PJM to Critics: Fix Permitting & Siting for New Power in Your States
All week we’ve told you about a summit convened on Monday by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro with the sole purpose of beating up on the PJM Interconnection electric grid (see Gov. Shapiro Convenes Gang to Blame PJM Grid for His Policies). Shapiro got a bunch of his fellow Democrat governors in PJM, and even Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, to complain and moan about PJM (see Governors Pile on Bashing PJM Grid, Including Va.’s Youngkin). They either want to take it over and run it themselves (which would be an unmitigated disaster) or perhaps leave it altogether (also a disaster). PJM is responding to the carping from Monday. Read More “PJM to Critics: Fix Permitting & Siting for New Power in Your States”
We chalk this story up to the category, “We’re winning, and here’s more proof.” When, in your wildest dreams, would you ever think the lefty libs at the University of Pittsburgh (who HATE shale energy and fossil fuels) would launch a degree program for undergraduates that combines natural gas, oil, and unreliable renewables? We thought, NEVER! But that’s just what has happened. The school is launching an “all of the above” engineering degree, allowing students to “move seamlessly between industries.” Get them trained in both fossil fuels and so-called green energy for when the day arrives that fossil fuels are finally dead and green energy rules the land. (Which is when hell freezes over.) 
Countless times, we have addressed the issue of the ban on fracking in New York State and how that ban is harming state residents economically. The number one natural gas-producing county in Pennsylvania is Susquehanna County. It shares a border with Broome County in New York, where MDN is located. The gas that sits under Broome and neighboring counties is no doubt just as prolific as that under Susquehanna. Yet we are prevented from accessing it. We spotted a new op-ed comparing PA fracking with the lack of fracking in NY. It’s a great column that makes excellent points. And it’s worth addressing this issue one more time. We also offer our standard reply to the question: Will NY ever see fracking? 
On September 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Sandstone Development, LLC a permit for an oil and gas wastewater injection well in Lafayette Township, in McKean County. The permit authorizes Sandstone to inject up to 10,500 gallons per day of produced fluids from the McKay 7A conventional well to enhance oil and gas recovery in the McKay Lease area. Injection will occur into the Upper Devonian Kane Sandstone Formation at depths between 2,295 and 2,315 feet. A public hearing on the permit application was conducted in May. 
Yesterday, we told you about comments made by several governors from states covered by the PJM electric grid delivered to a bash PJM summit organized by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (see 
Finally, some movement on approving a new gas-fired power plant project in Chesterfield County, VA. Dominion Energy plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
MDN chronicled the rise and fall of Tellurian, founded by Charif Souki (who also founded Cheniere Energy), and Tellurian’s LNG export project, Driftwood. Tellurian’s primary focus was to build Driftwood LNG, a 27.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) facility that would cost $14.5 billion. Construction began on the project in March 2022, even without a final investment decision (see 
The annual 
Not quite a month ago, EQT Corporation, the largest Marcellus/Utica-only natural gas producer (second largest natural gas producer in the country) signed a deal with Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Jefferson County, Texas, to buy (not sell) LNG from the plant to resell it to other countries (see 
We must confess that we’re disappointed in Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (Republican). After such a promising term as governor (term limited to a single, four-year term, ending this year), Youngkin joined a gang of Democrat governors, headed by the biggest bully of them all, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, in bashing PJM at a “bash PJM” event hosted by Shapiro in Philadelphia earlier this week. Youngkin and various Dem governors, including Maryland’s Wes Moore and New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, made threats against PJM via speeches delivered remotely (they couldn’t even be bothered to travel a few hours to Philly to be there in person). We say fine, take your marbles and go home. Leave PJM and see how that works out for you when your residents are sitting in the dark 50% of the time and you’ve ended your political careers overnight. 
This story is funny. At least, we find it amusing. An extremely radical organization (essentially a Communist organization) calling itself New York Communities for Change (NYCC), launched a petition for signers to say that if New York Governor Kathy Hochul approves the plan to build the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project, they pledge to vote against her in the upcoming primary in 2026. The petition “quickly garnered supporters” with over 1,000 signatures. There are 5.9 million registered Democrats in the state, so 0.00017 of the Dems (assuming only registered Dems signed), or seventeen hundred-thousandths of the Dem primary voting population, will vote against her. Which is ZERO percent. But that’s not even the funniest part of this story. The funniest part is that she’s already approved it! 
We’ll begin this post with this statement: We’re not surprised. At the end of last December, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG export facility officially shipped its first cargo to Germany. Unfortunately for Venture Global’s contracted customers, they will have to wait to receive their legally contracted shipments. Venture Global said that it would (as it did with the Calcasieu Pass facility) pretend the Plaquemines LNG is not “commercially ready” while shipping all sorts of LNG cargoes around the world. The practice allows the company to cream the market and make more money for the first couple of years (see 
President Trump delivered a speech to the United Nations yesterday, and wow! It was a speech for the ages. The teleprompter was broken, but he delivered his speech “off the cuff” anyway! He told the assembled world leaders, and we quote: “Your countries are going to hell,” particularly Europe. Why? Primarily because they’re pursuing the climate hoax of green energy, what he calls a “green scam,” and because they refuse to block illegal invaders (euphemistically called “immigrants”) from moving in and sucking up the country’s public resources. He left it all at the podium, not holding back anything. 
Yesterday, the NYMEX “front month” futures contract for natural gas declined once again, marking four consecutive days of losses. The NYMEX price fell 8.20 cents per million British thermal units (MMBtus) to $2.806 per MMBtus. Why the slide? The best thinking we could find says (a) the weather isn’t warm or cold enough to draw down stocks, and (b) we have more than enough extra gas sitting in inventory. Classic economics 101 states that a surplus of supply over demand results in falling prices. How much longer will the price continue to decline? Gas traders speculate that the short-term outlook is “bearish,” meaning the price will continue to decline. However, in the not-too-distant future, they predict a turnaround and higher prices. 
In the closing hours of the 2014 West Virginia legislative session, the legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 373, the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (see