Left Caves, Says OK to Pair Wind & Solar with “Dirty” Peaker Plants
The environmental left (at least some of them) is finally admitting what everyone with a brain already knows: Solar and wind power cannot meet the rapidly increasing demands for electricity coming from existing and soon-to-be-built AI data centers. What’s a lefty to do? We’ve been telling you (for years) that natural gas-fired power, which is “dispatchable” and on-demand, is a good backup for solar and wind. The left is finally holding its nose and saying maybe “dirty” natgas “peaker” (on demand) gas plants aren’t so bad after all. Read More “Left Caves, Says OK to Pair Wind & Solar with “Dirty” Peaker Plants”
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Are climate lawfare activists trying their hand in Pennsylvania (again)?; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Michigan claims immunity in natural gas pipeline interference lawsuit; DC Circuit reverses course on vacating FERC approvals of 2 LNG sites; Plaquemines Terminal, the newest kid on the block, boosts U.S. LNG feedgas; NATIONAL: America’s energy grid faces unprecedented threat; Energy chief praises research hub that Trump once sought to ax; GE Vernova shortlisted for supply of geothermal power to US military; Wind and solar firms pitch to Trump: ‘You’re going to need us’; The U.S. needs to drill smarter, not harder; US natural gas prices up on record flows to LNG export plants, cooler weather; Natural gas, not oil, may be the real winner of Trump’s EPA overhaul; Price rally sets the stage for U.S. natural gas boom; INTERNATIONAL: Natural gas may be first to offer a hint when Russia-Ukraine peace deal is near; Russia is wooing Arctic gas buyers with life after US sanctions; GASCADE to convert 249 miles of natural gas pipeline in Germany for hydrogen. 
In the closing hours of the 2014 West Virginia legislative session, the legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 373, the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (see 
Yesterday, MDN told you that power generation giant LS Power announced a plan to add more than 700 megawatts (MW) of new electric generating capacity across the PJM grid by modifying and expanding gas-fired plants already in existence in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia (see 
A guest column appearing in the Columbus Dispatch written by the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce makes a strong case that (a) Ohio needs more electric power generation, and (b) the perfect solution is to use “trapped” by lack of pipelines Utica Shale gas. Steve Stivers throws the weight of the Chamber behind a pair of bills that aim to make it easier to generate power in the Buckeye State, Senate Bill (SB) 2 and House Bill (HB) 15. 
We’ve been tracking a story that we consider an ongoing tragedy for nearly a decade. American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County, Ohio, that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Actually, there are two injection wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS. They were both “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources following the quake nobody could feel (see 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) “took center stage in many sessions” at last week’s CERAWeek by S&P conference in Houston. But maybe not for the reasons you may think. Lately, MDN has brought you a flurry of stories about AI data centers and the monsters they are with respect to the amount of energy they consume. A day doesn’t go by that we don’t see stories of plans and announcements to generate more electricity (typically using gas-fired plants) to feed these beasts. While AI data centers and the need to supply them with gas-fired power were discussed last week at CERAWeek, the AI we’re talking about is how energy companies in all sectors (upstream, midstream, and downstream) are using AI to do their jobs faster, cheaper, and better. 
This is a story from the other side of “the pond”—from the United Kingdom. But it has relevance to our own country. The ultra-liberal UK Guardian newspaper ran a story ten days ago that attempts to excuse the criminal (we’d call them terroristic) actions of so-called “protesters” who have now resorted to using sabotage in their attempt to bully and force businesses to drop support for fossil energy. The “protesters” have tipped over into full-blown criminal activity. And we’re not talking about throwing soup at paintings in museums (which is a crime, too). We’re talking about cutting internet/communications to hundreds of businesses in the middle of London and doing it in the dead of night, hiding their identities from the ever-present cameras. 
Last Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul went to The White House for a private one-on-one meeting with President Trump. Among the topics discussed was the Constitution Pipeline project (see 
National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), headquartered in Buffalo, NY, is the parent company for Marcellus/Utica driller Seneca Resources and the parent of midstream company NFG Midstream (and subsidiary Empire Pipeline). In November 2023, MDN first reported on NFG Midstream’s Tioga Pathway project, an estimated $90 million modernization and expansion project that will add 190,000 Dth per day (190 MMcf/d) of firm transportation takeaway capacity from northwest Tioga County, Pennsylvania (see 
The Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count did not gain or lose last week—staying even with 592 active rigs. As for the Marcellus/Utica, the rig count was a combined 35 last week. Rigs focused on the Marcellus were a combined 24 across the three M-U states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Rigs focused on the Utica were a combined 11. PA has operated 15 rigs (or more) for the past 18 weeks. OH has operated nine rigs for the past 15 weeks. WV had operated 10 rigs for an astonishing 23 weeks in a row. One month ago, WV added (and has kept) one additional rig and now operates 11 active rigs. 
The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission operates the largest sewage treatment plant in New Jersey — in Newark. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, the sewer plant lost power and dumped BILLIONS of gallons of raw sewage into the Passaic River. The Commission plans to prevent that from happening again by building a tiny natural gas peaker plant to generate electricity. It would only be used to avoid such environmental damage again (i.e., rarely used, only for emergencies). Great news: The plant has been approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and now has (or soon will have) all the permits it needs to begin construction.