The West Virginia Public Service Commission's ruling on the case regarding the Mitchell power plant will, if it is implemented, result in fewer jobs and less prosperity for Marshall County and surrounding counties, it will needlessly raise West Virginians' utility...
Sean O'Leary
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The Centralia Model for Economic Transition in Distressed Communities
Centralia, Washington, a former coal town with a now-booming economy, could provide a model for clean energy and economic transition in distressed communities in Appalachia and beyond.
Destined to Fail: Why the Appalachian Natural Gas Boom Failed to Deliver Jobs & Prosperity and What It Teaches Us
An assessment of the systemic causes behind the natural gas industry’s failure to deliver economic prosperity to the 22 largest fracking counties across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
FIDdlesticks: Why PTTGC can’t make up its mind
Don’t look now, but it’s late-June – season of the summer solstice and the now annual announcement by PTTGC that, despite previous assurances, it must yet again delay a final investment decision on the proposed ethane cracker in Belmont County, Ohio. Recall that in...
Jobs and equitable transition: Bridging the chasm between rhetoric and action
There was a time when the sight of rows of office workers hammering away at their Friden adding machines would have sent me into paroxysms of delight because I, the Victor Comptometer salesman, had a new and better “programmable calculator” that could kick the...
“What’s the alternative?”: Answering the hardest question asked by workers and communities that feel threatened by energy transition
At ORVI, we’ve documented the inability of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries to serve as engines for job growth and prosperity in Appalachia. Although these findings may be greeted with doubt, disbelief, and sometimes anger, we find that, once the numbers...
An Energy State No More: As coal vanishes from the grid, so might West Virginia’s status as an energy state
In 10 years, unless West Virginia leapfrogs from its coal-dominated energy system to one driven by clean renewable resources, it will cease to be an energy state West Virginia’s status as an energy state — one that produces more energy than it consumes – will almost...
Misdirection: How we’re misled about the natural gas boom’s economic impacts
The Ohio River Valley Institute’s recent report on the nearly complete failure of the Appalachian natural gas boom to deliver on promises of jobs and prosperity in the region's major gas-producing counties triggered a great deal of blowback from the industry and its...
Proposed Belmont County, OH ethane cracker project postponed . . . again
The Ohio River Valley Institute issued the following press release earlier today. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Newest delay for Belmont County cracker reinforces need for new economic development strategies JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania, February 18, 2021 – Today’s statement in...