WV Brooke County Power Plant Gets $5.5M Direct Loan from State
On Sept. 10, a day after a meeting of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority meeting, we reported (based on media reports) that the Authority had voted to approve a $5.5 million loan guarantee for a proposed new shale gas-fired power plant planned for Brooke County, WV (see WV Approves Loan Guarantee for Brooke County Power Plant). We were wrong. In fact, the Authority did something better than a simple loan guarantee…
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Williams’ Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, a 200-mile greenfield pipeline from northeastern to southeastern PA where it joins the Transco Pipeline, went online in October 2018 (see 
Yesterday the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued modified permits for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project in three southeast PA locations (Delaware and Chester counties). Each location has faced problems with underground horizontal directional drilling (HDD). The modifications allow a different type of installation method to be used–open trench.
MARCELLUS/UTICA REGION: Rep. Danielle “Karen” Otten caught trespassing in Mariner East fight; CNX Resources announces closing of $200 million senior notes offering; OTHER U.S. REGIONS: City bans natural gas in most new construction; NATIONAL: Video – Baseload Electricity; U.S. crude oil exports have fallen in each month since their record high in February; Lower natural gas production seen driving $2 price jump this winter; US shale production can reach new highs beyond 13 million b/d, but needs $60/b; Everything points to more natural gas, even for jurisdictions that try to avoid it; LDCs adopting high-tech solutions to get methane emissions under control; INTERNATIONAL: Energy transition could force majors to sell or swap $100B in oil and gas assets; UK set to accelerate ban on fossil-fuel vehicles to 2030.
Last year MDN shared with you the rumor that Exxon Mobil was sniffing around Pennsylvania, investigating the prospect of building a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker like the Shell cracker being built near Pittsburgh. Those rumors went on for a while and even included evaluation of the Philadelphia area, not just Pittsburgh. Last week Exxon said unequivocally they have no active plans for such a facility in the Keystone State. Bummer.
It’s that time of year again. Each fall Dominion Energy takes the Cove Point LNG export terminal offline for annual maintenance work. Every time it happens, the plant is offline for roughly three weeks. We expect the same this year.
We don’t know if PBS StateImpact Pennsylvania “reporters” are just sloppy in their reporting, or if they intentionally lie. Either way, it doesn’t look good for StateImpact. PBS reporter Jon Hurdle’s latest Big Green hit piece, published yesterday on StateImpact, is wholly manufactured out of nothing. He claims there are continuing problems with drilling for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project at Snitz Creek in Lebanon County, PA. There are not.
Last week Enbridge asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to bring its Weymouth, Massachusetts compressor station online by Oct. 1 (see 
We love U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. He’s smart, articulate, and a supporter of all forms of energy, including fossil fuels. He also doesn’t suffer climate change fools well. Brouillette visited the Shell ethane cracker plant under construction in southwestern PA yesterday. He had some great things to say about petrochemicals, fracking, and (yes) even about so-called climate change.
The results of a new “push poll” aimed at brainwashing people (as opposed to an honest poll reflecting people’s actual opinions) have just been released claiming most Pennsylvania voters think a $2.36 billion tax they will pay over the next 10 years after joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is just lovely.
Antis continue their public relations push to try and block a northeastern PA LNG liquefaction plant in Wyalusing, PA planned by New Fortress Energy (NFE), by claiming the LNG that will be shipped from the plant to the Philadelphia area, via trucks and rail, will be rolling “bombs on wheels.” However, an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer debunks those lies.
We have another article today that looks at a current issue from both sides–whether or not PTT Global Chemical will, in the end, build a $10 billion ethane cracker plant in Belmont County, Ohio. We’ve written many articles about the potential PTT cracker plant since April 2015 when PTT, a huge petrochemical company based in Thailand, first announced they would consider building an ethane cracker plant in Ohio (see 
Enbridge, the owner/operator of the Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline Company (TETCO), is building a first. The company is building a compressor station in Hunterdon County, New Jersey that is all-electric. Building an all-electric compressor isn’t a first (although it’s not typical). What is a first is where the electricity will come from to power it–a big, ugly 12-acre solar farm sitting nearby.