MDN Will Not Publish on Good Friday 2025 – Happy Easter!
As we have in previous years, MDN will not publish on Friday in observance of Good Friday and the Easter holiday. We hope you enjoy this blessed time of year!
– Jim Willis, Editor
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MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Apr 17, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Consumers Energy starts work on Four Cities Metro Pipeline; Trump halts NY offshore wind project work amid sector review; NATIONAL: Here’s the ‘green’ fuel the left refuses to celebrate this Earth Day; U.S. LNG developers make progress with big projects; Going fossil-fuel-free – surprise expenses, reams of red tape, higher bills; Lee Zeldin’s national good-neighbor tour; New documents show Joe Biden negotiated O&G deal to benefit Hunter, Burisma; INTERNATIONAL: US inventory drop, OPEC action lift oil prices; OPEC+ efforts at oil quota compensation look flimsy as ever; A U.S.–Japan fossil fuel alliance to counter China; Mexico’s Achilles’ heel as it faces Trump is reliance on natgas; Thailand plans to import more US LNG over next five years; EU shelves idea of sanctions on Russian LNG imports; B.C. loosens net-zero rules for LNG proposals amid hydroelectricity uncertainty. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Thu, Apr 17, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]” -
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA
PA DEP Prostitutes Itself for Gov. Shapiro by Attacking PJM Grid
This is shameful. A Pennsylvania government agency, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), has aligned itself with an extreme leftwing organization to attack the PJM Interconnection electric grid in a bid to paper over the failed policies of PA Governor Josh Shapiro. In particular, so-called “Acting” Secretary of the DEP, Jessica Shirley, has proven she is no longer fit to lead the agency. The PA Senate should refuse to confirm her and bounce her out immediately. Shirley aligned herself with the radical left-wing organization called Evergreen Action to promote a sham/fake “report” by a well-known Democrat organization called Synapse Energy Economics (that works exclusively for left-wing groups) attacking PJM with false claims that it has a “broken” electric generation project approval process. Read More “PA DEP Prostitutes Itself for Gov. Shapiro by Attacking PJM Grid” -
Democrat States Continue Assault on PJM, File FERC Complaint
In what appears to be a coordinated effort, the PJM Interconnect electric grid is under attack by leftists. As we point out in our lead story today, the Pennsylvania DEP has prostituted itself politically and joined with extremist left-wing organizations to attack PJM. At the same time, three deeply blue (economically failed) states, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois, filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking the agency to force PJM to rerun an electric capacity auction, claiming such a move would save ratepayers $5 billion. These states’ failed policies in FORCING unreliable solar and wind on the public caused the high-priced electricity problem in the first place. So now, the perpetrators are blaming the victim—PJM. Read More “Democrat States Continue Assault on PJM, File FERC Complaint” -
ET Asks FERC to Extend Lake Charles LNG Construction Extra 3 Years
Energy Transfer’s (ET) Lake Charles LNG project is in the news again. Last week we told you that ET had landed a new partner to help pay for the project, MidOcean Energy, which will cover 30% of the cost of building the plant (see MidOcean Partners with Energy Transfer on Lake Charles LNG Exports). ET has just filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to add an extra three years to the permit to get the facility built and online. Read More “ET Asks FERC to Extend Lake Charles LNG Construction Extra 3 Years” -
Plan for Va. Data Center with 3,500 MW Gas-Fired Plant Canceled
The on again, off again, on again, off again plan to build a massive data center in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, with a 3,500-megawatt gas-fired power plant is now off again, permanently. Last October, Balico applied to rezone more than 2,200 acres for a proposed campus in Pittsylvania County, Va., that would include its own massive on-site gas-fired power plant complex using Marcellus/Utica molecules from the Mountain Valley Pipeline (see Massive Data Center with 3,500 MW Gas-Fired Plant Proposed for Va.). The project hit significant pushback from local residents and politicians, so Balico revised the plan. The revised plan was to build a tiny 300 MW gas-fired plant, at least initially (see Plan for Massive 3,500-MW Va. Gas-Fired Plant Slashed 91% to 300-MW). In January of this year, the County Planning Commission shot down the trimmed-down plan (see Pittsylvania (VA) County Planning Bd. Votes to Deny Data Center Plan). Balico knows when it’s not wanted. Read More “Plan for Va. Data Center with 3,500 MW Gas-Fired Plant Canceled” -
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide NY | Statewide PA
New Study Compares Fracking’s Economic Impact on PA, NY Counties
click for larger version The Marcellus Shale is a natural gas reserve in northeastern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York. Pennsylvania allows hydraulic fracturing, and thus produces gas, but New York has banned natural gas production from its share of the gas reserve. A special report, researched and published by the top-notch Heritage Foundation, evaluates the economic effects of hydraulic fracturing in PA and NY, using NY’s ban (2010 to present) as a natural experiment. Analyzing economic data from 2002 to 2022 and comparing NY’s counties as the treatment group against comparable PA counties as the control group, the authors estimate that NY’s ban resulted in the relevant NY counties losing out on around $11,000 per resident, or a staggering $27,000 per household. Read More “New Study Compares Fracking’s Economic Impact on PA, NY Counties”
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Calcasieu Pass LNG Open for Business After Shipping 400+ Cargoes
After liquefying and exporting over 400 cargoes of LNG from March 1, 2022, through this month, Venture Global says its Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana is now officially open for business—three years after it began shipping LNG. Venture Global claimed the CP facility was not commercially ready until now. Venture Global has been selling cargo after cargo of LNG on the open “spot” market, making two, three, or four times the money it could make by selling the cargoes to its legally contracted customers at a predetermined price. At last count, Venture Global has made over $20 billion by selling cargoes on the open spot market. Read More “Calcasieu Pass LNG Open for Business After Shipping 400+ Cargoes” -
MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Apr 16, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: US regulators deny rehearing on co-located Amazon data center energy pact; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: FERC approves storage expansion at Mississippi Hub; Midcontinent energy execs peg $3.80 as necessary for profitability; NATIONAL: EPA Deputy Administrator McIntosh says regulatory overhaul coming; NGOs went wild under Joe Biden; AI power demand is remaking our energy ecosystem; INTERNATIONAL: Oil dips as tariff tensions linger; Goldman Sachs warns of sub-$40 oil under one scenario; Understanding the competitive landscape for China’s LNG market; EU plan to end Russian oil and gas imports due out in May. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Wed, Apr 16, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]” -
American Energy Partners Inc. | Belmont County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Wastewater
Austin Master Services Frack Waste Cleanup in OH Almost Complete
picture of facility being power washed (stock photo) One of the significant stories of 2024 in the Ohio Utica was about Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological waste management solutions company in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), Ohio, that handles fracking waste (trucks it for disposal). AMS ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The Martins Ferry facility, where waste is temporarily stored, went from a permitted maximum of 600 tons of stored waste to over 10,000 tons, violating its permit. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2024 to force compliance and to force the cleanup of the facility. More than a year later, we are finally near the end of the cleanup process. Read More “Austin Master Services Frack Waste Cleanup in OH Almost Complete”
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Enviro-Left Claims PGW Wants to Cut $700M in IRA Money for Philly
The name Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) pretty much says it all. PGW is a natural gas utility serving the Philly region. It’s not an electric company; it’s a natural gas company. So, it will probably come as no surprise that PGW belongs to a trade organization called the American Public Gas Association (APGA). Indeed, PGW is the largest member of the APGA. And it would probably not surprise you to learn that the APGA supports President Trump’s efforts to pause and defund much of the money not already distributed from the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was Biden’s Green New Deal aimed at using billions of OUR taxpayer dollars to try to destroy fossil energy, including natural gas. The swampy left, including its apologists in the media (i.e., PBS), are trying to shame PGW into dropping its membership in the APGA, implying PGW is (via APGA) opposed to having its business destroyed using $700 million from the IRA earmarked for Philly. Imagine that! Read More “Enviro-Left Claims PGW Wants to Cut $700M in IRA Money for Philly” -
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | M&A | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Snyder County | Vinton County
Canada’s Capital Power Buying 2 PJM Gas-Fired Plants in PA, OH
Capital Power Corporation, based in Edmonton (Alberta), Canada, a power producer with approximately 10 gigawatts (GW) of power generation at 30 facilities across North America, announced it is buying two gas-fired power plants from LS Power. One facility is the 1,124 megawatt (MW) Hummel Station, a combined-cycle natural gas facility in Shamokin Dam, PA, fed by Marcellus molecules. The other is the 1,023 MW Rolling Hills plant, a combustion turbine natural gas facility in Wilkesville, OH, fed by Utica molecules. We welcome Capital Power to the M-U! Read More “Canada’s Capital Power Buying 2 PJM Gas-Fired Plants in PA, OH” -
ArcLight Capital Buying Majority Interest in CT Gas-Fired Plant
ArcLight Capital Partners, an infrastructure investment firm focused on energy and related infrastructure, announced it is buying out the ownership interests of Osaka Gas USA Corporation and Kyuden International Americas Inc. (both Japanese companies) in Kleen Energy Systems, LLC. Kleen Energy owns Kleen Power, a 620 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Connecticut. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read More “ArcLight Capital Buying Majority Interest in CT Gas-Fired Plant” -
Duke Energy Files to Build 2 Gas-Fired Power Plants in Indiana
Cayuga Station, owned by Duke Energy, is a three-unit coal-fired power plant built between 1970 and 1993 in Vermillion County, Indiana. The existing plant produces as much as 1,040 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Duke recently filed a request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) for permission to build two new gas-fired plants at the Cayuga site to replace the coal-fired units. The combined output of the new gas-fired plants will be 1,510 MW. The plan is to build and commission the gas-fired plants first and then shut down the coal-fired plants. Read More “Duke Energy Files to Build 2 Gas-Fired Power Plants in Indiana” -
Blue Hydrogen Facilities Could Move Needle on NatGas Demand This Yr
An interesting report from BTU Analytics connects many of the dots that (for us) have been missing with respect to hydrogen production from natural gas that captures carbon dioxide in the process—called “blue hydrogen.” As you know, we’ve been skeptical of the big push to produce hydrogen as a magic replacement for other forms of energy, particularly natural gas. Environmentalists pay lip service to loving hydrogen because it burns “clean” with no CO2 emissions. Why not just burn natural gas (and capture the CO2) instead of going through the time and expense of converting natural gas into hydrogen? Please, don’t ask such common-sense questions. It marks you as a MAGA extremist. Read More “Blue Hydrogen Facilities Could Move Needle on NatGas Demand This Yr” -
MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Apr 15, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: NextDecade strikes LNG supply deal with TotalEnergies for 1.5 million tonnes annually; Stakeholders respond to Mass. proposal to limit cost recovery for gas expansion; NATIONAL: U.S. natural gas slumps to nine-week low on record production, expected lower demand; White House ends funding for key U.S. climate body; Sustaining energy dominance in a shifting global market; INTERNATIONAL: Oil prices flat amid trade and Iran talks; OPEC cuts oil demand forecast for 2025 and 2026 on trade war; BMI reveals latest Brent oil price forecasts; Trump has been proven right about pretty much everything. Read More “MDN’s Energy Stories of Interest: Tue, Apr 15, 2025 [FREE ACCESS]”
