This weekend, the Zanesville Times Recorder featured an article titled, “Cheap natural gas might help reduce global warming”. The article comes on the heels of a widely reported Associated Press report that indicated U.S. carbon emissions have dropped to a 20-year low, thanks largely to the increasing use of natural gas in U.S. power generation. With Zanesville and Muskingum County in the heart of Ohio’s Utica Shale development, its good to see the Zanesville Times Recorder is taking note of the benefits this development offers here, and across the country. This is easily noticed in excerpts from the article like the one below.

Because of a plentiful supply of natural gas produced by horizontal drilling and the fracking process, the price of natural gas has dropped from about $8 to $3 per unit, the lowest price in 10 years. This means that natural gas has a huge price advantage in the amount of electricity generated.—Cheap natural gas might help reduce global warming, 9/16/12

This huge price advantage has led more and more utilities to build natural gas-fired electric generation plants.  Here in Ohio, there are many examples of this trend taking root.  For example, North American Project Development LLC recently announced plans to build a natural-gas-fired power plant in Oregon, Ohio – a suburb just outside of Toledo.  Once complete, the plant is expected to provide enough annual power for the electricity needs of 500,000 homes.

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