On-Site Power Plants for Data Centers Drive New Pipe Projects
Data center growth is driving new investment in natural gas midstream in 2026, especially for behind-the-meter gas-fired generation as grid interconnection delays persist. S&P Global Energy CERA has tracked 130 North American data center projects planning on-site generation, with more than 80% relying on gas. Major activity is emerging in Marcellus and Utica-adjacent markets, including UGI’s Pennsylvania deal with Prime Data Centers, National Fuel expansions in western Pennsylvania, and Williams’ Ohio Aristotle and Neo projects. Read More “On-Site Power Plants for Data Centers Drive New Pipe Projects”
In April 2025, MDN told you about a new greenfield expansion of Kinder Morgan’s (KM) Elba Express pipeline into South Carolina to serve growing demand for natural gas in the state (see 
Last Thursday (May 21), the commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously proposed significant changes to the agency’s natural gas blanket certificate program, the most substantial overhaul since 2006. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) aims to roughly double the cost thresholds for pipeline companies to build and modify infrastructure without extensive case-by-case approval. It also expands eligible project categories and, for the first time, extends streamlined authorization to certain LNG facility activities. 
Yesterday, MDN told you that Enbridge has launched an open season for customers to sign up for capacity along an expanded Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline in New England (see 
Last week, the news broke that Enbridge is exploring a major expansion of its Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline into New England, and had briefed the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council about its plans (see 
Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest U.S. energy holding companies, serving 8.7 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers across six states. While the company dabbles in unreliable renewables like solar and wind, its bread-and-butter, go-to source for new electric power generation is natural gas, which it gets from the Marcellus/Utica. We’ve reported on many of Duke’s announced new gas-fired power plant projects (
It seems that not all of the judges who sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Circuit) are clowns, the way the three judges who oversee cases dealing with the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project are (see 
According to RBN Energy, the Northeast natural gas market is entering a new phase after years of stalled pipeline development and Appalachian takeaway constraints. Once a premium destination for Gulf Coast and Canadian gas, the region became a major supplier as Marcellus/Utica production surged, reversing flows toward the Southeast and Gulf Coast. Recent legal, regulatory, and cost hurdles have frozen major projects, with the Mountain Valley Pipeline serving as both a milestone and a warning. Now, under a friendlier regulatory climate, new expansions toward New York/New Jersey and New England are advancing. 
At a Pennsylvania DEP hearing in Indiana County, environmental extremists opposed a proposed 5.8-mile, 30-inch natural gas pipeline serving Homer City Redevelopment’s planned $10 billion, 4.5-GW gas-fired power plant and hyperscale data center campus. The pipeline would cross streams, wetlands, and floodways, potentially affecting Muddy Run, Blacklick Creek, and various tributaries. Reminding us of Chicken Little in The Sky is Falling, speakers warned of water pollution, setbacks to acid mine drainage restoration, drought-related water stress, and inadequate transparency around the fast-moving project. 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million “contribution” (we call it a bribe) to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see