Virginia About to Tackle Who Pays for New Power for Data Centers
Just two days ago, MDN brought you a story about a developing 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). A large utility company in central Ohio is tangling with Big Tech companies, including Amazon, Google, and others, about the commitments those companies should make before utility companies will risk investing billions to bring new facilities online. We predicted that this issue would pop up in other locations, too. And here we are two days later with news that Virginia is about to tackle the same issue. Read More “Virginia About to Tackle Who Pays for New Power for Data Centers”
The environmental left continues to try and co-opt the term “Evangelical Christian,” defined as protestants who tend to be pro-life and conservative in their political views. We’re talking about the so-called Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) and its political lobbying arm, EEN Action. The group continues to pressure Pennsylvania’s political leaders to adopt unreliable renewable energy (by government fiat) and to force residents to dump their use of fossil energy. We previously exposed them for who they really are (see 
In August, some two dozen states asked the U.S. Supreme Court to place a temporary block on new EPA regulations that will put all coal plants out of business and block most (if not all) new gas-fired power plants from getting built (see 
In November 2022, PA’s then-Governor, Tom Wolf, signed into law a bill providing $142 million annually in state tax credits for several purposes, including clean hydrogen hubs, natural gas use, semiconductor manufacturing, and milk processors (see 
The northeast, particularly New England, has some of the highest energy costs in the country. We are the poster child for inadequate fuel supplies and lack of energy. Yet we have embarrassing riches of energy under our feet in the Marcellus/Utica! The problem? “The Northeast is the most extreme example of demand/supply mismatch in recent years, thanks to local court decisions and policy changes that have brought gas infrastructure developments to a screeching halt. Challenges facing the region will only persist, if not get worse until adequate infrastructure is built to bring energy into the region.” 
In May 2023, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced that it would convert the Kingston Fossil Plant (coal-fired plant) in East Tennessee to a natural gas-fired plant capable of generating 1,500 megawatts of electricity (see 
We’ve been talking a lot lately about data centers and AI (artificial intelligence) because these facilities use enormous amounts of electricity, and electricity must be generated somehow. Most often, electricity is generated by burning natural gas. Gas-fired plants are important customers for Marcellus/Utica gas. A situation in Ohio in the Columbus area related to gas-fired power is likely to play out in other areas, too. It’s something you should be aware of. The issue, in a nutshell, is this: Who should pay to build new power sources to feed data centers? Should existing electric customers be on the hook for some of the cost? Should the data centers (companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, etc.) pay upfront or be forced to commit to long-term contracts for the extra demand they will place on the grid? 
Dominion Energy Virginia yesterday issued its “2024 Integrated Resource Plan” to the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) and the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). The document outlines a plan to meet rising power demand through significant investments in new power generation from “every source,” expansion and modernization of the power grid, energy storage, and energy efficiency programs. The problem is (from our perspective), the plan deemphasizes natural gas in favor of unreliable renewables, to the peril of Dominion’s customers. 
PJM Interconnection is the largest U.S. power grid operator, serving 65 million people in 13 states plus the District of Columbia (including PA, OH, and WV). PJM supplies power to more than 20% of the U.S. economy. The organization issued its annual Winter Outlook yesterday. The analysis says PJM and its members have adequate resources to serve the forecasted demand for electricity this winter under expected conditions, although reserve margins continue to shrink with continued generator (coal plant) retirements and increasing demand. However, if we have “extreme” weather events, problems like blackouts are possible. In other words, we will have enough electricity, but cross your fingers that we don’t experience any extreme weather. 
Hardly a day goes by that we don’t cover at least one story about a gas-fired power plant that will get fed with Marcellus/Utica molecules (
We spotted a press release about new leadership at the top of Calpine Corporation, one of the largest power producers in the U.S. with major assets in the upper East Coast area (fed by Marcellus/Utica molecules). The company’s CFO, Andrew Novotny, is becoming the CEO. Beyond the tie-in with the M-U because the company uses our molecules, we have a fond memory of one of Calpine’s gas-fired power plants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (see 
The Bidenistas at the EPA attacked coal and gas-fired power plants in April, threatening to destabilize the existing electric power grid with new regulations (see