natural gas Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

Study Grades Natural Gas as Best Source for Reliability, Affordability and Environmental Impact

April 8, 2024 Just the News

A new study finds that natural gas is the most effective energy source meeting growing energy demands affordably and reliably, while balancing environmental and human impact.

The “Grading the Grid” study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a pro-free market nonprofit, and Northwood University rates natural gas, coal, petroleum, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal generation sources on their reliability, environmental and human impact, cost, innovation and market feasibility.

Washington Governor Signs ‘Natural Gas Ban Bill’ into Law

March 30, 2024 The Center Square

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday afternoon signed into law a controversial bill meant to allow Puget Sound Energy to start planning how to move away from natural gas.

“This bill creates the roadmap and tools for our state’s largest utility to get out of the fossil fuel business and achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Inslee said of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589 during the bill-signing event from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 in Kent.

Domestic Oil Production in U.S. Reached Record Levels

February 18, 2024 The Center Square

Domestic oil production in the U.S. reached a new record in November of 2023, hitting 13.31 million barrels per day, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The previous record was 13.25 million barrels per day. That was set in September 2023.

American Billionaires Bankrolled Activist Crusade Against Natural Gas Hubs Before Biden Signed Off on Approval Pause

February 9, 2024 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

American billionaires bankrolled an activist campaign targeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals that influenced the White House’s decision to pause new and pending approvals for the projects, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The philanthropic organizations of the Rockefeller family and Democratic megadonor Michael Bloomberg cumulatively provided millions of dollars to activists who pressured Biden administration officials to crack down on LNG export hubs over the past several years, according to the WSJ. The activists ultimately got their way on Jan. 26, when the White House announced that the administration would pause new project approvals as the Department of Energy (DOE) widens the scope of its reviews to include climate impacts of LNG export terminals alongside considerations like national security and economic benefits.

Red Tape Closes Pennsylvania Power Plants Before Replacements Ready

February 3, 2024February 2, 2024 The Center Square

Despite the key positions states like Ohio and Pennsylvania hold to solve future energy problems, shifting the power grid from coal and natural gas to wind and solar isn’t as easy as flipping a switch.

A cadre of Pennsylvania legislators trekked to Columbus for a joint meeting of three House and Senate committees from the two states to be advised by energy officials on PJM, the regional power grid to which both belong.

Natural Gas Industry Wants to ‘Break the Poverty Cycle’

January 28, 2024 The Center Square

The natural gas industry plans to push for more support of a federal program to cover energy costs for low-income families in 2024 while talking up safety and reliability.

“We need to break the poverty cycle by working together,” Jerry Norcia, chairman of the board of the American Gas Association, said in a press call on Monday. “Government, nonprofits and corporations can remove the barriers that prevent access to a prosperous future.”

Year in Review: Pennsylvania Energy Policy

December 29, 2023December 28, 2023 The Center Square

Pennsylvania has had a significant year for energy development, with hundreds of millions of federal dollars coming into the commonwealth.

Though the status of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first mandatory market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States, remains mired in a legal fight, hydrogen hubs and natural gas have kept legislators and the public busy.

Power Grid Watchdog Warns of Future Blackouts, Need for Natural Gas to Support Renewables

December 25, 2023 Just the News

The watchdog overseeing the North American power grid warns that the combination of rapid retirement of coal-fired electricity generation and the increasing reliance on wind and solar are risking large swaths of the United States with blackouts during heat waves and cold snaps.

“This assessment provides clear evidence of growing resource adequacy concerns over the next 10 years,” the latest report states. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) produces annual long-term assessments of potential electricity shortfalls over the next decade. In its latest long-term assessment published Wednesday, NERC stated that a priority action to ensure more grid reliability is increasing natural gas supply infrastructure.

Natural Gas Industry Files Legal Challenge Against DOE Rules Targeting Gas Furnaces

December 20, 2023 Just the News

The U.S. natural gas industry is pushing back against the Biden administration’s regulations targeting gas-powered residential furnaces.

