TransCanada Sells 4 Northeast Powergen Assets, 1 in Marcellus
Canadian-based TransCanada, famously known for wanting to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast, didn’t want to be left out of the most important midstream story of the century (the Marcellus/Utica), so they bought Columbia Pipeline Group–closing on the sale in July 2016 (see TransCanada and Columbia Pipeline Tie the Knot Today). The original deal cost TransCanada $10 billion (U.S. dollars), and later TransCanada bought out the remaining portion of Columbia it didn’t own for another $915 million (see TransCanada Raising Big $ to Complete Buyout of Columbia Pipeline). In order to pay for everything, both the original purchase and buying out the rest of Columbia, TransCanada announced floated $3.2 billion (Canadian) in new stock, and entered an agreement to sell off their electric power assets in New England for $3.7 billion (U.S.). On Monday, TransCanada announced the closing of the deals and the transfer of their electric power assets–3 natgas-fired plants, including one located in the Marcellus region (Lebanon, PA), and one wind farm. According to their announcement, TransCanada will hit their asking price of $3.7 billion, using the money to pay off “bridge loans” involved in financing the Columbia Pipeline deal… Read More “TransCanada Sells 4 Northeast Powergen Assets, 1 in Marcellus”
One of the important new markets Marcellus/Utica drillers have been eagerly awaiting is the southeast–and the Gulf Coast. Once the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline ($3 billion, 198-mile pipeline project running through 10 Pennsylvania counties to connect Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeastern PA with the Williams’ Transco pipeline in southern Lancaster County) is built, more gas will flow to points in the South. Much of the new demand for natural gas in the South is from new natural gas-fired electric plants. Another pipeline to feed the South is the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (Dominion Energy’s $5 billion, 594-mile natural gas pipeline that will stretch from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina). And EQT’s Mountain Valley Pipeline ($3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA). Some pipelines already take our gas all the way to the Gulf Coast (see 
In May MDN told you that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had announced plans to construct a new “state-of-the-art, locally-sourced mini-power grid” that will connect to the statewide electric grid but will also be able to operate independently, to power the Empire State Plaza in Albany–a complex of buildings in downtown Albany housing much of New York State government (see 
There is a coming shortage of natural gas to fire electric power plants in wintertime in New England. So says an analysis presented last week to the ISO-New England Planning Advisory Committee. ISO New England Inc. is the independent, non-profit Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) that manages the electric grid for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The study presented last week shows that there will be enough natgas reaching New England in summer for the foreseeable future, but in the winters of 2025 and 2030, almost every planning scenario shows New England will only have half (50%) of the gas it needs to operate electric generating plants. This is seriously bad news for New Englanders–and something we previously predicted (see 
On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to construct a new “state-of-the-art, locally-sourced mini-power grid” that will connect to the statewide electric grid but will also be able to operate independently, to power the Empire State Plaza in Albany–a complex of buildings in downtown Albany housing much of New York State government. The energy-efficient microgrid will supply 90% of the power for the 98-acre downtown Albany complex, and is expected to save the Plaza more than $2.7 million in annual energy costs. The project will also remove more than 25,600 tons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere each year – the equivalent of taking more than 4,900 cars off the road – supporting New York’s goal to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels. In an emergency, it can power a shelter for Albany residents. So what will power the magical microgrid and deliver this nirvana of cheaper electricity AND reduce so-called greenhouse gas emissions at the same time? Is it a huge solar array errected in Albany or in the nearby countryside? Nope–the sun doesn’t always shine. Must be a wind farm, maybe off the coast of Long Island? Nope. The wind doesn’t always blow. The magic fuel for the magic microgrid is, you guessed it–fracked shale gas from the Marcellus. Yes, Andrew Cuomo is the same governor who has banned fracking in New York State and is blocking construction of pipelines to bring “fracked gas” from Pennsylvania into New York State. And some people think Donald Trump is crazy?!!!…
