Can Amazon’s $20B Investment Survive Pennsylvania’s Red Tape?
We’ve reported, with some excitement, the recent news about a host of new AI data centers coming to the Keystone State (Pennsylvania), including several large projects in southwestern PA and Amazon’s big announcement last week about spending $20 billion on at least three data centers in the eastern part of the state (see Amazon Investing $20 Billion to Build AI Data Centers in Eastern PA). Most of these facilities will use electricity generated by Marcellus gas-fired power plants. After years of no new gas-fired power plant announcements due to concerns over the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax being imposed by Democrat governors, suddenly, power plant (and data center) builders either believe RGGI won’t happen, or they’re willing to pay obscenely high taxes. Whatever the case, it’s good news for PA. However, there’s something else besides a carbon tax that may block some of these recently announced projects from ever getting built: PA’s massive red tape. Read More “Can Amazon’s $20B Investment Survive Pennsylvania’s Red Tape?”
MDN recently brought you the news that the Trump U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) was blocking at least three (possibly more) cargoes of ethane by rejecting permits to export to Enterprise Products Partners (see 
During EQT Corporation’s third quarter 2023 update and conference call (held in October 2023), the company announced “two of the largest, long-term physical supply deals ever executed” for 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of EQT’s molecules. Those molecules will flow on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) beginning in 2027 (see 
In April, MDN told you that the West Virginia Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in two important oil and gas royalty cases (see 
In October of last year, MDN told you that both EQT Corporation and Tenaska are “dipping their toes” in the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) space (see 
Penneco Environmental Solutions wants to build a second wastewater injection well in Plum Borough (Allegheny County), PA, next to an existing injection well. Penneco’s first wastewater injection well in Plum finally opened for business in mid-2021, overcoming all sorts of smears, slanders, and lawsuits by the enviro-left (see 
Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators, Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, and John Fetterman, D-Braddock, have introduced Senate Bill 2044, which would move the federal Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) to Pittsburgh. It’s not an insignificant move. The DOE FECM employs approximately 750 federal employees, including scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff. The federal government already employs around 20,000 people in the Pittsburgh region. This would add to that number. 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and its Regional Entities recently issued a report reviewing how the country’s Bulk-Power System performed well during successive cold weather events in January 2025. The report found that the system was a stellar performer, with no significant issues in either the natural gas or electric systems. The 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) was called out for its “crucial role” in helping to keep the lights on throughout the Atlantic Coast region during the coldest parts of winter. 
According to a former New Jersey Board of Public Utilities commissioner who was first appointed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie and later reappointed by Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s energy policy has “gone off the rails” due to the lack of fact-based planning. The former commissioner, Mary-Anna Holden, should know. She’s someone with a front-row seat to the state’s energy operations. In an op-ed, Holden says ratepayers in the Garden State are paying sky-high electricity prices due to an over-reliance on intermittent (unreliable) renewable energy sources, including solar and wind. 
The Japanese certainly want to stay on the good side of Donald Trump regarding trade. Yesterday, JERA Co., Inc., Japan’s largest power generation company, joined U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright (the Chair and Vice Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council, respectively), along with Shigeo Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the United States, to announce that the company has finalized several 20-year agreements to procure up to 5.5 million tonnes per year (MTPA) of LNG from the United States. 
Even though gas-fired power is the #1 source of electric power generation in the U.S., almost no new combined-cycle gas-fired power plants came online in the U.S. in 2024. That’s about to change. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that 4.3 gigawatts (GW) of new gas-fired power is currently under construction, and developers have announced plans to add 18.7 GW of combined-cycle capacity to the grid by 2028. However, gas-fired power still trails unreliable renewables in planned power additions, illustrating the power of mass brainwashing of the public. 
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) recently released production numbers for the first quarter of 2025. The top natural gas producer in the state, by far, was Ascent Resources, with 195,139,574 Mcf (or 195.14 Bcf) of production during the quarter, which works out to an average of 2.17 Bcf/d. Ascent’s production accounted for 40% of the state’s natural gas production. The top oil producer in the state, by far, was Encino Energy, with 5,360,199 barrels of oil during the quarter, which works out to an average of 59,557 barrels per day. Encino’s oil production was 49% (nearly half!) of Ohio’s entire oil production during 1Q25. Of course, Encino’s days as a standalone producer are numbered as EOG Resources is buying the company. 
This is funny, and sad. Yesterday, we brought you the news that Amazon has pledged to spend at least $20 billion to build multiple data centers in Pennsylvania (see