Michael Shellenberger Reveals Why Global Elites are ‘Against Humanity’ on Episode 44 of ‘Tucker on X’

December 4, 2023 Kaitlin Housler

In episode 44 of his newest production, “Tucker on X,” host Tucker Carlson interviewed author Michael Shellenberger on recent comments from President Joe Biden’s climate czar John Kerry, who called for the immediate global end of burning coal.

Pennsylvania Appeals Carbon ‘Tax’ Decision

November 23, 2023November 22, 2023 The Center Square

The Shapiro administration will appeal a Pennsylvania court’s decision to strike down a proposed carbon “tax” as unconstitutional in a bid to “protect” the authority of future governors.

The news comes just one day after Gov. Josh Shapiro teased the appeal during a press club luncheon in Harrisburg. He said it was important to “listen” to all sides involved, most of whom agree that “cap and trade” is a good idea to reduce harmful emissions.

Natural Gas Well Setbacks Questioned After Health Impact Study in Pennsylvania

August 20, 2023August 19, 2023 The Center Square

Regulations that dictate appropriate setbacks for natural gas wells from drinking water sources and buildings may not be generous enough, according to the state’s agency tasked with overseeing the industry.

The Department of Environmental Protection said it would support efforts to reconsider whether 1,000 feet constitutes a safe distance after a study from the University of Pittsburgh suggested links between unconventional wells and incidences of asthma and childhood cancer.

Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Boom Year May Go Bust

June 29, 2023June 28, 2023 The Center Square

A boom year from natural gas impact fees in 2022 could be followed by a dramatic drop in payments, according to a recent analysis.

The data suggests that, rather than setting a new floor and bringing in steady funding in the future, recent record-setting payments are a blip.

Pennsylvania Utility Commission: 2023 Natural Gas Impact Fees Top $278 Million

June 22, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission announced this week that the commonwealth and its localities will collect nearly $279 million from natural gas extraction impact fees this year.

The revenues, applying to drilling activity throughout 2022, bring the total fees collected for gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale sedimentary rock formation to $2.5 billion since 2012, the year lawmakers imposed the tax on fossil-fuel producers. This year’s allocations will be the largest yearly amount the government amassed through the levy, representing a 19 percent increase over the prior year’s take.

Pennsylvania Localities Benefitting Substantially from Gas Extraction Fee

June 16, 2023June 15, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

While Democrats insist Pennsylvania misses out on revenue from natural gas extraction, a Pittsburgh nonprofit’s analysis published on Thursday observes drilling impact fees yielded $2.25 billion through 2021.

Since the boom in hydraulic fracturing (or fracking), the horizontal drilling technique gas companies use to access the vast reserves of fossil fuel from the Marcellus Shale sedimentary rock formation, many politicians have eyed an extraction tax. Instead of such a tax, former Governor Tom Corbett (R) and a Republican-led legislature levied an impact fee in 2012, with revenues going to localities largely to mitigate fracking-related environmental disruption. In the new policy brief from the Allegheny Institute (AI), the think tank’s executive director Frank Gamrat detailed those revenue gains.

GOP House Settles Rift, Returns to Conservative Agenda in Passing Bill Protecting Gas Stoves

June 14, 2023 Just the News

The rift with within the Republican House Conference that shut down floor votes last week appears to have been resolved enough for the chamber to resume voting, with the Tuesday passage of a marquee conservative bill to stop Biden administration initiatives to further regulate gas-powered stoves.

The Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act passed 248-180, after failing to get a final vote last week because 11 conservative-leaning conference members – in a nearly unprecedented move – blocked a preliminary procedural vote, essentially over what they considered House GOP leadership’s mishandling of the debt-ceiling agreement with Democrat President Joe Biden.

Ohio Democratic Ex-Congressman Ryan Backs Liquid Natural Gas Hub in Philadelphia

April 21, 2023April 20, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

Supporters of exporting liquid natural gas (LNG) from Philadelphia got unambivalent backing from Democratic former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan at a state hearing at the city’s Navy Yard on Thursday.

