Va. SCC Finally Approves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant
In June 2023, Dominion Energy announced plans to build four small “peaker” electric generating plants in Chesterfield County near Richmond (see Dominion Plans to Build 1,000-MW Gas Peaker Plant Near Richmond, VA). The Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (CERC) calls for building four 250-megawatt gas-fired power plants (1,000 MW total) that can jump into action during the coldest and hottest days of the year to help supply enough electricity for 250,000 homes—to keep the lights on because solar and wind are not up to the task. In September of this year, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) began deliberating on whether to approve the project (see Va. SCC Begins Consideration of Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas Plant). Great news! The deliberation is over, and the project is officially approved. Read More “Va. SCC Finally Approves Dominion’s Chesterfield Gas-Fired Plant”
Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 9, to consider whether or not to accept a petition by radical green groups, including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project, to “study” the issue of increasing setbacks for shale drilling so far that it would ban ALL new Marcellus/Utica drilling in the Keystone State. The EQB tabled a decision on accepting the petition back in April (see 
UGI, a diversified energy company with midstream (pipeline) operations and one of PA’s largest utility companies, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newest LNG peak shaver facility in Carlisle (Cumberland County), PA, yesterday. In November 2020, UGI launched the operation of a new 2-million-gallon LNG peak shaver in Bethlehem, PA (see 
In July, MDN told you that Talen Energy, a leading energy producer in the U.S., which owns and operates approximately 10.7 gigawatts (GW) of power infrastructure, had announced the acquisition of two gas-fired power plants: one located near Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the other in Guernsey County, in eastern Ohio (see 
This is really rich. Venture Global (VG), now the second-largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporter in the U.S., is accusing Shell of waging a “three-year campaign” to damage VG’s LNG business. VG’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022. Typically, a new LNG facility will load and ship several (maybe two or three) cargoes to “work out the kinks” and ensure everything is working as advertised. VG, using loopholes in its signed contracts, maintained that it was working out the kinks long after it began shipping. After *hundreds of cargoes* were shipped, CP’s customers were still not receiving their contracted (at lower prices) shipments. Shell, along with several other customers, sued (see 
Yesterday, LNG exporter Venture Global announced that Tokyo Gas has signed a 20-year contract to purchase 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from VG. Not many details were shared. We don’t know which facility (current or planned) the gas will come from. Financial terms were not disclosed. What we do know is that contracted shipments will begin sometime in 2030. As with all of these deals, our interest is in whether more Marcellus/Utica molecules will feed the plant doing the liquefying. It’s a good bet they will. 
MDN is taking both Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday off. While you’re taking time to be thankful for your friends, family, food, drinks, and other luxuries, take a moment to say THANK YOU to the resources that make this holiday so wonderful: fossil fuels! Below is a video from our friends at Clear Energy Alliance. Watch it (under 4 minutes) to learn just how much oil, natural gas, and coal bring to the table during the holiday season — and every other day of the year. 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Georgia Power’s large load pipeline shrinks by 6 GW; NATIONAL: Coming wave of LNG supplies more likely to produce a rising tide than a cataclysm; U.S. feedgas demand set to soar by the end of the year; JPMorgan projects Brent crude at $57 a barrel, WTI at $53 in 2027; INTERNATIONAL: Oil closes the day near month low; OPEC+ again faces thorny issue of how much it can pump; Aramco makes 17 deals with ‘major’ USA cos worth $30B+; IEA publishes climate era’s obituary; Climategate turns 16 – never forget. 
Regional and national indicators are driving optimism in the Marcellus/Utica Basin, which currently supplies 31% of U.S. natural gas. Despite recent constraints from low prices and limited pipeline capacity, drillers like Infinity Natural Resources and Expand Energy now predict significant output growth coming in the new year. This resurgence is fueled by surging in-basin demand from AI data centers, major power plant conversions in Pennsylvania, and improved takeaway prospects, such as Boardwalk’s proposed Borealis pipeline to the Gulf Coast (see 
As MDN previously reported, TC Energy’s Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) in the Hampton Roads region (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Newport News area) started construction in the second quarter of this year. It held a ceremony in September to commemorate the final weld (see 
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved a Tentative Order by a 3-2 vote, proposing a statewide model tariff (tax) to manage the growing impact of large-load customers, such as AI data centers, on the electric grid (see 
NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG is being developed on a 984-acre site along the Brownsville Ship Channel (Brownsville, Texas), approximately 3 miles east of Port Isabel. The facility currently has five trains under construction, with space at the site to double capacity. One month ago, Rio Grande LNG announced a favorable final investment decision (FID) to move forward with the construction of Train 5 (see 
It’s time to revisit a topic we’ve covered many times before — philanthropy in the Marcellus/Utica region. Drillers and pipeline companies in the M-U region already contribute to the region through the generous lease bonuses and royalties paid to landowners. In addition to the billions that flow to landowners, M-U companies cumulatively donate millions of dollars to local communities and nonprofit organizations. Here’s the latest example of that in action: The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) says its members (and their employees) have embraced this Thanksgiving season by giving back through food drives, volunteering at local charities, and supporting community initiatives. 
Planned natural gas capacity through 2030 remains steady compared with the past decade, according to new U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data analyzed by Dr. John Bistline, a leading researcher on energy systems and climate policy. The geography is shifting, Bistline noted, and new gas-fired units are being increasingly concentrated in regions facing sharp load growth and accelerated retirements. The map below shows the locations of existing and planned gas-fired power plants. It’s no mystery and should surprise no one that most of the planned new plants are located in the northeast, an area served by the Marcellus/Utica. 
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, Ohio, that processes and transports fracking waste for disposal. AMS ran into trouble when it ran out of money. The Martins Ferry facility in Belmont County, where waste is temporarily stored, had vastly exceeded its permitted limit of 600 tons (storing over 10,000 tons), resulting in a permit violation. The Ohio Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in March 2024 to compel compliance and require cleanup of the facility. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) stepped in to handle the cleanup. As of May 2025, cleaning and testing were completed (see