A Commonsense Approach to AI Data Centers for Local Communities
Pennsylvania has become a hotspot for data center proposals, prompting community backlash, writes Penn State law professor Michael Helbing, whose hometown is Archbald, PA, a suburb of Scranton. You may recall that last week we wrote about another Scranton suburb (virtually next door to Archbald, see the map) by the name of Olyphant, and how the leaders of that borough had developed zoning regulations to protect residents yet allow data center projects to proceed (see 2 PA Towns Show How to Move Forward with Data Center Projects). Archbald is facing the same issues, and the debate is intense. Helbing weighs in on a way forward for communities like Archbald. Read More “A Commonsense Approach to AI Data Centers for Local Communities”
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced the distribution of $243,877,400 in natural gas impact fees collected from producers for the 2025 reporting year, a whopping 48% increase over 2024. The reason for the big increase was the higher price that natural gas fetched last year and a significant uptick in the number of new wells drilled. This year’s distribution brings the cumulative total of impact fees collected and distributed since 2012 to more than $3.12 billion! 
Three months ago (March 2026), MDN reported on a northeastern Pennsylvania landowner from Luzerne County who sold his farm to an AI data center project and overnight became a multimillionaire (see 
In early May, MDN brought you details about a proposed NSCALE data center project in Mason County, WV (see 
Last week, the combined Marcellus/Utica Baker Hughes rig count remained at 36 active rigs for the fifth week in a row. The M-U’s chief competitor, the Haynesville, maintained its count of 55 active rigs, operating 19 more than the M-U. The national count lost 1 rig last week, bringing the total down to 562 rigs. Baker Hughes said the number of oil rigs rose by 2 to 433 last week, the highest total since June 2025, while gas rigs fell by 3 to 121, the lowest since October 2025. 
New York State, with its bizarre energy policies, has officially bankrupted yet another company. Danskammer Energy, which operates a gas-fired peaker power plant along the Hudson River in Newburgh, NY, had tried for years to upgrade the plant (since 2018), but finally threw in the towel in June 2024 (see 
The name Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) pretty much says it all. PGW is a natural gas utility serving the Philly region. PGW is the country’s oldest and largest municipal-owned gas company, serving 500,000 customers. It’s NOT an electric company; it’s a natural gas company. Yet PGW is now seriously considering two strategies to reduce “carbon emissions” as part of its Low Carbon Pathways project. The first option involves full electrification, shifting from natural gas to electric systems for heating, cooking, and appliances. Again, PGW has ZERO electric infrastructure in place. In Philadelphia, PECO (formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company) is the sole local utility company responsible for delivering electricity. In other words, PGW is considering committing suicide (going out of business) by giving all of its business to PECO. Bring out Old Sparky. 
In early April, the EPA revised certain Biden-era oil and natural gas regulations, specifically aspects of the 2024 Clean Air Act rules (OOOOb/c, known as “Quad O”), to reduce compliance burdens and lower energy costs (see 
As we so often say, we love how creative and innovative the oil and gas industry is! We spotted an article that discusses how AI (artificial intelligence) is transforming oil and gas drilling operations across diverse environments—from Alaska’s harsh North Slope to deepwater operations off Guyana to U.S. shale fields like the Permian Basin and (yes) the Marcellus Shale. AI-driven systems now interpret real-time sensor data from drill strings, adjust drilling parameters automatically, optimize directional drilling, monitor drilling fluid chemistry, and evaluate cement integrity faster than human operators. Results include drilling speeds up to 50% faster and pressure-imbalance detection 10-12 minutes earlier than with conventional methods. 
Democrats are attempting to pull a new con job on the American public. They are, according to the New York Times and Grist, “recalibrating” their climate strategy amid economic concerns, moving away from aggressive anti-fossil-fuel positions that defined the Biden era. Americans now see the exposed face of environmental extremism that seeks to ban fossil energy, and they don’t like it. So, in order to cling to what little power they have left, the Dems are changing their messaging (spinning new lies and half-truths) that downplay their ongoing, irrational hatred of fossil energy. Don’t be fooled. 
In February, President Donald Trump unveiled a record-breaking $33 billion natural gas power plant in Piketon (Pike County), Ohio, to be operated by SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank (see 
The same three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit who blocked the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) for *years* suddenly changed course in late April, ruling on an extension of MVP into North Carolina called Southgate. Big Green, represented by the Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices, sued to block a permit issued by North Carolina regulators for the Southgate project. While the three judges grumbled and complained about Southgate during oral arguments (see 
Earlier this year, the board of commissioners in Montour County, PA, voted unanimously to reject Talen Energy’s request to rezone empty agricultural land near Talen’s Montour Power Plant for a proposed data center (see 
We are encouraged by recent developments in two Pennsylvania townships, one in northeast PA, the other in southwest PA, with respect to moving forward with data center projects. We get it. People are up in arms, some feeling as though data centers are being “forced” on them by less-than-transparent builders. Noise. Lights. Water usage. All are concerns. However, as we’ve stated many times, reasonable people can work together, sort through the issues, and move these projects along. That’s what we’re seeing in Olyphant, PA, a suburb of Scranton in Lackawanna County, and in South Strabane Township in Washington County. 
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its latest monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) on Tuesday. Using the official EIA dartboard, the STEO is the agency’s monthly best estimate of where energy prices and production will go over the next 12 months. There was a revision to the agency’s prediction about the spot price (at the Henry Hub) for natural gas in 2026 and 2027. Last month, the EIA predicted 2026 would end up with an average HH price of $3.50/MMBtu and 2027 would see an average of $3.18/MMBtu. On Tuesday, the EIA revised both numbers up. The agency sees an average price of $3.60 this year, up a dime from last month, and $3.46 in 2027, up a robust 28 cents.