The liberal ex-lawmaker who unsuccessfully opposed Republican J.D. Vance for the U.S. Senate from Ohio last year is now on the leadership team of the pro-natural-gas Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. In that capacity, he appeared before the LNG Export Task Force to strongly urge the creation of an LNG terminal at the Port of Philadelphia.

Commentary: In Biden’s America, There Are No More Gas Stoves

April 11, 2023 RealClearWire

On February 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed an “energy efficiency standard” for gas cooking products. For those who are unaware, this is a blatant backdoor attempt to ban gas appliances—at least half of gas stove models sold in the United States today would not comply with this regulation according to DOE. The American people deserve answers to stop this draconian measure that would be detrimental for families, small businesses, and rural communities across our nation.

Pennsylvania’s Largest Coal Plant Closure Shows Effect of Coming De Facto Carbon-Tax

April 10, 2023April 9, 2023 Bradley Vasoli

In July, the Homer City Generation LP Plant, Pennsylvania’s biggest coal-fired energy creator, will be taken offline, meaning 129 well-paying jobs will disappear in Pennsylvania’s fifth-poorest county of Indiana.

This event, say free-market advocates and fossil-fuel supporters, should admonish Keystone State policymakers not to let the commonwealth let its abeyant membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) become active. The pact involving a dozen northeastern and mid-Atlantic states entails de facto taxation of carbon emissions. Even pre-implementation, industry experts explain, preparation for RGGI is killing otherwise viable power plants.

Stacey Abrams Joins Dark Money-Backed Group Looking to Crack Down on Gas Stoves

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

by Bronson Winslow Two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is joining an environmental advocacy group that is looking to crack down on gas stoves, according to the group’s website. Abrams will be joining Rewiring America, a group that aims to electrify homes and appliances and suggests gas stoves can lead…

Commentary: Left Gaslights America over Its War on Gas Stoves

February 4, 2023February 3, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Southern Democrats attacked the U.S Army at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Having ignited the Civil War, these Southerners had the chutzpah to call it the War of Northern Aggression. In like fashion, Democrats unleashed today’s War on Gas. Inspired by their Confederate ancestors, they then blame their victims who complain that the Left is stealing their natural gas and gas-powered appliances.

Commentary: The Coming Dark Age, Courtesy of our 21st Century Government

January 16, 2023January 15, 2023 Admin

Certain basic functions of everyday life distinguish us from animals. Our use of fire is among them. We cook with it, heat with it, and light the darkness with it. In many ways, fire on the stove is the center of our family life. In days of our ancestors, we even kept wild animals at bay with torches burning hot with the rendered fat of animals.

Now the United States federal government is coming for our fire. It’s to protect the children, the federal government says, through an unelected bureaucrat who wants to regulate gas cookstoves out of existence.

Commentary: The Left Sacrifices Natural Gas at the Altar of Climate Nirvana Leaving Good Americans Freeze to Death

January 2, 2023January 1, 2023 Admin

The just-departed polar vortex confirmed that when Mother Nature is enraged, it’s wise to have options. Maddeningly, today’s “pro-choice” Democrats want Americans to have one energy choice.

Neo-totalitarian, Left-wing eco-extremists are banning new natural-gas access in scores of locales. If not reversed, this cruel, stupid, needless policy will kill Americans.

Worldwide Coal Use Set to Hit an All-Time High Due to Energy Crisis

December 17, 2022December 16, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Global coal consumption will reach an all-time record by the end of 2022 as shortages of natural gas have driven up energy prices, forcing countries to burn more coal, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The international community is set to use over 8 billion tons of coal in 2022, representing a 1.2% increase in coal consumption compared to 2021, as countries began using coal as a cheaper alternative to natural gas after prices spikedfollowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the IEA’s annual coal report which was released Friday. The agency predicts that coal consumption will hover around such levels until 2025 as although coal demand could fall in the West, it remains high in developing Asian nations like China and India.

