Electrical Generation

Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Pipelines

Kinder Says Co. in Discussions to Provide Extra 5 Bcf/d of NatGas
July 18, 2024July 18, 2024

Kinder Morgan (KM), owner and operator of the mighty Tennessee Gas Pipeline along with many other pipeline systems, issued its second quarter update yesterday. It was clear from the materials and the comments made during the conference call that KM is high on natural gas. The company believes natgas has a rosy future, and KM is investing to expand pipelines to flow more natgas. On the call, company CEO Kim Dang said, “[W]e’re having commercial discussions on over 5 Bcf a day of opportunities related to power demand, and that includes the 1.6 of data center demand.” She went on to say the company believes the growth in natural gas production and use between now and 2030 will be “well in excess of the 20 Bcf a day.” Another 20 Bcf/d in the next five years!
Read More “Kinder Says Co. in Discussions to Provide Extra 5 Bcf/d of NatGas”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

ESG Clean Energy System Removes 100% of CO2 from Gas-Fired Plant
July 15, 2024July 15, 2024

In December 2022, Rice Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) started by the Rice brothers (Danny, Toby, and Derek), announced a deal to acquire NET Power — an electric power developer with revolutionary new technology to capture every last molecule of carbon dioxide from natural gas-fired power plants (see Dan Rice Buys Co. that Builds Zero-Carbon Gas-Fired Electric Plants). It looks like Danny and the boys have some competition. ESG Clean Energy, LLC, developers of power generation/carbon capture systems with zero carbon output, announced that its carbon capture system has already achieved capturing 100% of the CO2 from a combustion exhaust stream at a 4.4-megawatt gas-powered generating plant in Massachusetts.
Read More “ESG Clean Energy System Removes 100% of CO2 from Gas-Fired Plant”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Dominion Plan to Change Location of Gas-Fired Peakers Gets Pushback
July 8, 2024July 8, 2024

Dominion Energy plans to build four 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) in the James River Industrial Center 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. In early June, we told you that Dominion is actively looking at changing the location of the proposed project to locate the peakers at an existing power-generating site where two gas-fired plants now operate (see Dominion Plan to Move Location of 4 Va. Gas-Fired Peakers Advances). That plan, unsurprisingly, is getting pushback from area residents and anti-fossil fuelers.
Read More “Dominion Plan to Change Location of Gas-Fired Peakers Gets Pushback”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

Republicans Say PA Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Carbon Tax is Dead
June 26, 2024June 26, 2024

In March, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to Scranton, PA, to announce a proposal to “immediately pull Pennsylvania out of a multi-state carbon cap-and-trade program” (the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI) and instead enroll PA in its very own RGGI-like carbon tax program (see PA Gov. Shapiro Proposes Own Version of Marcellus-Killing Carbon Tax). Same end result: It would kill Marcellus-fired power plants in the state, forcing them to close and relocate to West Virginia and Ohio, states that don’t engage in the lunacy of taxing carbon emissions from power plants. Here’s a spot of good news: With less than a week before the June 30 budget deadline, Republican sources tell the Delaware Valley Journal there are no plans for hearings or votes on Shapiro’s crazy carbon tax plan. Whew. We dodged another bullet.
Read More “Republicans Say PA Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Carbon Tax is Dead”
CNG/LNG | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

Boston Mystic Gas-Fired Power Shuttered, but LNG Imports Continue
June 25, 2024June 25, 2024

Everett Marine Terminal

On May 31, Constellation Energy shut down and permanently retired the natural gas-fired Mystic Generating Station it owned and operated in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on the north side of Boston. Mystic was one of the oldest U.S. electric power plants still in operation. The plant was fed by natural gas from another facility owned by Constellation, the nearby Everett LNG import terminal. At one time, Everett was also in danger of closing when Mystic closed. However, Everett was given a six-year reprieve due to a contract to supply natural gas to several utility companies.
Read More “Boston Mystic Gas-Fired Power Shuttered, but LNG Imports Continue”
Electrical Generation | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues

