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.
Misplaced Faith: How Policymakers’ Belief in Natural Gas is Driving Rural Pennsylvania Into an Economic Dead End
Policymakers’ pursuit of natural gas development is failing rural Pennsylvania, economic data show.
Pennsylvanians Strongly Support a Crackdown on Fracking. Will Allegheny County Deliver?
Update: In a resounding victory for Pennsylvanians and a vindication of public will, Allegheny County Council voted 12-3 to override County...
RECOMPETE Act Offers Support for Realizing ReImagined Appalachian Communities
Last year, ReImagine Appalachia published an overview of Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funding since 1965. We highlighted that...
What A Pennsylvania Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Hub Would Cost
Finally, a reporter has asked a question that should have been asked from the beginning about the proposed Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Hub for...
Yet Another Reason Why The Plastics Industry Is in Trouble: Corporate Pledges
Sometime soon, Shell’s petrochemical plant in western Pennsylvania will finally begin operations, churning out millions of pounds of tiny resin...
Charting a Course for Appalachia’s Economic Transition
For generations, Appalachia has powered the nation’s industrial growth with our region’s bountiful reserves of coal, gas, and oil. Today, our...
Why Worry About the Future of the Plastics Industry? Public Opinion.
The plastics industry is facing a triple threat. Product bans, public opinion, and corporate pledges all conspire to curtail future profits and...
Diversified Energy: A Business Model Built to Fail Appalachia
Diversified Energy, the nation’s largest owner of low-producing oil & gas wells, does not have enough funds to plug its growing inventory. The company could leave states with billions in clean up costs.
Why Worry About the Future of the Plastics Industry? Bans.
Last week, Ohio lieutenant governor John Husted spoke the unvarnished truth about the Ohio Valley’s long planned petrochemicals buildout. Responding...
Maximizing Impact of Federal Orphaned Well Program in States
Earlier this month, we provided an explainer of the $4.7 billion federal orphaned well program that was included in the federal infrastructure...
A Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Hub: A Logical View
...
The Ohio River Valley Hydrogen Hub: A Boondoggle in the Making
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) torpedoed the Build Back Better bill because, he said, it is too costly. But the fleet of hydrogen hub projects he is now...
Listen: A Model for Economic and Clean Energy Transition
(Source: Yale Climate Connections) Senior Researcher Sean O'Leary joins Dr. Anthony Lieserowitz and Yale Climate Connections to...
Federal Orphan Well Funding, Explained
At the end of January, the Biden administration and the US Department of Interior (DOI) announced the first round of $1.15 billion in funding...
Black Appalachian History and Future: An Interview with Emily Jones Hudson
In 2021, Emily Jones Hudson founded the Southeast Kentucky African American Museum and Cultural Center, which seeks to share the stories of African...