Pennsylvania Natural Gas Price up 95 Percent, New Wells up 42 Percent

December 8, 2022December 7, 2022 The Center Square

Natural gas prices are climbing, but overall production in Pennsylvania has lagged year-over-year.

The latest report from the Independent Fiscal Office says prices in the third quarter of 2022 jumped almost 95% compared to the same period last year. Nor will prices drop soon, either. The Pennsylvania average price was $6.89 per million BTU, compared to $3.54 in 2021.

Highest Natural Gas Price Since 2010 Drives a Spike in Pennsylvania Home Energy Costs

November 28, 2022November 27, 2022 The Center Square

Natural gas prices are hitting levels not seen for more than a decade, and electric bills will go up across the commonwealth – though not equally.

Natural gas spot prices will hit $6.09 per million British thermal units for the winter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which is “the highest real price since winter 2009-10.”

Pennsylvania Natural Gas Impact Fee Collection to Hit Record-High $275 Million

November 3, 2022November 2, 2022 The Center Square

State revenues from natural gas were high last year, and are expected to set a new record this year buoyed by rising prices and more drilling.

According to a new estimate from the Independent Fiscal Office, impact fees from natural gas wells will hit $275 million in 2022, $40 million higher than 2021.

Commentary: Europe’s Industrial Might Is Collapsing While Its Elites Deny Reality

September 2, 2022September 1, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Germany, widely known as Europe’s industrial powerhouse, is now leading the continent in an alarming new trend — rapid de-industrialization.

Astronomical natural gas prices are forcing heavy industries, from smelters to fertilizer plants, to shut down or curtail production. Germany’s fabled “Mittelstand” — the collection of mid-sized firms that form the backbone of its economic might — is buckling under the weight of terrible decisions made by climate obsessed politicians going back decades.

Putin Promises to Keep the Gas Flowing to Europe – for Now

July 27, 2022July 26, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would continue to supply Europe with natural gas, but warned that deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline could become constrained if sanctions prevent further maintenance on the pipeline, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Putin asserted that the pipeline’s owner, the Moscow-controlled energy firm Gazprom, will honor and fulfill its responsibilities to Europe in remarks that he made late Tuesday after his visit to Tehran, reported the WSJ. Putin’s comments come amid the reduced flow of natural gas into Europe due to sanctions and other supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Fetterman’s Anti-Fracking History a Vulnerability in Pennsylvania Senate Race

July 25, 2022July 24, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

John Fetterman handily won campaigns for mayor of heavily Democratic Braddock, PA in the 2000s and 2010s and won two statewide Pennsylvania primaries, one for lieutenant governor in 2018 and another for U.S. senator this year. His history of opposing hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking” to extract natural gas didn’t burden him in those races.

But now the Democratic lieutenant governor faces a general election for U.S. Senate against Republican celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz. And although Fetterman now says he does not support prohibiting fracking, his past support for a fracking ban promises to complicate his appeal to working Keystone Staters on whose livelihoods fossil-fuel development depends.

Proposal Would Bar Pennsylvania Counties That Ban Gas Drilling from Getting Gas Revenues

July 21, 2022July 20, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Sen. Gen Yaw (R-Williamsport) this week announced he is authoring a bill to bar any county that bans natural-gas development on county-owned lands from getting certain natural-gas revenues.

Specifically, Yaw’s proposal would prevent those jurisdictions from receiving allocations from the commonwealth’s gas-drilling impact fee, including any grants from the Marcellus Legacy Fund that finances regional environmental improvement projects. Revenues collected from the levy on companies extracting gas from the sedimentary rock known as Marcellus Shale totaled $234.4 million last year. The fee has brought nearly $2.3 billion into the state Treasury over the last decade.