M-U Drillers Excited About Growing Demand from Nearby Data Centers
June 24, 2024June 24, 2024

data center

Just last week, MDN brought you the news about a new report from Aurora Energy Research that predicts new electricity demand from data centers in northern Virginia could (likely will) hit 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 (see Report Says Va. Data Center Growth Needs 15 GW of Gas-Fired Power). According to Aurora, wind and solar won’t cut it if PJM needs to add another 15 GW of electricity to its grid over the next five years. Those technologies aren’t mature and scalable enough to meet the demand. The answer to increasing the electricity supply is natural gas, which has drillers and midstreamers in the M-U jazzed.
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Research

Report Says Va. Data Center Growth Needs 15 GW of Gas-Fired Power
June 21, 2024June 21, 2024

data center

Data centers (huge computer server farms) have become one of the primary sources of new electricity demand across the United States. Specifically, PJM, the largest power market grid in the world (covering 65 million customers in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia), is seeing a huge increase in the number of data centers. The PJM grid operator expects 11 GW (gigawatts) of additional electricity will be needed for new data centers by 2030 in northern Virginia alone, representing more than 40% of the state’s current peak demand. According to a new report from Aurora Energy Research, a high-growth case could drive additions of up to 15 GW of new electric demand in PJM by 2030, compared to a conservative scenario. Aurora says there’s only one fuel source that can meet that kind of demand in the next five years: natural gas.
Read More “Report Says Va. Data Center Growth Needs 15 GW of Gas-Fired Power”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Orange County | Regulation

Danskammer Energy Gives Up Trying to Expand Gas-Fired Peaker in NY
June 20, 2024June 20, 2024

Danskammer Energy, which operates a gas-fired peaker power plant along the Hudson River in Newburgh, NY, has been working on a project to upgrade the plant since 2018 — seven years. On Monday, Danskammer Energy withdrew its permit application with the fossil fuel-hostile state, formally ending attempts to expand after years of trying. It’s time to throw in the towel in NY State and let the idiots who keep the Dems in power sit in the dark.
Read More “Danskammer Energy Gives Up Trying to Expand Gas-Fired Peaker in NY”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

NatGas Replacing Coal in PJM – Coal Use Dropped 68% in 10 Years
June 18, 2024June 18, 2024

We often mention gas-fired power generation here on MDN for a reason — it’s a HUGE customer for the natural gas locally extracted. The more power plants we build in the Marcellus/Utica region, the more our gas stays right here at home (a win/win for everyone). The power grid that covers the M-U region is called PJM. New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows coal-fired generation in PJM accounted for 14% of the market’s total generation in 2023, down from 44% of total generation in 2013. That’s a whopping 68% fall in the use of coal in just ten years. The reason? Coal generation was largely replaced by natural gas-fired generation.
Read More “NatGas Replacing Coal in PJM – Coal Use Dropped 68% in 10 Years”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Electrical Generation | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues

Coterra CEO Tells Jim Cramer Direct Deals with Data Centers Coming
June 13, 2024June 13, 2024

Coterra Energy CEO Tom Jorden sat for an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money program Tuesday evening. During the interview, Jorden had an interesting comment and insight that has the power to change the natural gas market. Jorden said that data center operators (big computer server facilities) may cut supply agreements directly with natural gas companies to meet the growing power demands of the artificial intelligence boom. And it may happen a lot sooner than you think.
Read More “Coterra CEO Tells Jim Cramer Direct Deals with Data Centers Coming”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research | Statewide NY

Grid Operator Warns Climate Policies Pushing NY Toward Blackouts
June 13, 2024June 13, 2024

The grid operator overseeing New York State is warning that the Democrats’ green energy agenda is pushing the grid toward blackouts. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees and manages the state’s power grid, published its 2024 Power Trends report last week, assessing the outlook for energy supply and demand in the region over the next several years. The report warns that the electrification agenda pursued by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and her fellow Democrats is pushing the state’s grid toward conditions for blackouts as soon as this summer.
Read More “Grid Operator Warns Climate Policies Pushing NY Toward Blackouts”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues

