Trump Admin Announces $17 Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant for SWPA
Yesterday, the Trump administration announced “South Mon,” a $17 billion natural gas-fueled facility in southwestern Pennsylvania intended to expand domestic energy production. Part of a $550 billion trade deal with Japan, the hub will be operated by NextEra Energy Resources and generate 4.3 gigawatts (GW) of power. By tapping into the Marcellus and Utica shale regions and connecting to the PJM regional transmission network, the project aims to meet rising demand, lower energy costs, and create local jobs. South Mon is one of three major energy hubs planned nationwide to enhance power affordability and infrastructure across the Mid-Atlantic market. Read More “Trump Admin Announces $17 Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant for SWPA”
Eastern Shore developer TeraWulf has reached a deal to acquire the retired Morgantown Generating Station in Charles County (on the Potomac River), proposing to transform the site into a massive natural gas-powered data center campus. The plan aims to generate one gigawatt (GW) of power and 500 megawatts of battery storage, bypassing the aging regional grid. While TeraWulf claims support from Governor Wes Moore’s administration, the project faces intense scrutiny from environmental groups and local residents concerned about fossil fuel emissions and transparency. Critics also question the financial stability of the cryptocurrency-focused firm, though company leadership maintains they have the expertise to remediate the site. 
This is one of those “man bites dog” stories. When was the last time you heard about Democrat state legislators from one of the bluest of blue states voting to roll back funding for “green” programs in order to save money? Yeah, like NEVER. At least, until now. Funny how even Dems will throw their precious green philosophies out the window if their job (getting reelected) is on the line. That’s what is happening in Maryland. 
No one should be surprised that far-left Democrat Josh Shapiro, currently the Governor of Pennsylvania (but with a major passion to become President), joined his fellow radicals from other blue states in launching a lawsuit against the Trump administration for moving to eliminate the extremist “endangerment finding” concocted by Lord Obama and the Obamadroids of the EPA. Trump’s move to overturn the finding will save Americans roughly $3,800 each. Yet Shapiro and his fellow cabal members want to keep Americans poor and subservient (to them). 
Here we go again: another rebranding of ESG and another attempt to brand natural gas as low-emissions, clean, and green. Pipeline giant Williams has launched what it calls its NextGen Gas program to offer “verified lower-emissions natural gas from wellhead to market.” NextGen Gas measures methane and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions intensity from wellhead to market, increasing transparency into how natural gas is produced and delivered along a specific gas pathway. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Louisiana’s LNG industry could help fill natural gas gap amid war with Iran; New York banned the industry and stuck the poor with the bill; NATIONAL: Natural gas rises in volatile trading; How the Iran war could impact the US economy; U.S. exports of LNG to the Caribbean near record highs in 2025; State data refutes claim that data centers drive up power rates; INTERNATIONAL: Oil retreats as US and allies move to secure Hormuz; Gulf attacks drive oil volatility; Iran attacks wipe out 17% of Qatar’s LNG capacity for up to five years; European gas jumps after world’s top LNG plant hit by Iran. 
We lead with this story about a government regulatory action because of just how important we see this development. For *years* we have railed against the 106-year-old Jones Act and its requirement that any goods (like LNG) that are transported from one U.S. port to another be on a ship manufactured in the U.S., owned by a U.S. company, and crewed by a U.S. crew. The effect of this law in the modern age is to ban LNG (and other shipments, like gasoline, propane, coal, and other products manufactured in the U.S.) from being shipped cheaply from port to port. The U.S. foolishly allowed its ship manufacturing to slip away years ago to South Korea and other countries. We no longer make cargo carriers for LNG and other energy products. We haven’t made them in decades. Yesterday, President Trump signed a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, allowing certain goods (such as LNG, fertilizer, and coal) to be transported from U.S. port to U.S. port on foreign-owned, foreign-flagged and crewed ships. 