Biden’s EPA Could Kneecap America’s Largest Natural Gas Exporter

July 10, 2022July 9, 2022 Admin

The Biden administration is expanding restrictions on carbon emissions that could impact half the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity in the U.S.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expanding a rule under the U.S. Clean Air Act called the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Pollutants (NESHAP), which places restrictions on the emission of formaldehyde and benzene from stationary combustion turbines. Starting in August, the rule will now apply to two types of gas-fired turbines that were previously left out of the regulation, the EPA announced in February.

Pennsylvania Legislature Sends Bill Banning Towns’ Anti-Natural Gas Measures to Governor

July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week passed a bill barring municipalities from adopting measures that restrict the use of natural gas or other energy sources.

The House approved the legislation by a vote of 117 to 83, with the Republican majority almost entirely supportive. The bill originated in the state Senate, having passed that chamber last October by a vote of 35 to 15. It awaits Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s signature or veto.

Veteran Dave Galluch, in Pennsylvania 5th Congressional District Run, Seeks Restoration of ‘Time-Honored Traditions in American Leadership’

June 16, 2022June 16, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Republicans very recently used to dominate the locale composing much of Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District. Geographically overlapping with much of the erstwhile Seventh District (nixed four years ago by the state Supreme Court), the Delaware-County-based territory had Republican Pat Meehan as its U.S. representative from 2011 to 2018. Before Meehan’s predecessor Joe Sestak (D) won the seat for two two-year terms, GOP Congressman Curt Weldon held it for two decades.

The district today is, well, different: Republicans’ old stronghold of Delaware County has flipped Democratic (though the GOP still fares well in some municipalities). And anyone waging a general-election campaign against Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon must also make inroads in south Philadelphia, Lower Merion, Upper Merion, Narberth, Bridgeport and Norristown — all places where “blue” voters have long outnumbered “red” ones.

‘Like a Roller Coaster’: Natural Gas Prices Surge, Inventories Drained Following Biden’s EU Deal

May 29, 2022May 28, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

U.S. natural gas prices have skyrocketed nearly 150% this year while inventory levels have shrunk, signaling more consumer pain ahead of the summer season.

The Henry Hub natural gas spot price, an indicator of nationwide prices, stormed past $9.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) Thursday, up from its early January price of $3.74 per MMBtu and the highest level since 2008, according to government data. U.S. natural gas inventories have been drained in recent months, declining 17.6% year-over-year and down 15.3% relative to their 2017-2021 average, additional data released Thursday showed.

Feds Offering 80 Percent Less in Oil and Natural Gas Lease Sales, Increasing Royalty Rate

April 22, 2022April 21, 2022 The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Interior announced it is making only 20% of eligible acreage for oil and natural gas production available for leasing on federal lands to comply with a federal court order.

In his first week in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters to be halted by the Interior Department. The agency was also tasked to review existing permits for fossil fuel development.

Pennsylvania House Passes Bill to Create Natural Gas Task Force

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week passed legislation empaneling a task force to study ways to position Philadelphia as a leading exporter of natural gas to markets around the globe.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), received the support of all Republicans in attendance but only 13 of the chamber’s Democrats. Among those Democrats were several representing areas above the Keystone State’s vast Marcellus Shale natural-gas deposit but also some legislators from the state’s southeast, including Reps. Tina Davis (D-Levittown), John Galloway (D-Fairless Hills), Ed Neilson (D-Philadelphia) and Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia).

Pennsylvania Senate Falls Short of Two-Thirds Needed to Kill Greenhouse Gas Initiative

April 5, 2022April 4, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

White smoke emitting from a couple of buildings

Most state senators voted to end Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on Monday but fell short of the two-thirds needed to succeed.

In 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) initiated Pennsylvania’s entry into the 11-state compact to reduce carbon emissions by charging power plants for their discharge in hope of counteracting global warming. Unlike most of the other northeastern and mid-Atlantic states that participate in RGGI, the Keystone State’s governor could not get sufficient backing from state legislators for Pennsylvania’s membership and thus acted via executive order. Republicans and some Democrats have argued Wolf exceeded his constitutional authority in rebuffing the legislature.