Ameren Seeks to Build 800-MW Gas-Fired Peaker Near St. Louis, MO
June 12, 2024June 12, 2024

Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, recently filed an application with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build an 800-megawatt, simple-cycle “peaker plant” powered by natural gas to serve as a reliable backup source of energy, ready to use when customers need it most. The Castle Bluff Energy Center is designed to bolster grid reliability, deliver energy on the hottest summer days and the coldest winter nights, and complement the increasing amount of renewable energy generation being added to the grid.
Read More “Ameren Seeks to Build 800-MW Gas-Fired Peaker Near St. Louis, MO”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Guernsey County | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation

Onerous New EPA Regs Would Prevent Brand New OH Gas-Fired Plant
June 10, 2024June 10, 2024

Last Thursday, MDN brought you the news that U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (from West Virginia) and Congressman Troy Balderson (from Ohio) introduced a resolution to block the EPA’s latest attack against the natural gas industry (see 44 Senators, 138 House Mbrs Intro Resolution to Block EPA Power Reg). Using 1,020 pages of new regulations, which will go into effect this year, all coal-fired plants that are slated to remain operational in the long term and all new gas-fired power plants will be required to control (capture) 90% of their carbon emissions using expensive and unproven technology. Translation: New gas-fired plants won’t get built, and most, if not all, coal plants will shutter, with the result that electricity will, by necessity, be rationed (see WSJ Calls Biden EPA Power Plant Regs a Plan to “Ration Electricity”). Using the EPA’s new standards, a state-of-the-art gas-fired power plant built in Guernsey County that went operational one year ago would not meet the new standards.
Read More “Onerous New EPA Regs Would Prevent Brand New OH Gas-Fired Plant”
Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Statewide VA | Taxation | Virginia

Dominion Drops RGGI Fee Added to Customer Bills in Virginia
June 6, 2024June 6, 2024

In 2021, as he was running for Governor in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin pledged that if he won, he would remove the state from the onerous carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Youngkin kept his promise, although it took longer than he had hoped (and is still being challenged in court). In addition to not paying as much for electricity post-RGGI, ratepayers just got another gift: Dominion Energy, the primary utility company servicing Virginia, is dropping an average fee of $4.50 per month from the utility bills of Virginia residents.
Read More “Dominion Drops RGGI Fee Added to Customer Bills in Virginia”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

44 Senators, 138 House Mbrs Intro Resolution to Block EPA Power Reg
June 6, 2024June 6, 2024

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 EPA Rolls Out Final Regs Attacking Coal & Gas-Fired Power). Using 1,020 pages of new regulations, which will go into effect this year, all coal-fired plants that are slated to remain operational in the long term and all new gas-fired power plants will be required to control (capture) 90% of their carbon emissions using expensive and unproven technology. Translation: New gas-fired plants won’t get built, and most, if not all, coal plants will shutter, with the result that electricity will, by necessity, be rationed (see WSJ Calls Biden EPA Power Plant Regs a Plan to “Ration Electricity”). A number of lawsuits have been filed against the new regulation. Now, members of Congress are adding their voices, intending to block the new reg using a Congressional Joint Resolution. The resolution was simultaneously introduced yesterday in the Senate and House.
Read More “44 Senators, 138 House Mbrs Intro Resolution to Block EPA Power Reg”
Chesterfield County | Dominion Energy | Electrical Generation | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Virginia

Dominion Plan to Move Location of 4 Va. Gas-Fired Peakers Advances
June 3, 2024June 3, 2024

Dominion Energy plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County, VA, a Richmond suburb (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) in the James River Industrial Center 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. Two weeks ago, MDN told you that Dominion was floating the idea it could relocate the project to the Chesterfield Power Station Property (six miles from the original plan), which is the site of four now-closed coal-fired plants (see Dominion Considers Relocating 4 Gas-Fired Peakers Near Richmond). Looks like “Plan B” is more than just floating an idea. It appears Dominion, based on letters going back and forth, is working with county officials to make the change in location the new plan.
Read More “Dominion Plan to Move Location of 4 Va. Gas-Fired Peakers Advances”