Just coming to light for us now is that Iroquois Gas Transmission System petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in February to reissue authorization for the $152 million Wright Interconnect Project in New York State, aiming to revive a critical link for the previously canceled Constitution Pipeline. Originally approved in 2014, the project seeks to establish a new receipt interconnection and compression facilities at the Wright Compressor Station. By creating 650,000 dekatherms per day (650 MMcf/d) of transportation capacity, the initiative intends to alleviate persistent natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast and New England markets. If approved, the project targets a May 2028 in-service date, utilizing existing company-owned infrastructure to minimize environmental impacts. 
The tagline (remit) of Marcellus Drilling News is “Helping People & Businesses Profit from Northeast Shale Drilling.” Sometimes people can make money apart from leasing land and drilling. As we have pointed out many times, there is a direct connection between shale gas and the power generation market. Gas-fired power plants use (are HUGE customers for) natural gas extracted in the Marcellus and the Utica. AI data centers, which have burst on the scene over the past year or so, have an enormous appetite for electricity. Most of the electricity used to power data centers comes from gas-fired power plants, whether those plants are owned and operated by independent power operators, or (increasingly) owned and operated on-site by the data center itself. This is the story of one farmer in northeastern Pennsylvania who became a millionaire apart from shale drilling—by selling his small farm to a data center company. 
Antero Midstream (AM) recently detailed its 2026 growth strategy, targeting an adjusted EBITDA of $1.19 billion to $1.24 billion, representing an 8% year-over-year increase. This growth is driven by Marcellus Shale infrastructure expansion and the integration of recently acquired HG Midstream assets. The company plans capital expenditures between $190 million and $220 million, primarily for gathering and compression infrastructure across its Appalachian footprint. Key focuses include high-return rich gas gathering projects and dry gas infrastructure development. With strong projected free cash flow, Antero Midstream aims to maintain capital discipline, reduce leverage to approximately 3.0x, and pursue opportunistic share repurchases. 
The Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), a Kinder Morgan pipeline subsidiary, flows Marcellus and Utica molecules. While the pipeline’s primary footprint is in the Midcontinent and Gulf Coast, it is a critical takeaway path for Appalachian gas through key interconnections. NGPL’s recent tariff announcement reaffirmed its commitment to offering negotiated rate arrangements for pipeline transportation services, maintaining continuity in its commercial practices. These options allow shippers to develop customized pricing based on factors like contract duration, gas volume, and specific operating needs, providing greater flexibility than standard maximum recourse rates. 
In January, Constellation Energy Corporation finalized its acquisition of Calpine Corporation, becoming the largest private-sector electricity producer in the United States (see 
Shale drilling in Wayne and Pike counties in the northeastern tip of Pennsylvania has been blocked since 2010 (16 looooong years), denying landowners in those counties the right to benefit from leasing and drilling on and under their land. Those counties (parts of them) are within the Delaware River Basin, and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) implemented a moratorium in 2010 to block shale drilling. The moratorium became a full-blown, permanent ban on fracking in 2021. The DRBC added a prohibition on the disposal of oil and gas wastewater to the permanent ban in 2022. It’s time to overturn the ban. We have a 
A supposed “group of rural Ohioans” in Adams and Brown counties is seeking a constitutional amendment to ban data centers exceeding 25 megawatts, citing concerns over resource consumption and a lack of local control. The “rural Ohioans” argue these massive facilities drain electricity and water supplies while providing few permanent jobs, often facilitated by secretive non-disclosure agreements between tech companies and officials. After submitting initial signatures to the Ohio Attorney General, supporters must gather approximately 413,000 more by July to reach the November ballot. Because modern AI-driven facilities typically require over 200 megawatts of power, this amendment would effectively ban large-scale data center expansion across the state. In its reporting, the media left out an important part of the story. 
An unidentified natural gas driller has applied to open over 8,300 additional acres of the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area for fracking, potentially making it Ohio’s largest fracking operation on public land. This request follows a January decision that already opened 4,400 acres of the 18,000-acre preserve, which is primarily used for conservation, hunting, and fishing. While the state’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) has historically favored industry requests despite significant public opposition, environmentalists and some Democratic lawmakers argue that the expansion exploits public resources and threatens local ecosystems. A public comment period remains open until April 27.