Ohio Board Approves “Behind the Meter” Power Plant Near Columbus
Back in February, MDN told you that a company called PowerConneX had pre-applied to build a 120-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant at a 49-acre site in New Albany, Licking County (near Columbus) that will host a data center (see New Power Plant/Data Center Proposed in Columbus, OH Suburb). Instead of connecting to the local grid, the power plant will be “behind the meter”—providing 100% of its power to a local data center. The company filed the full, official application in June, expanding the capacity of the power plant to 216 MW. According to news we’re just hearing about now, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) approved the expanded application at its Nov. 20 board meeting. Read More “Ohio Board Approves “Behind the Meter” Power Plant Near Columbus”
On July 25, 2025, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act to streamline federal environmental reviews for energy and infrastructure projects, addressing delays blamed for hindering U.S. construction (see 
In 2018, Equitrans Midstream, the builder of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), proposed extending the MVP pipeline (after completion) by an additional 75 miles from the current terminus in Pittsylvania County, VA, to Alamance County, NC, to provide natural gas for heating and electric power generation. The 75-mile extension was called MVP Southgate. In December 2023, Equitrans announced it was significantly changing the project, cutting it by more than half and increasing the amount of gas flowing through it (see 
In August 2014, the Marshall County, WV board of commissioners voted to approve a plan to build a Marcellus Shale-powered electric plant in the county (see 
In April, Knighthead Capital Management, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. announced a plan to convert the former Homer City Generating Station, previously the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania (Indiana County, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (see 
In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see 
Ohio already has 217 data centers with more on the way. Data centers are warehouses filled with computer equipment that generates a lot of heat. To cool down the computers, data centers use massive amounts of water. If data centers want to get rid of that water after it’s been used, they have to apply for a permit called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) through the Ohio EPA. Currently, data centers must apply for an individual NPDES permit, which is detailed and unique to their operations. The OEPA is looking to streamline the process to make it faster and easier. That’s a good thing. 
MDN was among the first to tell readers that so-called environmental groups were quickly morphing from anti-fracking to anti-data center. Over the past several months, we’ve observed in various posts how opposition to data centers (from the same people who oppose fracking and shale energy) has gone from local and regional anti groups (see 
In June, Duke Energy announced that it plans to apply to the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to build a 1,400 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Anderson County (see 
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright yesterday signed an amendment order granting an additional 44 months for Woodside Energy to commence LNG exports to non-FTA countries from the Woodside Louisiana LNG Project under construction in Calcasieu Parish, LA. The project was formerly called Driftwood. Once fully constructed, the project will be capable of exporting up to 3.88 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG. 
Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage (EGTS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (Warren Buffett’s company), filed a new project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July (see 
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest electric grid operator (covering PA, WV, and OH, among other states), began to grapple with the issue of co-locating power plants with data centers (see 
The European Union is simplifying compliance with its methane emissions law for oil and gas imports, a decision expected to aid U.S. exporters following pressure from the Trump administration. Recognizing that the commingled nature of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) makes tracing difficult, the European Commission proposed two streamlined reporting options: utilizing third-party verification certificates or a digital “trace and claim” system. While the core regulation remains intact with stricter standards scheduled for 2027, these adjustments aim to prevent supply disruptions by offering more flexible monitoring solutions for the fragmented U.S. energy industry. To which we say, tell Europe to bugger off.