hit major pushback from local residents and politicians, so Balico revised the plan. The new plan is to build a tiny 300 MW gas-fired plant, at least initially (see Plan for Massive 3,500-MW Va. Gas-Fired Plant Slashed 91% to 300-MW). On Jan. 7, the Planning Commission voted against the revised plan. Read More “Pittsylvania (VA) County Planning Bd. Votes to Deny Data Center Plan”

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FERC Approves Plan for Shell to Buy R.I. Gas-Fired Power Plant

Last October, Shell signed an agreement to buy 100% of RISEC Holdings’ 609-megawatt (MW) two-unit combined-cycle gas turbine power plant located near Providence, Rhode Island (see Shell Buys Gas-Fired Power Plant Near Providence, Rhode Island). Shell wants to buy the plant out of self-interest. The company supplies natural gas to the plant. Shell would be the owner and the customer, all wrapped up in one. Good news: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the purchase, clearing the way to complete the transaction. Read More “FERC Approves Plan for Shell to Buy R.I. Gas-Fired Power Plant”

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DC Circuit Sides with FERC Approval of 24-Mile Gas Pipe in Indiana

In June 2021, MDN told you about CenterPoint Energy, a power generator looking to shutter portions of its coal-fired generation fleet and build two natural gas combustion turbines in Indiana (see Will New 460 MW Gas-Fired Plant in Indiana Get Approved?). The two units would provide a combined 460 megawatts (MW) of electricity as a backup to CenterPoint’s wind, solar, and battery storage. Antis tried to strangle the project by challenging a 24-mile pipeline that would feed it (see Antis Attack Pipe Expansion to Feed NatGas to Indiana Power Plants). Finally, after nearly four years and multiple appeals, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision yesterday that sided with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in an appeal of the agency’s decision approving the pipeline. In other words, FERC was correct to approve it, and now (finally) the project can go forward. Read More “DC Circuit Sides with FERC Approval of 24-Mile Gas Pipe in Indiana”

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“Green” New England Burns NatGas, Coal, Oil to Keep the Lights On

Liberal New England, one of the bluest (Democrat) areas of the country, continues to do the opposite of what they preach. For years, New England states like Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut have blocked new natural gas pipelines that would carry Marcellus molecules from a few hundred miles away into their states, claiming they seek to phase out fossil energy to be more “green.” Yet, as of this morning, 41% of the electricity flowing through New England’s grid comes from fossil fuels—natural gas (33%), oil (7%), and coal (1%). Another 4% comes from burning garbage and wood, which emits as much or more carbon dioxide as fossil fuels! How much electricity is being produced from solar and wind right now in New England? A piddly 9%. Read More ““Green” New England Burns NatGas, Coal, Oil to Keep the Lights On”

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Canceled Conn. Gas-Fired Plant Blocking Battery Plant at Same Site

Here’s a story in the karma-is-a-boomerang department… In July 2019, the Connecticut Siting Council approved the Killingly Energy Center gas-fired power plant project after initially rejecting it (see Connecticut Approves New Natgas-Fired Electric Plant in Killingly). The Killingly project would have built a 650-megawatt gas-fired plant in eastern Connecticut. The Siting Council recognized that some 6,000 megawatts of older, less-efficient power plants in the region are retiring, and without new plants coming online to provide electricity, Connecticut and its neighboring New England states will begin to experience rolling blackouts without new supplies of electricity. Yet the radical left blocked Killingly with a flurry of lawsuits and regulatory challenges. Now, an Israeli firm wants to build a battery farm at the same location but can’t because the site was authorized to build the gas-fired plant, and the authorization (permit/certificate) for Killingly is still valid and not rescinded. Read More “Canceled Conn. Gas-Fired Plant Blocking Battery Plant at Same Site”

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CO2 from Gas-Fired Plants Record High, Yet Overall Emissions Down

For the first time, over 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) was discharged from U.S. gas-fired power plants in a single year in 2024. It marks a new pollution threshold for the world’s largest gas producer and consumer of natural gas. Yet, because natgas has replaced coal and other higher-polluting sources of electric power, U.S. power emissions from all fossil fuels were up only 0.5% in 2024 from 2023, to 1.64 billion tons. And get this: Overall emissions from all sources were down 19% last year versus 2015. Using natural gas to produce electricity makes the country “greener,” something the media ignores. Read More “CO2 from Gas-Fired Plants Record High, Yet Overall Emissions Down”

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NC Approves Duke Energy Replacing Coal Plants with Natural Gas

We’re just now learning the good news about decisions by two different North Carolina agencies to approve four new gas-fired power plants that utility giant Duke Energy wants to build at two different N.C. sites. In early December, the N.C. Utilities Commission issued orders deeming the gas plants necessary at both sites. Then, on Dec. 20, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality granted air quality permits for the four plants. All four will be fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules and are important new customers for our gas. Read More “NC Approves Duke Energy Replacing Coal Plants with Natural Gas”

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Poll Shows Virginia Voters Strongly Support NatGas-Fired Power

Dominion Energy plans to build small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County, VA, near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes—to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. Even though these clean gas-fired plants will replace dirty coal-fired plants, anti-fossil fuelers, flying under the banner of Friends of Chesterfield, oppose the project (see Anti-Fossil Fuelers File Appeal Against Chesterfield Power Plant). Dominion has new ammunition in its fight to build the plants. A new poll shows a majority of Virginia residents strongly favor allowing utilities to build new natural gas generation plants. Read More “Poll Shows Virginia Voters Strongly Support NatGas-Fired Power”

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NPCC Study Says NY, New England Each Need 7.1 GW of Gas-Fired Power

Yesterday, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) announced the completion of the NPCC Northeast Gas/Electric System Study. Initiated in 2023, the study evaluated New York and New England gas supply and gas pipeline constraints for extreme and protracted winter events during the peak heating season, from December through February, for three time periods: 2024/25 (short-term), 2027/28 (mid-term) and 2032/33 (long-term). It shows that if we get an extended (more than three-day) cold snap, those of us living in NY or New England will be in trouble. Read More “NPCC Study Says NY, New England Each Need 7.1 GW of Gas-Fired Power”

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PA Gov. Shapiro Blames PJM Grid Operator for High Prices He Caused

In typical sleazy politician fashion, PA’s Democrat Governor, Josh Shapiro, is blaming someone else (the PJM grid operator, in this case) for problems that he and his predecessor have created. Shapiro recently filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging PJM is mismanaging the grid and using inflated numbers that will cause economic pain for the 65 million customers who buy electricity in the PJM region. What’s causing the high prices in PJM, a region rich in natural gas? That would be former Gov. Tom Wolf and current Gov. Josh Shapiro insisting the state tax gas-fired power plants via the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Read More “PA Gov. Shapiro Blames PJM Grid Operator for High Prices He Caused”

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Pa. Top Electricity Exporter, Va. Top Electricity Importer

The dataheads (sounds better than geeks or eggheads) at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an interesting analysis on Friday detailing which states export the most and import the most electricity. In 2023, Pennsylvania exported 83.4 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to other states in the PJM electric grid. That’s roughly 26% of all the electric power the Keystone State produced. Meanwhile, for the first time in years (maybe in forever?) Virginia became the #1 state importing electricity, importing 50.1 million MWh. Virginia is also in PJM, so it’s not a stretch to suggest Pennsylvania’s electric exports went (largely) to Virginia. Read More “Pa. Top Electricity Exporter, Va. Top Electricity Importer”