Research
The Ohio River Valley Institute examines some of the region’s most pressing challenges. We provide policy analysis and practical tools for building a stronger Appalachia. All of our research is available for you to cite, use, and share, per our free use policy.

Adams Fork Energy: What’s Happening With the World’s Largest Proposed Ammonia Plant
New York-based company TransGas Development Systems, LLC wants to build and operate a fossil fuel-based ammonia facility in Mingo County, WV. If...

Adams Fork Energy’s Blue Ammonia Project, Explained
As discussed in our companion article, New York-based TransGas Development Systems, LLC announced plans in 2023 to build the Adams Fork Energy...
Testimony: Pennsylvania’s Lax Enforcement Could Escalate Orphan Well Crisis
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. —— Policy and regulatory failures have allowed Pennsylvania oil and gas well owners to delay and avoid plugging responsibilities as...

Taking Inventory
Lax well plugging enforcement in Pennsylvania could escalate the state’s orphan well crisis.

Timeline: BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky
This page chronicles main events in the development of the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky, including the unionization effort at the facility....

Unfunded Cost To Decommission The More Than 1 Million Wells In Appalachia Reaches Into The Tens Of Billions Of Dollars
The bill for the 150-year legacy of oil drilling in Appalachia is coming due. Yet, drilling still continues, adding to the region’s backlog of...

Big Promises, Big Questions: What the U.S. Steel-Nippon Deal Could Mean for the Mon Valley
It has been one week since President Donald Trump announced a “planned partnership” between United States Steel and Nippon Steel. The late-Friday...

The House Reconciliation Package, Climate Funding, and Tax Credit Impacts
News Articles on House Bill & Climate/Economic Development Funding House GOP budget ‘worse than feared’ for clean energy: analysts - By Brian...

Governor Shapiro’s “Lightning Plan”: What HB500 Means for Hydrogen
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s proposal for a hydrogen tax credit addresses some of the worst aspects of the existing tax credit but the tax...

The Tri-State CCS Hub: Reading Between the Lines
Last month, a representative for Tenaska — the company seeking to build the Tri-State Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Hub — testified before the...

Filling the Hole
As Appalachian gas production plateaus, bold policy action is needed to ensure the industry pays for well plugging.

Ohio House Budget Proposal Would Cost Appalachian Public Schools $565.8 Million Over the Next 2 Years
The Ohio House of Representatives recently released its proposal for the next two years of school funding. Despite claims that the new plan gives...

Misleading and Just Plain Wrong
The central claim of the Heritage Foundation's special report that, because of New York’s ban on fracking, counties in the Marcellus region “lost...

BIL/IRA Implementation Digest — April 18, 2025
Decision on all BIL/IRA Funds U.S. Dist. Judge Mary McElroy, Federal Dist. Court of RI’s Order – applies nationwide to EPA, DOE, Interior, USDA, HHS...

Ohio House Bill 170 and Senate Bill 136: What You Should Know
Legislators in Ohio seek to establish a regulatory framework for the long-term, geologic storage of carbon dioxide in order to provide the clarity...