MDN previously reported on a $900 million Marcellus gas-fired electric generating plant coming to Orange County, NY (see 
The largest (so far) Marcellus Shale-gas fired electric plant in Pennsylvania is currently under construction in Lackawanna County, PA (near Scranton). The Lackawanna Energy Center, being built in Jessup by Invenergy, will produce 1,480 megawatts of electricity. However, there is a second, smaller Marcellus-fired electric plant also in the works. Last October, MDN brought you the news that Archbald Energy Partners, a collaboration between Canada-based EmberClear Corp. and New Jersey-based DCO Energy, wants to build a plant in Archbald, PA (again, near Scranton) that will produce 485 megawatts of electricity (see 
“Stupid is as stupid does.” – Forrest Gump. New England needs more natural gas. Why? Because they heat with it, but more importantly, because the produce electricity with it. New England has the highest electric rates in the country–up to four times higher than other regions. These are indisputable facts. In early 2014 all of the six New England state governors sent a letter supporting new pipeline infrastructure to bring cheap, abundant, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas to New England (see 
To say that how electricity in the Northeast gets generated has shifted dramatically over the past 10 years is an understatement. In the nine Northeast states, natural gas doubled its share of the region’s total generation to 41% in 2016, up from 23% in 2006. Coal-fired generation fell from 31% to 11% of generation over the same period. Nuclear-powered generation as a share of total generation remained relatively constant near 34%. And so-called renewables like wind and solar are almost undetectable as a percentage of electricity generation. Which means Andrew Cuomo’s insistence that New York get 50% of its electricity from “renewable” sources by 2030 is not only fantasy–it’s lunacy. The man is a crackpot if he thinks that will actually happen. Anyhow, the point of this post, which contains an article recently released by our favorite government agency, the Energy Information Administration, is that over the past 10 years, natural gas has essentially replaced coal in electric generation in the Northeast… 
New England, with its opposition to new natural gas pipelines, is shooting itself in the head when it comes to electricity supplies. A recent announcement from ISO New England, charged with maintaining electric reliability for New England’s power grid, says everything should be fine this summer when it comes to electric generation–BUT “forecasts show possibility of occasional tight system conditions.” Rolling blackouts anyone? Some 700 megawatts (MW) of expected new resources “are delayed and may not be available this summer.” Natgas-fired electric generators in New England have been begging and pleading for pipelines to bring more natural gas to the region–to feed their plants. Yet the dopes in New England, like Sen. Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy, keep shutting them out…
Moody’s Investors Service issued a report earlier this week saying an abundance of cheap, clean-burning Marcellus Shale gas threatens to “wreak havoc” in the electric generation market in the PJM area, which covers all or parts of DE, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NJ, NC, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, and Washington, DC. According to Moody’s researchers, a large influx of natural gas power plants entering PJM Interconnection, due to cheap gas supplies from the Marcellus Shale, will pose “severe challenges for generators operating in the region” in the next few years. Because of the Marcellus “glut,” new plants coming online will drive down power prices, which “could lead” to widespread closures of coal power plants, and pressure operating margins for all generators, including other gas-fired plants. The prediction is that a low-price Armageddon will result in widespread corporate casualties. What can be done to avoid this hideous future? Nothing. The only thing power plant operators can do is cut their debt load, which they are doing. In other words, good old American competition (coming from Marcellus Shale gas) is making the PJM electric industry get leaner and more efficient. Imagine that… 
Talen Energy was birthed in June 2015–a combination of PPL Energy Supply and certain assets of Riverstone Holdings. The company, headquartered in Allentown, PA, is one of the largest competitive energy and power generation companies in North America. Talen owns or controls 16,000 megawatts of generating capacity in wholesale power markets, primarily in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the U.S. Talen has gotten into converting and building natural gas-fired electric plants, stories we’ve covered over the past few years (
An important breakthrough in our long struggle to overthrow the odious and misnamed Obama Clean Power Plan–a plan that assassinates coal and mortally wounds natural gas (see 
In January, MDN highlighted a developing issue in Ohio that potentially impacts Utica/Marcellus shale in the region (see