Natural Gas 4 Us: Big is Better, or is it?

As a country across seeming all sectors, political, economic, societal, and cultural there is literal and figurative bombardment that BIG is better, and becoming BIGGER is better. Restrictions on corporations and financial institutions have been reduced. Consumer advocate groups and regulatory oversight is being erased. Large corporations are consolidating markets. Urban and suburban hubs keep advancing into rural areas. Politics are infiltrated and dominated by rich donors no matter what the party affiliation. The most popular vehicles driven are bigger and have indeed a bigger price tag. Corporate, higher education, and health care executives’ paychecks are bigger and by some measure obscene compensation packages create a privileged class. The accelerated emergence of Artificial Intelligence has the potential to exacerbate many of the income, wealth and educational disparities and inequalities. Huge projects advanced by Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft propel us into a new age.

In the energy sector the Big trend continues. Big oil continues to get bigger. Chevron is wrapping up their deal to buy Hess. Last year ConocoPhillips absorbed Marathon Oil. The electricity for the Allegheny River area is generated by one large utility, First Energy. The power is distributed by Penn Power and Penelec both part of First Energy. Once there were smaller local public utilities throughout Pennsylvania. These were considered noncompetitive and the rules changed heralding privatization and lower electric bills. Pennsylvania became part of the PJM grid joining 12 other states and the District of Columbia providing power to over sixty-five million people. Though proported to bring lower prices, PJM has recently announced potential brown outs and due to bigger demand from AI data centers rate increases.

Renewable Solar and Wind production has lost federal favor and subsidies but find many advocates in the urban are of our state. They see it as good idea to install solar generation on valuable and high productive farmland and wire power to the city. The same constituents are suspect of natural gas and protest pipelines in their neighborhood. The not in my backyard sydrone. This again actenuates the distinct differnences between the urban and rural cultures in the state. Urban folks say put solar out in rural areas on small unprofitable farms and then don’t understand the pushback from rural folks. How does taking farmland out of production for 25 years, really long term benefit the community. The idea small farms are not competitive with corporate agriculuture provides justification. Urban Pennsylvanias seem to be clueless and unaware that agriculture is the largest business driver in the state.

Perhaps AI should come to the river valley area. The electric generation needed could come from natural gas generation units on site. The gas could come from dedicated new Marcellus wells in the local area. Ample fresh water would be required for the well drilling and cooling of the data center computers. What might be the community reaction, to renewed drilling activity for the Marcellus and Utica. It is one thing to sign up for leases and no drilling happens. Well drilling brings first the exploration companies with a procession of fracking equipment, then multiple water trucks all with noise and light pollution. Once supplying an AI installation, it is absolute 24 hour 7 days a week operation with noise of natural gas generators, and the computers whirling. At the outset sound deadening buildings should be part of the development, If there is no zoning how does the community protect itself?

Currently, rural communities and landowners for multiple reasons are protesting CNG pipelines, new grid power lines, carbon capture wells, large solar installations, and proposed AI data centers. Communities in Iowa, Alabama, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee are calling into question is Bigger Better.

Whether one thinks red or blue the country is and will be truly impacted about one more Big thing, the big potential elephant in the room The ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL. Perhaps this Big is better, time will tell, or it could be more of the same, protecting and aiding the Big.

---

For more from Natural Gas 4 Us, go to: www.naturalgas4us.com