January 25, 2022 may become the day the music died for a number of the remaining Appalachian coal-fired power plants. That’s when PJM, the regional transmission operator (RTO) that manages wholesale energy markets in all or parts of 13 mid-Atlantic and midwestern...
Sean O'Leary
All research:
Sloganeering politicians and CEO’s and the myth of energy independence
Politicians and CEOs, Republicans and Democrats, need to stop invoking “energy independence” because they don’t really mean it . . . that is, unless they truly believe in transition to clean, renewable resources.
Carbon Capture, Use, and Sequestration Would Decarbonize the Electric System…in the Worst Possible Way
With a price tag of $100 billion/year, widespread adoption of CCUS in our electric system would spark outrage if its cost showed up in our monthly bills or federal taxes.
New Report Finds Proposed Carbon Capture, Use, and Sequestration (CCUS) Bills Would Raise Electricity Costs by 25%
With a price tag of $100 billion/year, widespread adoption of CCUS in the electric system would spark outrage if its cost showed up in our monthly electric bills. But members of Congress, including some climate hawks, seem to be coalescing around legislation that...
PTTGCA’s “indefinite delay” reminds Ohio Valley leaders of the need for a viable economic development strategy
According to a recent report from S&P Global/Platts, “PTTGC America's final investment decision on a new petrochemical complex in southeast Ohio remains on indefinite hold until the company secures a new partner in the project, the company said in an email Aug....
Fewer Jobs, Higher Electric Bills if WVPSC Mitchell Ruling Prevails
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...
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...









