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Welcome to our fourth issue of Currents – our energy industry insights e-newsletter – for 2026.
West Virginia Manufacturers Association’s WVMEG Summit, Charleston, WV, May 4-5
We are pleased to sponsor the 6th Annual Manufacturing Energy Growth Summit (MEGS). This regional event brings together manufacturing and energy leaders, state and local officials, economic development professionals, and financial industry leaders from West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Our own Derrick Williamson will be a featured speaker discussing “Keeping Energy Affordable while Creating More Electrons.” Click here to learn more.
Spilman’s SuperVision Labor & Employment Symposium, Charleston, WV, June 18
2026 Workplace Masterclass: L&E Compliance, AI, & the Brave New Employment Landscape: A fast-moving, high-impact seminar for employers navigating the modern workplace. Join Spilman attorneys for our full-day SuperVision Symposium, designed to inspire confidence in navigating complex employment decisions. This complimentary symposium is tailored for business owners, C-suite executives, HR professionals, and anyone who manages employees. Dive into a day of valuable insights on employment topics such as AI, investigations, litigation, immigration, labor law, accommodations, and much more. Spend the day with us and leave armed with strategies and solutions to tackle the ever-changing world of labor and employment law. Please click here to learn more and register.
Again, thank you for reading!
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Barry A. Naum
Chief Content Editor, Currents
Member, Co-Chair of Utility Law Group
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Data Centers, Power Markets, and the Economy: How the AI Buildout is Reshaping Energy Costs and the Grid
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By Barry A. Naum
Data centers – driven by artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and hyperscale digital infrastructure – are the new reality and are emerging as a consequential force in the United States economy. What was once a niche planning issue for utilities has now become a national debate as power-intensive data center loads are already impacting electricity rates, grid reliability, inflation, and economic development. Over the past several months, and especially in early 2026, nearly all sectors have begun to grapple with how the demands of the digital economy are reshaping energy systems and household costs, often resulting in significant public and policy-driven backlash.
Click here to read the entire article.
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“Around a fifth of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, providing a strong bargaining chip for Iran’s government.”
Why this is important: The Strait of Hormuz provides a fifth of the world’s oil. The global oil shortage caused by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait is affecting consumers around the globe. Europe’s airports have begun imposing restrictions on refueling due to a shortage of jet fuel. The fuel shortages and corresponding panic have resulted in a spike in robberies in Bangladesh. Australia’s prime minister has requested that those who can take a bus or tram to work do so. South Korea has imposed a fuel price cap and is implementing a fuel tax cut. Additionally, some government offices in the Philippines have switched to a four-day workweek to conserve fuel. Similarly, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are encouraging remote work for civil servants. Nations will likely continue to take these extraordinary measures to overcome the global supply chain issues created by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. --- Taiesha K. Morgan
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“The European Union’s plan to reach a 90 percent storage target faces serious feasibility risks under these fragile supply conditions.”
Why this is important: The European Union's (EU) goal of reaching a 90 percent storage target for liquified natural gas (LNG) is facing serious hurdles as the disruption of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues. Within the next two years, the EU plans to almost completely end its reliance on Russian LNG, but the current geopolitical environment is severely limiting alternative LNG supply options. As a result, the article discusses that the EU will likely become more reliant on U.S. LNG, which may jeopardize the EU's energy security goals as reliance on a single source provides no certainty of long-term supply guarantees. --- Steven W. Lee
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“Despite court challenges and past environmental violations, the project has received government approvals and is forging ahead.”
Why this is important: In late March, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Mountain Valley Pipeline “Southgate extension,” which will receive gas in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and deliver to new interconnections in Rockingham County, North Carolina. The initial Mountain Valley Pipeline project was fraught with regulatory and litigation delays, which nearly doubled the cost of the project. Challenges can be expected to the Southgate extension, but project proponents are well aware of potential regulatory pinch points and litigation concerns, and the project should reach completion by the end of the decade. --- Jason Wandling
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“The recent investments are concentrated in the southern U.S., home to some of the largest natural gas deposits in the world.”
Why this is important: Leading tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are all making moves to lock up power sources to run their data centers. These companies are betting on natural gas to be the primary energy source to power artificial intelligence. Tech companies have begun working with natural gas suppliers to build power plants that will connect directly to their data centers. By supplying power directly to their data centers, these companies can argue that they are generating their own electricity rather than drawing from the grid. As noted in the article, however, these actions could still impact electric prices for all consumers by straining natural gas resources used to power other electric generation resources that serve the electric grid.
Similarly, the surge in natural gas power plant production has already caused a shortage of gas turbines. Prices of the turbines are expected to grow by 195 percent by the end of the year compared to 2019 prices. The equipment costs for power plants are around 20 to 30 percent. Equipment orders for these new power plants are already getting delayed, and that will impact all power consumers.
The steps taken by tech companies indicate that they expect the current surge in AI demand to persist and intensify in the years ahead. They are planning for a future in which AI’s growth will require ever-increasing amounts of power. Natural gas is positioned to be a major factor in the coming years when it comes to AI, and the tech companies do not want to miss their chance to have a stake in this finite resource. --- Nicholas A. Muto
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“The step gives oil and gas producers more time to participate in emergency flaring — the practice of burning off natural gas that co-occurs with oil during oil production.”
