Can New York Keep The Lights On While Ignoring Gas From The Marcellus Shale?

Two neighboring northeast states, each with immense amounts of Marcellus Shale natural gas deposits, will provide the test case on how we use energy in the next decade.

Pennsylvania, home to the lion’s share of the Marcellus heritage, welcomed the natural gas industry. In less than a decade, Pennsylvania has risen from a non-entity in energy production to the nation’s second largest producer of natural gas. Just by itself, Pennsylvania alone is a world power in energy generation.

To its north, New York has chosen the opposite path. While not as blessed as Pennsylvania in its shale bounty, New York still possesses large amounts of shale gas that could be tapped, were the state willing to do so. Most decidedly, it is not.

Starting with Governor David Paterson in 2010 and continuing with Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, there has been a gubernatorial moratorium in New York against hydraulic fracturing, the technique used to extract shale gas. Recently, Governor Cuomo upped the ante, utilizing a relatively little known provision in the Clean Water Act to prevent construction of interstate natural gas and oil pipelines in New York. As many of those lines would traverse the state and feed into New England, Cuomo in effect is setting energy policy for all of New York and New England – whether other states like it or not.

Pennsylvania residents do not worry about energy shortages.  They worry, instead, about what the industry might do to their state. Burdened with the environmental destruction wrought throughout the Commonwealth by the timber, tanning and coal industries in the early 1900’s, Pennsylvanians are wary of a repeat. Even so, the state now relies on environmental safeguards that were non-existent 100 years ago and has refrained from the radical abstinence of its northern neighbor.

New Yorkers do not worry about what the gas industry is doing on the ground. They are beginning to worry, however, about how they will keep the lights on. Government policies have bankrupted state operations for companies that had originally bet on New York shale like Norse Energy, prevented family farmers in the southern tier from earning sorely needed cash from their land, and caused downstate New York’s two largest utilities, Consolidated Edison and National Grid, to declare moratoria on future gas hookups for new customers. Amazon’s decision earlier this year to pull out of its commitment to Long Island City is looking prescient. The state may not have had the power supply to serve it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielmarkind/2019/07/25/can-new-york-...

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Permalink Reply by Inchworm antenna on July 28, 2019 at 7:22pm

New York is a liberal hack.  The state as a whole will do nothing unless it it considered cutting edge liberalism, or well established liberalism.  Unless the people there can figure out how to lead their politicians instead of being easily persuaded by Albany and the liberal media establishment, there is no hope for New York State.

Permalink Reply by Duane H on July 30, 2019 at 5:01am

agree 100%.  Only way out is to vote them out.

Permalink Reply by john s patane on July 30, 2019 at 6:03am

NY also sits atop the largest (thickest) Utica play as well.  A major lost economic opportunity for the whole state !!  And especially for it's overtaxed property owners !!  I am a conservationist.  That is the term used before the term "environmentalist" was invented !!  So, yes I am very concerned about the environment.  But I am also a landowner...of forest land with natural resources under it that I am prohibited from accessing.  My forest land is a carbon sink, helping to combat climate change.  What if I decided to clearcut my forest acres ??  What then would be the environmental impact of that action ?  Especially on the sequestration of carbon ? Do "so called" environmentalists consider that ??  BTW clearcutting is beneficial to wildlife, and is a common wildlife management practice.  I am against creating fracking water as a conservationist. However there are better, more environmentally safe ways to frac . Environmentalists don't want to hear about that !  It spoils their agenda !  I invested and believed in GASFRAC.  Unfortunately it failed.  I believe the technology has gone much further lately.  I hate to see the flaring that is going on...but I believe that is being addressed more and more. All forms of energy production have their downside.  Windmills kill Golden Eagles in Calif. and downed a helicopter in my back yard in NYS.  And the real culpret for global warming ???  It is something everyone who wants to be "politically correct" is afraid to talk about:  It is the world PoPuLaTiOn growth !!!!  Simple as that !  And places that once showed hope, like China with it's 2 chlidren per family policy has aparently backed off that.  And I hear that Russia is promoting their population growth with rewards for families having more kids !  Huge steps backwards !!  I recall a movement called ZPG  (Zero Population Growth) from the 1960's.  It was said that the size of the human population on earth would double the size that it had taken all of mankind to reach in all of history, in the next 30 years unless something was done to stop the tragectory !  Nothing was done (with some admirable efforts in china and possibly india (?) and the world population doubled in about 30 years as predicted !  Now it is soon to double again !  What is the "carbon footprint" of a child born today, for the next 100 + years ???  Now multiply that by Billions !!   It has to do with the carrying capacity of the earth (a conservationist's term).  Do I digress ???   Really ?  Or is it all related ??  All I know is that the forest owners of NYS deserve a break and they are not getting it in NYS, not under this or even past administrations.  Things need to be put in perspective !  So, shall I clearcut my woods ??

Permalink Reply by Inchworm antenna on August 2, 2019 at 4:35pm

Liberals have told us all too many people are detrimental to environment.  Try to tell you to have no kids.  Then look...here and Europe....same people who told us to have no kids now say we need refugees.    About your timber. IMHO I'd clear cut it and have the media there to show them since the lib govt effed you on gas you need something to help you out so it's gonna be the timber.  They made their choice now make yours.  

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