Videos
Western PA Decarbonization Study
Continued reliance on locally sourced fossil fuels and carbon capture will be 12% more costly than a clean energy pathway that is focused on renewables and energy efficiency, and leverage imports from outside the 10-county region. A new clean energy pathway developed...
Race to the Bottom: Carbon Injection Wells & Hydrogen Development in the Ohio River Valley and the Gulf Coast
West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are independently racing to secure federal funding for a blue hydrogen and carbon capture hub, an industry boondoggle that stands to prolong the failing fracking economy, further ravage frontline communities, and cost...
Policymakers’ Pursuit of Natural Gas is Failing Rural Pennsylvania. Investments in Quality of Life May Be More Effective.
Pennsylvania policymakers of both parties are driving efforts to expand the state’s natural gas economy despite mounting evidence that the decade-long production boom has failed to stem or even reduce job and population losses in rural counties where the...
Breaking Down West Virginia v. EPA
The Ohio River Valley Institute hosts a panel of legal experts for a discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision on West Virginia v. EPA. The decision stands to limit the federal Environmental Protection Agency's authority to lower greenhouse gas emissions...
Methane Emissions and Low-Producing Oil & Gas Wells in Appalachia
Last December, the Ohio River Valley Institute published Stayin’ Alive: The Last Days of Stripper Wells in the Ohio Valley, a report chronicling the more than 177,000 low-producing, “stripper” oil and gas wells in Appalachia that could soon become abandoned and...
Western PA Leaders Host Hydrogen Hub Information Session
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 earmarks $8 billion for a fleet of regional hydrogen hubs. There are already efforts in Harrisburg to designate one such hub in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and earlier this year, a group of natural gas, petrochemical,...
Petrochemical Dreams Are Collapsing in Appalachia
The oil and gas industry’s dream of a petrochemical cluster in Appalachia has largely fizzled. History shows that shared prosperity and job growth don’t come from petrochemicals or natural gas.
Diversified Energy: A Business Model Built to Fail Appalachia
A new report shows Diversified Energy, the nation’s largest owner of oil and gas wells, does not have enough funds to plug its entire catalog of wells. If Diversified or other companies that own low-producing wells in the region were to go out of business,...
Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Aren’t Worth the Hype
Hydrogen made from methane and carbon capture are wildly expensive technologies that would raise taxes and electricity rates and boost costs for Ohio River Valley families. These technologies wouldn't create many permanent jobs and would prolong drilling and...
Bitcoin Mining Breathes Life into Zombie Coal Plants
Bitcoin is on the verge of going mainstream, with some companies — and even countries — recognizing the cryptocurrency as legal tender. The market cap of Bitcoin now surpasses both Facebook and Tesla, and it also recently became the 13th largest currency in the...