PA Senators Tell PJM to Reject Prioritizing Unreliable Wind & Solar
On September 29, some 105 Democrat state legislators from 10 states across the PJM Interconnection region released a joint letter urging PJM to take immediate action to accelerate the deployment of unreliable renewable energy projects—to favor unreliable renewables over fossil fuels. The letter, organized by the partisan left-wing National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), highlights urgent concerns about grid reliability, rising energy costs, and recent federal actions against renewable energy. A group of Pennsylvania Republican legislators responded with their own letter asking PJM to disregard the lunatic letter from NCEL. Read More “PA Senators Tell PJM to Reject Prioritizing Unreliable Wind & Solar”

Pennsylvania is aggressively positioning itself as a leader in the AI data center race with an ambitious $92 billion, state-level initiative (see
Earlier this week, a seven-member, all-Democrat group of Pennsylvania House of Representatives members announced a six-bill legislative package aimed at regulating the “responsible development” of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the state. “Responsible development” is code for “no development” of new AI data centers. The proposed onerous legislation focuses on environmental and community impacts related to the centers’ water and energy use, emergency preparedness, community standards, and transparency. Don’t be fooled. This is an attempt to throttle new data centers to prevent more natural gas from being used to power them.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Greg Vitali, a radical Democrat and the majority chairman of the state House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee, introduced legislation (H.B. 1946) this week that would increase the current setback distances for unconventional oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania from 500 feet to 2,500 feet, effectively banning all new shale drilling in the state. Period. End of sentence. And Vitali (and the other radicals who have signed on to the bill) know it. The bill doesn’t stand a chance in the Republican-controlled Senate, but that’s not the point. The point is (a) fundraising, and (b) there is no other reason, except fundraising. 
We’re not big fans of the American Petroleum Institute (API), which tends to do the bidding of the Big Oil companies that fund it. Big Oil’s aims are sometimes at odds with those of smaller, independent oil and gas producers—the innovators who discovered shale drilling. Yet there are state chapters of the API that do a good job. One of them is the Pennsylvania API chapter. The executive director of PA API, Stephanie Catarino Wissman, recently published an excellent article in Broad+Liberty that calls for fast-tracking the effort to pass federal permit reform so Pennsylvania can get back to building.
Governor Josh Shapiro’s Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) program, launched in August 2024, aimed to expedite Pennsylvania’s permitting process (see
Southwestern Pennsylvania faces a time-sensitive opportunity to capitalize on the AI data center boom, with small and midsized manufacturers positioned to play a key role, industry experts said at a recent conference held in Pittsburgh. The rush to build advanced facilities, which have extensive physical, energy, and technology requirements, demands speed and coordination. Panelists highlighted Pennsylvania’s abundant natural gas and diverse energy potential as critical for powering centers, while noting that regulatory frameworks, workforce capacity, and supply chain readiness are equally vital. With $92 billion in committed investment, the region could leverage this moment if policies, energy costs, and development incentives align effectively. The question is, will SWPA be able to pull it off?
What is it about the modern Democrat Party that seeks the total destruction and annihilation of that which they perceive as a political threat? The party, or perhaps more accurately, the radical left elements of the party (which increasingly is all of the party), wants to destroy law and order, including our police departments. Just look at the “protests” (i.e., violent riots) in places like Portland, Oregon. Look at the violence against ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) employees in places like Chicago. And look at the dangerous talk of politicians like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is threatening to force the state out of the PJM Interconnection electric grid (see
Last Thursday, energy and labor leaders gathered for the “All About Propane & Energy Reliability” one-day conference, held in Boothwyn, PA (Delaware County, near Philadelphia). The speakers highlighted the significant economic and employment impact of energy production, particularly at the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Speakers noted that Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural gas producer, with 12,000 wells producing 7.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas last year. Marcus Hook, originally a crude oil refinery dating to 1901, now exports propane and ethane globally, supporting hundreds of jobs and generating substantial wages and tax revenue. Projects like the Mariner East 1 and 2 pipelines created millions of man-hours for local trades. Panelists emphasized Marcus Hook’s ongoing growth potential and its central role in local and statewide energy development.
Carrie Crumpton, Vice President of Environmental Strategy, presented on behalf of CNX Resources at the recent 2025 Shale Insight Conference. Carrie provided an overview and update on CNX’s
It took over two years, but NextEra Energy finally sold its ownership interest in Meade Pipeline Co LLC to investment company Ares Management Corporation for $1.1 billion. You may recall that NextEra acquired Meade Pipeline for $1.37 billion in 2019 (see 
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
PJM Interconnection is the electrical grid operator serving Pennsylvania, as well as parts of 12 other states and the District of Columbia. For months, the Democrat governors of PJM states have been criticizing PJM, blaming the grid operator for higher electricity prices, even though their own policies are driving electricity prices higher (see