Why this is important: The Environmental Protection Agency has initiated a rollback of key provisions in its 2024 methane rule governing oil and gas operations, with a particular focus on easing restrictions on routine flaring. The Biden-era rule sought to significantly limit flaring by phasing it out at new wells and generally capping flaring events at 24 hours, subject to limited exceptions. Under the revised approach, EPA is expanding flexibility for operators, including extending allowable flaring periods (in some cases up to 72 hours) and signaling openness to broader exemptions tied to operational constraints such as maintenance, weather, or supply chain disruptions.
The agency has framed these changes as a response to industry concerns over compliance burdens and costs, emphasizing the need for regulatory flexibility in oil and gas production. Industry groups have supported the revisions as reducing operational constraints and compliance costs. Environmental advocates, however, argue the changes weaken core emissions controls. They emphasize that flaring contributes to methane emissions and the loss of a valuable energy resource, and warn that loosening limits could increase pollution and undermine prior climate objectives. --- Jason Wandling
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“The Mason County facility is expected to be the first commercial-scale deployment site of Frontieras’ patented FASForm™ process, which converts coal into fuels, fertilizers, and industrial carbon products.”
Why this is important: Fronterias North America has held a groundbreaking for its new plant in Mason County, West Virginia. The plant will use coal in a patented FASFORM process that turns coal into fuels, fertilizer, and industrial carbon products. The site along the Ohio River has a mile of river frontage, along with class one rail and proximity to coal feedstock in southern and northern West Virginia. The plant is also near the new Nucor steel plant and the Fidelis AI platform data center, which are both being built in Mason County. The Frontieras plant has been in the planning stages since 2022. When completed, it is expected to employ 300 employees with annual pay in the $70,000 to $80,000 range. --- Mark E. Heath
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“There is a similar trend for project costs, with the majority of respondents reporting a sizable increase in project costs over the last year, and a significant majority reporting an increase in project costs of more than 25%, the largest figure in the Crux survey.”
Why this is important: Federal permitting requirements are contributing to significant delays and cost increases for renewable energy projects in the United States, according to recent industry data. Developers report that permitting delays, ranging from several months to longer, are driving cost increases typically in the range of 6-10 percent, with some projects experiencing substantially higher overruns. These impacts can add millions to project budgets and ultimately affect electricity prices.
Uncertainty in the permitting process appears to be as significant as the delays themselves. Many developers cite unpredictability in timelines and outcomes as a key investment risk, and a majority report adjusting project siting decisions to avoid triggering federal review.
Because federal oversight can be triggered even for projects on private land, permitting requirements are expanding in scope and complexity, further complicating project development. --- Jason Wandling
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“A new Western Pennsylvania power plant will not only power a gargantuan data center campus, it will actually add electricity generation to the region's much strained grid.”
Why this is important: As data center growth puts increasing pressure on the electric grid, there is an opportunity for new generation to both supply the new demand while concurrently supporting the grid at large. In Homer City, Pennsylvania, such a solution is in the works.
Developers are constructing a 4.5 gigawatt (GW) natural gas power plant and data center campus. While approximately 3.7 GW of the plant's generation will supply the new data centers, the remaining 800 megawatts (MW) will provide additional generation for the electric grid. Even though 800 MW is only a fraction of Pennsylvania's electricity generation, it is still enough generation to supply power to thousands of homes and will thus provide both benefits to the grid and generation for the new data centers. --- Steven W. Lee
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“Energy storage is surging on the U.S. grid — and now the country has more than enough battery-making factories to meet that booming demand.”
Why this is important: The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022, created major incentives for domestic battery producers and storage developers who use made-in-America products. This has created a boom in the production of grid batteries to meet the surging demand. The U.S. Energy Storage Coalition estimates that batteries will account for some 28 percent of new U.S. power plant capacity built this year. The U.S. will be in a position to achieve self-sufficiency in a higher-value part of the supply chain: the battery cells themselves. This development is estimated to produce thousands of high-tech manufacturing jobs across the country. Noah Roberts, executive director of the U.S. Energy Storage Coalition, calls this development “one of the fastest industrial scale-ups in recent American history.” --- Taiesha K. Morgan
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“The milestone comes months after the Trump administration tried to block the project from moving forward.”
Why this is important: A Virginia Beach offshore wind farm is now producing power. In March 2026, Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project began generating power with its first turbine being operational. The poles that support each turbine are set in more than 200 feet of water. The initial turbine that has begun operating produces 15 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power approximately 3,675 homes. When completed, the wind farm will have 176 turbines that will produce 2.6 GWs of power. That is enough to power approximately 660,000 homes. The Trump administration attempted to shut down this $11 billion project, but courts allowed it to continue its construction and begin operation. --- Mark E. Heath
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Here is a round-up of the latest statistics concerning the energy industry.
ELECTRICITY
PETROLEUM
NATURAL GAS
COAL
RENEWABLES
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