Big Tech Sees the Light – Dumps Renewables for Gas-Fired Power
Not all that long ago, we recall Big Tech, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook (now called Meta), Google, and others insisting on “green” energy to power their operations. They refused to buy electricity from nasty fossil-fired power plants, even those using clean natural gas. Now? It’s a complete 180-degree turnaround. It’s amazing. It’s startling. Now, Big Tech can’t find enough gas-fired power for their AI data centers. Read More “Big Tech Sees the Light – Dumps Renewables for Gas-Fired Power”
We’re still coming to grips with understanding how the power generation market works with respect to providing electricity for AI data centers. Data centers can potentially be huge and important new customers for natural gas—especially Marcellus/Utica molecules, as some 25% of all the data centers currently operating in the country are located in northern Virginia, where they use M-U molecules. Ten days ago, we brought you a post to help you better understand the various scenarios for how powergen gets provided to these data centers (see 
At the end of December, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG export facility officially shipped its first cargo…to Germany (see 
For years, we’ve warned you about the potential for insanely high natural gas costs and even blackouts in New England. We’ve written post after post after post about Massachusetts then-Attorney General (now Governor) Maura Healey, a radical leftist who has consistently blocked new pipeline projects that would deliver cheap, clean, abundant Marcellus gas to her state (
An Austrian-based company claims its hydrogen-to-power projects are demonstrating the viability of using hydrogen gas engines, with some installations in Germany, the Netherlands, and South Korea using 100% hydrogen. At a company-hosted event, representatives discussed how natural gas-fired plants are adaptable for future hydrogen conversion and detailed the technical modifications required to support this energy transition. There is at least one gas-fired power plant in the Marcellus/Utica experimenting with blending hydrogen with natgas, the Long Ridge Energy Terminal in Monroe County, OH, (see 
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Yesterday, MDN noted the NYMEX “front month” futures price of natural gas had jumped 28.2 cents to close just above $4/MMBtu (see 
Two days ago, President Trump signed yet another executive order, this one called “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies.” We’ve lost count of how many he’s signed! This latest EO is a really, hairy, big deal. This EO gives the president sweeping control over the budgets, policies, and regulations of independent U.S. agencies that oversee the energy sector, financial markets, trade, and transportation. Agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Predictably, the left is shouting, “Dictator!” They are in full meltdown mode. The right is arguing the 50+ “independent” agencies created by Congress (but nominally under the Executive Branch) are an unelected bureaucracy not accountable to anyone—not to the President, not to Congress, and not to the courts. 
Hold on, everyone. The NYMEX natural gas price roller coaster is climbing up the next hill, and there is no telling how high it will go—or how quickly it will go down again. Yesterday, the NYMEX “front month” (March contract) for natural gas futures based on the price at the Henry Hub soared 28.2 cents to close at $4.0070 (call it $4.01). It was the sixth day in a row that the price has gone higher. The current cold snap (weather) in the central and eastern sections of the country is credited with the rise in the price. NGI reports its nationwide average for the spot price of natgas soared $1.010 to $6.880, its highest level since Winter Storm Enzo in mid-January. 
According to a recent report from PJM Interconnection, the manager of the electric grid in all or parts of 13 states plus D.C., three electric transmission zones that are wholly or partly in Pennsylvania are expected to see sharp increases in power demand from current and new data centers in the next few years. For all three zones, PJM says the increase in demand will mostly come from existing and planned new data centers. The solution? Build more Marcellus-fired power plants to meet the demand. 
This is one of those “man bites dog” stories. It wouldn’t be news if a Virginia House of Delegates member who is Republican proposed allocating $15 million of taxpayer money to provide “road extension, grading, and natural gas pipeline extension” for a natural gas power plant and potential data center in Pulaski County, in rural Southwest Virginia. But it definitely IS news when a Democrat proposes it! 
During President Trump’s first term, he tried to change (tweak) the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to strip away some of the governmental red tape that has built up over the years, like plaque in an artery, preventing important infrastructure projects like pipelines, dams, bridges, and roads from getting built (see 
Have you ever considered all the different goods and services required to plug an orphaned well? It’s a surprisingly long and complex list! You might think (as we did), “There’s an old well, pull up with a cement mixer, dump cement down the hole, and voila, it’s done.” Not so! The process begins with locating orphaned/abandoned wells, using drones and other equipment to sniff out leaking old wells, and attempting to ascertain ownership (land records, title searches, etc.). Then, there’s preparing the site (permits required), doing the work, and monitoring after it’s done. It’s a looooong list.