The John Fredericks Show: Dr. Oz Versus the Gangster Banksters

April 4, 2022April 3, 2022 Julie Carr

Live from Virginia Friday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed US Senate Candidate for Pennsylvania, Dr. Oz to the show to discuss his opposition and natural energy in the state.

Committee Votes to End Pipeline Bans, Check Pennsylvania Governor’s Power on Carbon Tax

March 29, 2022March 28, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A bipartisan majority of a Pennsylvania House of Representatives panel Monday passed several measures to increase fossil-fuel development in and exportation from the Keystone State.

One resolution, sponsored by state Rep. Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion) would call upon Govs. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Phil Murphy (D-NJ) to terminate their states’ bans on the building of new conduits that could carry natural gas extracted in Pennsylvania. Other legislation offered by state Sen. Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) would ensure that legislators must approve Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state pact to which Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has committed the state by executive order. Implementation of RGGI entails effectively imposing a tax on carbon emissions.

Pennsylvania Senators Introduce Tax Breaks and Regulatory Reform for Energy Producers

March 14, 2022March 13, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Senators Doug Mastriano (R-Chambersburg) and Scott Hutchinson (R-Oil City) last week proposed a measure to lighten the tax and regulatory burden for fossil-fuel producers.

Their legislation, entitled the PA Energy Independence Act, would immediately pause income taxation for natural-gas developers, reduce state gas-extraction fees by 200 percent and end Governor Tom Wolf’s (D) moratorium on new state-land leases for fossil-fuel drilling. It would also suspend the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which would amount to a tax on carbon emissions.

Bill Would Lift Gov. Wolf’s Moratorium on New Leases for Drilling in Pennsylvania

March 10, 2022March 9, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Republicans in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week introduced several measures to boost fossil-fuel production in the Keystone State, including a resumption of new state-land drilling leases.

Gov. Tom Wolf (D) imposed a moratorium on new leases for oil and gas development on state-owned areas in January 2015. A bill authored by State Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Wellsboro) would rescind that order and stipulate that all energy exploration performed under any resulting leases be subsurface. That means that the well site must be built off of commonwealth property and that underground channels would reach horizontally into the public lands, allowing for better environmental preservation than older drilling methods.

25 States Line Up Against Biden Attack on Natural Gas Industry

March 2, 2022March 1, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Half of all U.S. states penned a letter to the Biden administration, arguing against its decision to reverse a Trump-era rule allowing energy firms to transport natural gas via rail.

The 25-state coalition said that proposed prohibition of natural gas rail transport would have “devastating effects” on the economy and national security, according to the letter led by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. The Monday letter was addressed to Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Acting Administrator Tristan Brown.

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Urges New Jersey and New York to End Pipeline-Construction Bans

March 1, 2022February 28, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Representative Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion) announced Monday he’ll introduce a resolution exhorting New Jersey and New York’s respective governors to allow construction of natural-gas conduits.

In 2014, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s predecessor Andrew Cuomo (D) banned hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) for natural-gas extraction and thenceforth barred the creation of new natural-gas pipelines. Last month, Hochul endorsed a statewide prohibition of gas power for new buildings, the first such state-level interdiction in the U.S.

Industry Groups Raise Questions After Study on Gas Stoves

February 6, 2022February 5, 2022 The Center Square

Industry groups and others are pushing back after a study found gas stoves contribute more to global warming than previously thought at a time when some elected officials are considering policies to limit natural gas connections.

The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, found methane that leaks from natural gas stoves in U.S. homes has a climate impact equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from about 500,000 gas-powered cars.

The study also tested emissions from stoves in homes. A Stanford news release that accompanied the study raised concerns about indoor air quality because of the levels of nitrogen oxides.

Pennsylvania Bill Prohibiting Municipalities from Banning Natural Gas Passes State House

January 27, 2022January 28, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Legislation disallowing local bans on new buildings’ use of natural gas passed the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives Wednesday by a vote of 118 to 83.

