Vermont has become the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather.

Wind and solar energy only produce power when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing. All the rest of the time, their electricity is infinitely expensive, and a backup system is needed. This is the reason that two-thirds of our global electricity needs are met by fossil fuels. And it’s the reason why we remain 100 years away from eliminating fossil fuels from electricity generation.

A January 2024 report from the International Energy Agency noted that electricity usage worldwide by high demand data centers and cryptocurrency mining in a worst-case scenario model were expected to double from 460TWh in 2022 to over 1,000TWh by 2026. And that’s just the beginning.

Gordon Tomb, a senior fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation and senior advisor with the CO2 Coalition, recently published an op-ed in the Delaware Valley Journal outlining how Gov. Shapiro’s energy policy is a formula for more expensive electricity in the Keystone State.

PBA Special Achievement Awards recognize those lawyers and individuals who have provided time and resources to improve the association and the legal profession. Chair of the Energy Law Committee, Lisa McManus, has been selected for a Pennsylvania Bar Association Special Achievement Award.

Legislation requiring the U.S. Energy Department to develop a program to identify, plug and clean up abandoned oil and gas wells passed the U.S. House overwhelmingly Tuesday.

The 303-mile, 2 Bcf/d Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is almost ready to begin operation. On Monday, Equitrans Midstream filed a letter (below) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting a May 23 startup date for the pipeline. MVP (Equitrans) says the pipeline will be in the ground, buried, and ready to begin on May 22 (called “mechanically complete”).

Natural gas got an “A” grade, followed by nuclear, which got a “B+”. Wind and solar energy came in last, each receiving “F” grades, according to the study.

The Biden Administration’s January action – with no firm end date in sight – has put the future of the country’s LNG infrastructure in a state of disarray and put our allies’ energy future at risk.

Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan to fight climate change Wednesday, saying he will back legislation to make power plant owners in Pennsylvania pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and require utilities in the nation's third-biggest power-producer to buy more electricity from renewable sources.