PA’s Dalliance in Pursuing RGGI Carbon Tax Cost State $5 Billion
New research by the Commonwealth Foundation finds that Pennsylvania’s foolish pursuit of joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon tax scheme, led to a loss of $5 to $8 billion in energy sector investment over six years, stalling power projects and reducing electricity generation capacity. The state’s attempt to join RGGI, initiated by executive order under then-Governor Tom Wolf, was ultimately overturned by the courts and (eventually) by legislative action, citing it as an unconstitutional tax. Meanwhile, neighboring Ohio, not part of RGGI, saw an increase in energy projects, highlighting the differing regulatory environments. Read More “PA’s Dalliance in Pursuing RGGI Carbon Tax Cost State $5 Billion”
The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations begin in earnest next year. Domestic (European) oil, gas, and coal companies must monitor, measure, and report their emissions. The same restrictions will apply to energy imports from other countries, including imports from the U.S. (see 
NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas futures fall ahead of storage data; Alarmist fussing at NYT climate reporting; Rapid solar and wind growth sparks local backlash; INTERNATIONAL: Oil sinks on Iran peace proposal; Shipowners stay cautious on Hormuz despite peace deal hopes. 
DT Midstream (DTM) is an owner, operator, and developer of natural gas interstate and intrastate pipelines, storage and gathering systems, compression, treatment, and surface facilities, including major assets that are in (or flow molecules from) the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, the company issued its first quarter 2026 update. CEO David Slater announced two new projects to expand pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. He also announced a project to build a new lateral to an Indiana power plant and a new interconnect that flows more M-U molecules into the NEXUS pipeline. Great things are happening at DTM! 
Three weeks ago, the Trump Department of Energy announced it is moving forward with funding for five of the original seven Biden-awarded hydrogen hub projects, spending $5 billion of the originally allotted $7 billion (see 
We had to do a double-take when we spotted an editorial, written by the editors of the liberal Bloomberg News service, running under the title, “Data Centers Aren’t the Enemy — They’re the Future.” Bloomberg’s editorial board argues that proposed restrictions or moratoriums on data centers would be a major mistake, given their growing importance to cloud computing, AI, and the broader economy. Do you like using Facebook? Do you search Google? Do you have an Amazon Alexa in your home that you use with voice commands? Do you talk to your cell phone with voice commands? That all comes from data centers (some of it AI). If you block data centers, you block the internet. It’s that simple. 
Devon Energy and Coterra Energy shareholders have approved all proposals needed to complete the companies’ previously announced all-stock merger, which is expected to consummate on May 7, 2026. More than 98% of the votes cast by Devon shareholders and more than 99% by Coterra shareholders supported the deal. Executives said the merger will create a larger shale operator with complementary assets, improved scale, enhanced margins, free cash flow growth, and stronger shareholder returns. 
Yet another rankly hypocritical move by the Democrats in the Pennsylvania legislature. Yesterday, every single Democrat in the PA House voted in lockstep (as they typically do, under the leadership’s complete control) to pass House Bill (HB) 2076, titled “Advancing Geothermal Energy Development.” The Dems were assisted by 16 Republicans who were (charitably) hoodwinked. No matter. The bill won’t pass in the Senate. But why point out this vote? Because the “advanced” geothermal energy that the House wants to promote and regulate uses the very same drilling rigs and fracking as is used to drill in the Marcellus shale, revealing the hypocritical lies of the Democrat left in demonizing fracking. But there’s another reason we’re highlighting this news: The environmental left (including House Democrats) is seeking to increase drilling setbacks in the state from 500 feet to 3,281 feet (and, in some cases, 5,280 feet). Do the House Dems realize the new setbacks would not only ban ALL shale fracking in the state but also all geothermal fracking? 
President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt gas power plant in Ohio—funded by Japanese investment, including SoftBank—aims to address soaring energy demands from data centers (see 
Last week, CNX Resources issued its first quarter 2026 update. During 1Q26, CNX drilled 14 Southwest PA Marcellus wells, frac’d 6 wells (3 SWPA Marcellus and 3 Central PA Utica wells), and turned-in-line (TIL’ed) 12 wells (6 SWPA Marcellus, 3 CPA Marcellus, and 3 CPA Utica wells). Included in that activity were three of the company’s longest Marcellus laterals to date, all of which exceeded 22,000 feet, including a company record lateral that reached 23,369 feet (4.4 miles!), and a company daily drilling record of 9,252 feet of lateral in 24 hours. Production in 1Q26 was 1,693.0 MMcfe/d, up from 1Q25 (1,642.3) and up from 4Q25 (1,654.8). 
What happens on the other side of the world sometimes affects the Marcellus/Utica. So far, the Iran war has not affected prices (or demand) in the M-U for natural gas. However, if the war continues to drag on for months, it could potentially affect us by affecting the price of LNG on the world market. About one-fifth (20%) of global LNG trade depends on the Strait of Hormuz, with effectively no other way to get it out. Oil can, potentially, find other pathways out of the Persian Gulf (via overland pipelines). But such is not the case with LNG from Qatar.