A number of major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and New York, have prohibited the supply of natural gas to most new buildings. The sponsor of the Pennsylvania bill, Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) said that while local governments in the Keystone State haven’t yet officially barred the fuel’s use, some climate-action plans generated by state and local governments call for such measures.

Commentary: U.S. Natural Gas Is Critical to Strengthening America’s National Security

January 7, 2022January 6, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In recent months, European gas prices have risen as much as 700 percent, leaving millions of citizens vulnerable to a dangerously unstable grid and burdened with high electricity costs heading into this winter. Disruptions from this energy crisis have been felt by households and many industries that rely on affordable power to provide goods and services.

Until the recent escalation of Russia’s confrontation with NATO over Ukraine, the Biden administration’s solution to Europe’s energy crisis had been to implore Russia to send more gas to Europe. EU member states are already dependent on Moscow for roughly 40 percent of their gas supply. Initially, the White House made a deal with Germany, letting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline move forward. As part of an effort to repair relations with Germany, this decision allows Russia to tighten Putin’s grip over European energy security at the expense of our strategic partner Ukraine. Fortunately, German regulators refused to approve the pipeline, effectively delaying the certification of the project before July 2022. As part of the growing confrontation with Europe and the U.S. over Ukraine, Russia has further cut gas exports to Europe.

Commentary: America’s Energy Future Depends on Pennsylvania

December 14, 2021December 13, 2021 RealClearWire

Pittsburgh by night, Duquesne Incline in front.

For decades, many of us in northeastern Pennsylvania have talked about knocking the rust off our regional economy and creating not only new jobs but also new industries.

Diversifying the economic portfolio of northeastern Pennsylvania means creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that helps small businesses prosper in our downtowns through partnerships with the region’s great institutions of higher education – partnerships like the Invent Penn State launchbox at Penn State Hazleton and the Idea Hub at the Wilkes-Barre Innovation Center.

Creating a strong regional economy also means investing in the economic assets – like Pennsylvania natural gas – that enable us to compete for good manufacturing jobs. Affordable, Pennsylvania-produced natural gas is a foundational component of our national economy, fueling America’s manufacturing plants, farms, hospitals, schools, and homes. The Keystone State’s natural gas powers our energy economy and produces thousands of family-sustaining jobs, ranging from the scientist in the laboratory to the union laborer on the pipeline.

‘Political Uncertainty’: Energy Firm Abandons Oregon Pipeline Project After Years of Environmentalist Pushback

December 6, 2021December 5, 2021 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

$The newest inflatable pipeline prop had it's debut action at the Capitol in Salem, OR. 350Eugene mobilized the creative imagery joining with people across the state to call on the governor to take concrete action to halt the proposed LNG pipeline and export facility in Jordan Cove. The prop was used to highlight the first life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions analysis and climate impacts of the project from the fracking in Colorado, Wyoming or Canada, to the export facility and the burning of gas overseas. The rally in Salem, Oregon during Lobby Day with Governor Brown and Legislators amplified the call to end the Pacific Connector Pipeline and Terminal plans for Jordan Cove, Coos Bay, Oregon. Activist from all over the state took part with diverse rally speakers, songs, chants, a skit with bobble head Puppet Gov Brown & the actions she must take to halt the project. They walked the pipeline to the Department of State Lands Board building then back to Capitol steps. Photos by 350Eugene, Don Ewing.$

Canadian energy firm Pembina Pipeline Corp. pulled the plug on a years-long project that would have led to greater natural gas exports from to Canada to the U.S.

The multi-billion-dollar Jordan Cove project included plans to construct a marine export terminal, which would have been the first of its kind in the continental U.S., and a 230-mile pipeline across Oregon, The Associated Press reported. The terminal would have liquefied up to 1.04 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for export and hosted two full-containment storage tanks on site, according to previous federal permit records.

But the project, which dates back to 2004, was fiercely opposed by environmentalists while state officials created permitting roadblocks that Pembina struggled to hurdle. In 2020, the Republican-majority Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project, but the agency rescinded approval in January, upholding Oregon’s rejection of the plans.